79th Texas Legislative Session

"The Texas Legislature will consider a variety of issues when it convenes in regular session on January 11, 2005. Revising the school finance system, as required by a state district court ruling, and granting property-tax relief are expected to top the legislative agenda. In addition, revising the state tax system, including business taxation and the possible expansion of legalized gambling, reforming the system of workers' compensation insurance, and reviewing the distribution of water resources are among the issues that likely will dominate the upcoming session. Also, 30 state agencies, including those dealing with utility regulation, teacher certification, and medical licensing, will be subject to review under the Sunset process." -- Topics for the 79th Legislature, House Research Organization Focus Report no. 79-1, November 22, 2004)

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Index:   Bills  |  Budget and Appropriations  |  Executive Branch  |  Governor  |  House  |  House Committees  |  House Committee Interim Charges & Reports  |  Joint Committees  |  Legislation  |  Legislative Branch  |  Lieutenant Governor  |  Senate  |  Senate Committee Interim Reports  |  Senate Standing Committees  |  Speaker of the House  |  Additional Resources (RamNet Databases and Selected Bibliographies)

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Legislation

Helpful publications:

• Topics for the 79th Legislature (House Research Organization. Focus report no. 79-1, November 22, 2004) [PDF, 12 pp.]
  • "This report highlights many, although by no means all, of the issues that the 79th Legislature may  consider during its 2005 regular session. The House Research Organization has addressed a number of these topics in Focus Reports and Interim News articles issued since the end of the regular session of the 78th Legislature in 2003."
• Issues facing the 79th Texas Legislature (January 2005) (Senate Research Center) [PDF, 108 pp.]
• Issues facing the 79th Texas Legislature. Summary from "In Brief" (January 2005) [not yet available from Senate Research Center]
• Guide to Texas legislative information (November 2004) (Texas Legislative Council) [PDF, 92 pp.]
  • Also available in an online version on the House web site.
  • "The purpose of this publication is to help legislators, other state officials and employees, and interested citizens in researching the work of past legislatures and in tracking the progress of pending legislative measures during a session."--Introduction, P. 1.
• How a Bill Becomes Law: 79th Legislature (House Research Organization. Focus report no. 79-4, January 28, 2005) [PDF, 8 pp.]
• How to Follow a Bill Through the Legislative Process (from Texas Legislature Online)
• Legislative Lexicon (In Brief (November 2004). Senate Research Center)  [PDF, 24 pp.]
  • The legislature, like most organizations, has a specialized vocabulary which may prove to be confusing to those unfamiliar with the legislative process. The ability to understand and clearly communicate within the halls of the Capitol, its chambers, and its committee rooms can be crucial in determining a participant's success in the legislative realm. The Senate Research Center offers this Legislative Lexicon to provide users with clear definitions of many of the words, terms, and phrases used in the legislature.
• Texas Legislative Council Drafting Manual (October 2002) (via Texas Legislative Council) [PDF, 248 pp.]]
  • This manual explains how legislative drafting is done by the staff of the Texas Legislative Council. Although it is primarily intended for use by the council staff for training and as a reference guide, other participants in the legislative process, including legislators and legislative staff members, may find it helpful in analyzing legislative documents.

Bill Tracking and Analysis

• How to Follow a Bill Through the Legislative Process (from Texas Legislature Online)
• How a Bill Becomes Law: 79th Legislature (House Research Organization. Focus report no. 79-4, January 28, 2005) [PDF, 8 pp.]
• For the most recent bill information (via Texas Legislature Online)
  • Bill Number Search (Bill Status)
  • Bill Search (Bill Criteria)
  • Bill Text Search
• Legislative Reports for the 79th Legislature (via Texas Legislature Online)
  • Filed bills by Senate, by House, by date; by Author, Coauthor, Sponsor, Cosponsor, Committee, Subject
  • Senate and House Committee referrals
  • Legislative reports are updated nightly
• Bill Analyses (via House Research Organization)
  • Bill analyses prepared by the HRO reflect the version of the bill as it was reported by House committee and first considered by the House of Representatives. It does not reflect any subsequent changes or amendments made on the House floor or in the Senate.
• Bill Analysis (via Senate Research Center)
  • "A bill analysis is a summary of a bill written in layman's terms. According to the Senate Rules, in order for a piece of legislation to be heard on the Senate floor, a bill must be accompanied by, among other items, a bill analysis (Senate Rule 7.12(b)(10))."
  • "A bill analysis is composed of three sections: Digest and Purpose; Rulemaking Authority; and Section-by-Section Analysis. If the bill is amended in committee, a fourth section, entitled List of Committee Amendments, will be added to the BA."
• Floor Report by Date (via House Research Organization)
  • Floor Reports are a collection of bill analyses for bills scheduled on the daily House calendar for floor debate on a particular legislative day.
• Amendment Search (via Texas Legislature Online)
  • Retrieve History, Text, Actions, Captions, Authors, and Amendment of both the Introduced and the Enrolled version
  • See Fiscal Note, Witness Lists, and Summary of Committee Action
• Texas Bill Status (via Legislative Reference Library of Texas)
  • Bill Status Hotline: phone numbers, hours and availability, information available from Hotline staff
  • Not an online resource.
  • The hotline gives the public access to up-to-the-minute information including:
    • Current status of Texas legislation
    • Legislative processes in Texas
    • Contact information for legislative members and other elected officials
    • Guidelines on how to obtain a copy of a bill
    • Addresses for legislative and governmental websites and toll-free telephone numbers
• 79th Legislature (2005) - Statistical Profile: Bill statistics for the 79th Legislature (Legislative Reference Library)
  • Presents, in table form, statistics on the number of bills introduced, passed, and vetoed.

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Budget and Appropriations

Helpful Publications:

• Budget 101: a guide to the budget process in Texas (January 2003) (Senate Research Center)
• "State Finance Reports" from the House Research Organization review the budget process and analyze the appropriations bill, focusing on policy issues related to various agency spending proposals.
  • Writing the state budget: 79th Legislature (House Research Organization. State finance report no. 79-1, February 4, 2005)
• Publications from the Comptroller of Public Accounts
  • Legislative appropriations request: fiscal years 2006 & 2007, September 1, 2005-August 31, 2007 (via Comptroller of Public Accounts) [PDF, 182 pp.]
  • Texas Economic Update. the rebound is here (Fall 2004)
  • Economic indicators appendix (Fall 2004) [PDF, 26 pp.]

Appropriations Bill(s)

• HB1/SB1 -- "The Budget Bill"
  • The Appropriations bill is the only bill the Texas Legislature is required to pass during each legislative session.
  • Once passed by the legislature, the General Appropriations Act, and related committee reports and summary reports, are available online via the Legislative Budget Board's web site.
  • Text of introduced version of SB1/HB1 (Filed 1/14/04) (via Legislative Budget Board)
• Texas Budget Source (via Legislative Budget Board)
  • The Legislative Budget Board (LBB) developed the Texas Budget Source (TBS), a report generator, to provide the general public information on the Texas state budget. Users may generate budget reports for a specific state agency. They may also generate reports organized by the articles of the General Appropriations Bill. A Help button is available on the request screen for a quick guide to navigating the screen and viewing, printing, and downloading reports.
  • The first time you run a Texas Budget Source report on your workstation, you will be asked to download Crystal Report Viewer. This may take a few moments if you have a modem connection to the Internet. Minimum requirement for viewing these reports is Internet Explorer 5.0.
• Governor's proposed budget: Proposed 2006-07 State Budget: "A New Era of Possibility:" Presented to the 79th Legislature. (January 2005) (via Office of the Governor) [PDF, 106 pp.]
• Office of the Governor. Budget, Planning, and Policy
  • Agency Budget Instructions for 2006-07
    • Includes Policy letter to agencies for 2006-07 legislative appropriations (calling for a 5% reduction), Detailed instructions for requests, Appendices, and Templates
  • Special Instructions for Institutions of Higher Education
    • Includes Letter to institutions and Definitions of elements of costs
• Biennial Revenue Estimate 2006-2007 (January 2005) (via Comptroller of Public Accounts)
  • Summary tables and Fund details are in PDF format
• Texas Finances (via Comptroller of Public Accounts)
  • Includes the Biennial revenue estimate, Sales tax collections, and Tax exemptions and tax incidence
• General Appropriations and Budget Estimates and Recommendations (via Legislative Budget Board)
  • General Appropriations Act 2006-2007 biennium, Seventy-Ninth Legislature, regular session, January 2005 (contents page containing links to the PDF version of each section)
  • Legislative Budget Estimates, 2006-2007 Biennium (January 2005)
  • Summary of Legislative Budget Estimates for the 2006-2007 Biennium (January 2005)
  • Appropriations Bills and Legislative Budget Estimates
    • 2002-2003 Biennium and 2004-2005 Biennium
    • Archives include 1998-1999 and 2000-2001
  • Legislative Budget Board recommendations, Seventy-Ninth Legislature, 2006-07 biennium (January 2005)

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Executive Branch

• Office of the Governor (Rick Perry)
  • Signed Bills
  • Vetoed Bills
  • State of the State (January 26, 2005) (Note: Gov. Perry frequently deviates from prepared text)
    • Press release on "State of the State"
  • Proposed 2006-07 State Budget: "A New Era of Possibility:" Presented to the 79th Legislature. (January 2005) (via Office of the Governor) [PDF, 106 pp.]
• Lieutenant Governor (David Dewhurst)
• Office of the Secretary of State
• Comptroller of Public Accounts ("Window on State Government")
• General Land Office
• Attorney General of Texas

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Legislative Branch

Helpful Publications

• Daily House Journals for the Regular Session
  • PDF and HTML versions of the daily proceedings in the House
  • Provided as an informational service only until the official permanent journal is published
• Senate Journal Online
  • PDF and HTML versions of the daily proceedings in the Senate
  • Provided as an informational service only until the official permanent journal is published
• Topics for the 79th Legislature (House Research Organization. Focus report no. 79-1, November 22, 2004) [PDF, 12 pp.]
• The 79th Texas Legislature interim digest (February 2005) [not yet available]
  • A compilation of legislative interim committee action, produced for the 79th Texas Legislature by the Senate Research Center
• Issues facing the 79th Texas Legislature (January 2005) (Senate Research Center) [PDF, 108 pp.]
• Issues facing the 79th Texas Legislature. Summary from "In Brief" (January 2005) [not yet available from Senate Research Center]
• Legislative staff: 79th Legislature (Focus report, House Research Organization) [not yet available]

Texas House of Representatives

Helpful Publications and Research

• Daily House Journals for the Regular Session
  • PDF and HTML versions of the daily proceedings in the House
  • Provided as an informational service only until the official permanent journal is published
• How a Bill Becomes Law: 79th Legislature (House Research Organization. Focus report no. 79-4, January 28, 2005) [PDF, 8 pp.]
• Bill Analyses (via House Research Organization)
  • Bill analyses prepared by the HRO reflect the version of the bill as it was reported by House committee and first considered by the House of Representatives. It does not reflect any subsequent changes or amendments made on the House floor or in the Senate.
• Floor Report by Date (via House Research Organization)
  • Floor Reports are collections of bill analyses for bills scheduled on the daily House calendar for floor debate on a particular legislative day.
• House Research Organization. [Click on All Publications, then the series, to retrieve the separate reports]
  • "Focus Reports" provide a thorough examination of particular issues, such as tort reform or electric utility deregulation. The Major Issues report summarizes significant legislation considered during each legislative session. Topics for the 79th legislature can also be found in this section.
  • "Interim News" reports provide a brief review of topics of current interest and summaries of interim committee hearings.
  • "Constitutional Amendment" analyses provide a summary and arguments for and against ballot propositions submitted for voter approval.
  • "State Finance Reports" review the budget process and analyze the appropriations bill, focusing on policy issues related to various agency spending proposals. See in particular, Writing the state budget, 79th legislature.

Membership

• Speaker of the House (Tom Craddick) (via House of Representatives web site)
• House Membership, Listed by Name (via House of Representatives web site)

Committee Information

• House Committee Assignments & Appointments (via House of Representatives web site)
  • Links to PDF versions of documents showing Committee assignments by Committee and by Name
  • Includes Select Committee Appointments and Other Appointments
• House Committee Meetings (via Texas Legislature Online)
  • Texas Legislature Online provides a database of searchable information about committee schedules, minutes, membership, process, and other related material.
• House Committee Procedures: 79th Legislature (House Research Organization. Focus report no. 79-5, February 1, 2005) [PDF, 8 pp.]
• House Committee Clerks (via Texas Legislature Online)

House Committees (79th Legislature)

(via House of Representatives web site)

• Committees composed of members of the House meet to consider and make recommendations concerning disposition of bills, resolutions, and other related matters referred to them. Committees are appointed by the Speaker of the House and are organized according to subject matter.
• Information includes: Chair, Vice Chair, and other members; Address and phone number; and Committee jurisdiction information. Includes links to Bills referred; Upcoming schedule; Past notices, minutes, and witness lists; Broadcast archives; and Interim report.
• Links from members' names retrieve contact information, committee assignments, legislative information, and district analyses and map.
• Agriculture & Livestock
• Appropriations
  • Appropriations--Subcommittee on Article IX -- [information via Texas Legislature Online]
  • Appropriations--Subcommittee on Criminal Justice -- [information via Texas Legislature Online]
  • Appropriations--Subcommittee on Education -- [information via Texas Legislature Online]
  • Appropriations--Subcommittee on General Government -- [information via Texas Legislature Online]
  • Appropriations--Subcommittee on Health & Human Services -- [information via Texas Legislature Online]
  • Appropriations--Subcommittee on Regulatory -- [information via Texas Legislature Online]
• Border and International Affairs
• Business & Industry
• Calendars
• Civil Practices
• Corrections
• County Affairs
• Criminal Jurisprudence
• Culture, Recreation, and Tourism
• Defense Affairs and State-Federal Relations
• Economic Development
• Elections
• Energy Resources
• Environmental Regulation
• Financial Institutions
• General Investigating and Ethics
• Government Reform
• Higher Education
• House Administration
• Human Services
• Insurance
• Judiciary
• Juvenile Justice & Family Issues
• Land & Resource Management
• Law Enforcement
• Licensing & Administrative Procedures
• Local & Consent Calendars
• Local Government Ways and Means
• Natural Resources
• Pensions & Investments
• Public Education
• Public Health
• Redistricting
• Regulated Industries
• Rules & Resolutions
• State Affairs
• Transportation
• Urban Affairs
• Ways & Means

House Committee Interim Charges (78th Legislature)

• Interim Study Charges. Texas House of Representatives. 78th Legislature (Issued by Tom Craddick, November 4, 2003) [PDF, 42 pp.]

House Committee Interim Reports (78th Legislature)

• Interim reports present recommendations to the 79th Legislature
• Committee Interim Reports master list from the House web site (updated periodically as reports are released)
• The following links are to PDF documents on the House of Representatives web site. (Adobe Acrobat Reader required.) Those committees marked by an asterisk (*) did not have an interim charge and therefore did not produce an interim report.
• Agriculture & Livestock
• Appropriations
• Border & International Affairs
• Business & Industry
  • Interim Report
  • Appendix 1
  • Appendix 2a
  • Appendix 2b
  • Appendix 3
  • Appendix 4
  • Appendix 5
  • Appendix 6a
  • Appendix 6b
  • Appendix 7
  • Appendix 8
• Calendars*
• Child Welfare & Foster Care, Select Interim
• Civil Practices
• Construction Industry-Related Workers' Compensation Issues, Select Interim
• Corrections
• County Affairs
• Criminal Jurisprudence
• Defense Affairs & State-Federal Relations
• Economic Development
• Elections
• Energy Resources
• Environmental Regulation
• Ethics, Select*
• Financial Institutions
• General Investigating
• Government Reform
• Higher Education
• House Administration*
• Human Services
• Insurance
• Judicial Affairs
• Juvenile Justice & Family Issues
• Land & Resource Management
• Law Enforcement
• Licensing & Administrative Procedures
• Local & Consent Calendars*
• Local Government Ways & Means
• Natural Resources
• Pensions & Investments
• Public Education
• Public Health
• Public School Finance, Select
• Redistricting
• Regulated Industries
• Rules and Resolutions*
• Sex Offender Statutes, Select Interim on
• State Affairs
• State Cultural & Recreational Resources
• State Health Care Expenditures, Select
• Transportation
• Urban Affairs
• Ways & Means

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Texas Senate

Helpful Publications and Research

• Senate Journal Online
  • PDF and HTML versions of the daily proceedings in the Senate
  • Provided as an informational service only until the official permanent journal is published
• The Senate Guide to Ethics and Financial Disclosure (January 2005) (Senate Research Center) [PDF, 146 pp.]
• Senate Research Center
  • The Senate Research Center provides quality, specialized, objective research and information to the Texas Senate and Office of the Lieutenant Governor.
  • Issues facing the 79th Texas Legislature (January 2005) (Senate Research Center) [PDF, 108 pp.]
  • Issues facing the 79th Texas Legislature. Summary from "In Brief" (January 2005) [not yet available]

Membership

• Lieutenant Governor (David Dewhurst)
  • The Lieutenant Governor in Texas is unique in that he is part of both the Executive and Legislative branches.
  • Powers & Duties
• List of Texas Senate Members (via Texas Senate web site)

Committee Information

• Senate Committees (79th Legislature) (via Texas Legislature Online)
  • Links to web pages for each Committee showing Appointment Date, Chair, Vice Chair, and other members
  • Links from members' names retrieve contact information, committee assignments, and legislative information
• Senate Committee Meetings (via Texas Legislature Online)
  • Texas Legislature Online provides a database of searchable information about committee schedules, minutes, membership, process and other related material.
• Senate Committee Hearings (via Texas Senate web site)
• Senate Committee Clerks (via Texas Legislature Online)

Senate Standing Committees (79th Legislature)
(via Senate web site)

• Committees composed of members of the Senate meet to consider and make recommendations concerning disposition of bills, resolutions, and other related matters referred to them. Committees are appointed by the Lieutenant Governor and are organized according to subject matter.
• Information includes: Chair, Vice Chair, and other members; Clerk's name and phone number; Video/audio archives; and Interim charges; Reports; Budget and staff; and Interim Appointments.
• Links from members' names retrieve contact information, committee assignments, legislative information, district analyses and map, and press archives.
• Administration
• Business & Commerce
  • Subcommittee on Emerging Technologies & Economic Development
• Criminal Justice
• Education
  • Subcommittee on Higher Education
• Finance
• Government Organization
• Health & Human Services
• Intergovernmental Relations
• International Relations & Trade
• Jurisprudence
• Natural Resources
  • Subcommittee on Agriculture & Coastal Resources
• Nominations
• State Affairs
• Transportation & Homeland Security
• Veteran Affairs & Military Installations
  • Subcommittee on Base Realignment and Closure

Senate Committee Interim Reports (78th Legislature)

• Interim reports present recommendations to the 79th Legislature
• The following links are to PDF documents on the Senate web site. (Adobe Acrobat Reader required.) Those committees marked by an asterisk (*) did not have an interim charge and therefore did not produce an interim report.
• Administration*
• Business & Commerce
  • Charge 1: Texas Unemployment Compensation Insurance Program
  • Charge 2: Texas Usury Laws and Credit Counseling Services
  • Charge 3: Texas Residential Construction Commission
  • Charges 5 & 6: Electric Utility Restructuring and Renewables
  • Charges 7 & 8: Property and Casualty and Automobile Insurance
  • Security and Reliability of the Electric System in Texas (report prepared in conjunction with the Committee on Infrastructure Development and Security)
• Criminal Justice
• Education
  • Subcommittee on Higher Education
• Finance
  • General Budget and Tax Issues Charges
  • General Government, Public Safety, and Economic Development Charges
  • Health and Human Services Charges
    • Appendix
  • Higher Education Charges
• Government Organization
• Health & Human Services
• Infrastructure Development & Security
  • Homeland Security
  • Transportation
  • See also, Security and Reliability of the Electric System in Texas (report prepared in conjunction with the Committee on Business and Commerce)
• Intergovernmental Relations
  • Final report
  • Final report appendix
  • Final recommendations
• International Relations and Trade
• Jurisprudence
• Natural Resources
  • Subcommittee on Agriculture
• Nominations*
• State Affairs
• Veteran Affairs & Military Installations
  • Subcommittee on Base Realignment and Closure
• Water Policy, Select
  • Subcommittee on the Lease of State Water Rights, Interim (without appendices)
• Workers Compensation, Select Interim

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Joint Committees

Joint Committees (78th Legislature)

• You can link to each committee page below, where you will find committee membership, future schedules, video and/or audio files of previous public hearings and more.
• Higher Education, Interim (House) (Senate)
• Nutrition and Health in Public Schools (House) (Senate)
• Oversight of Edwards Aquifer (House) (Senate)
• Oversight of Electric Utility Restructuring (House) (Senate)
• Oversight of Electronic Government Projects (House) (Senate)
• Oversight on Higher Education (House) (Senate)
• Oversight on Long-Term Care (House) (Senate)
• Permits Processing at TCEQ (House) (Senate)
• Property and Casualty Insurance Legislative Oversight Committee (House) (Senate)
• Public School Finance, Select ("The Texas School Finance Project") (House) (Senate)
• Study Commission on Water for Environmental Flows (House) (Senate)

Joint Committees Interim Reports (78th Legislature)

• [Health and Human Services] Transition Legislative Oversight Committee [Biennial Report, Dec. 2004] (House) (Senate)
• Higher Education, Interim
  • via House web site: Cover, Signature Page, Members Letters, Joint Proclamation FINAL, Table of Contents
    Executive Summary, Interim Charge One, Interim Charge two, Interim Charge Three
    Interim Charge Four, Interim Charge Five, Interim Charge Six, Interim Charge Seven
    Interim Charge Eight, Interim Charge Nine, Interim Charge Ten
    Appendices Title Page, Appendix A, Appendix B, Appendix C,D,E, Endnotes
  • via Senate web site [PDF, 273 pp.]
• Nutrition and Health in Public Schools (House) (Senate)
• Oversight of Edwards Aquifer (House) (Senate)
• Oversight of Electric Utility Restructuring (House) (Senate)
• Oversight of Electronic Government Projects (House) (Senate)
• Oversight on Higher Education (House) (Senate)
• Oversight of Long-Term Care (House) (Senate)
• Permits Processing at TCEQ (House) (Senate)
• Property and Casualty Insurance Legislative Oversight Committee (House) (Senate)
• Public School Finance, Select (final interim report to the 78th Legislature, March 2004) (House) (Senate)
• Study Commission on Water for Environmental Flows (House) (Senate)
• Study Commission on Water for Environmental Flows
  • (House)
  • Joint Committee on the Study Commission on Water for Environmental Flows: interim report to the 79th Legislature (via Senate web site)
  • Science Advisory Committee report on Water for Environmental Flows: Senate Bill 1639, 78th Legislature (via Senate web site)

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Additional Resources (RamNet Databases and Selected Bibliographies)

• The following pages include links to databases with additional resources on subjects relevant to the Texas Legislative Session, as well as articles on the legislative session itself. Most of the databases are restricted to ASU faculty, staff, and students. [Access to a number of these databases is made possible through TexShare funding.]
• RamNet Databases for Government, Law & Military
• RamNet News Sources
• The main RamNet page
• School Finance in Texas: a Selected Bibliography (compiled by Janetta Paschal, Government Documents/Reference Librarian)

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Government Documents Home Compiled: December 2004 by Janetta Paschal, Government Documents/Reference Librarian