Focus Report, Volume 76, Number 3, January 1999 Page: 13
This periodical is part of the collection entitled: Texas State Publications and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.
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House Reserch OrganizationPae1
Senate, a House bill must have a Senate sponsor (vice
versa for Senate legislation in the House). The chair
of the Senate committee from which a House bill is
reported determines, in consultation with the House
author, the Senate sponsor. The House has a similar
procedure for determining House sponsors of Senate
bills. The chair may designate a primary sponsor, up
to four joint sponsors, and an unlimited number of
cosponsors (Rule 8, sec. 5; Senate Rule 11.15).
Identical or companion bills often are introduced in
both houses.
Senate procedures generally are the same as in the
House, but there are some significant differences.
Senate committee procedures
Public hearing. No bill may be reported from a
Senate committee without a public hearing. (The
House does not require public hearings.) Any senator,
regardless of whether the senator is a member of the
committee, may question a witness (Senate Rule
11.19).
Tagging. Notice of Senate committee hearings must
be posted at least 24 hours in advance. However, a
* senator may "tag" a bill by filing a request with the
Senate secretary or the committee chair that the senator
receive written notice of the time and place for the
hearing on a particular bill at least 48 hours before the
hearing is scheduled. Tags are used most often near the
end of a session to slow down consideration of, and
thereby kill, bills. A tag is not effective if notice of the
hearing has been posted for 72 hours and the Senate
was in session at any time during the first 24 of the 72
hours (Senate Rule 11.20).
Impact statements. The Senate requires that
impact statements be attached to a measure before the
final vote in committee (Senate Rule 7.09(n)); the
House does not require this. Also, in the Senate only,
the LBB prepares an open government impact
statement for bills that may reduce public access to
government information or the transaction of public
business, unless the author or sponsor certifies in
writing to the committee chair that the statement is
not needed (Senate Rule 7.09(m)).
Committee of the whole
For important bills, the Senate sometimes will sit as
a committee of the whole Senate. The lieutenant
governor, as president of the Senate, is a member of
the committee of the whole and may debate and vote
in committee. When the Senate is not meeting incommittee of the whole, the lieutenant governor may
vote only to break ties. A senator, rather than the
lieutenant governor, presides as chair of the committee
of the whole (Constitution Art. 4, sec. 16; Senate
Rules, Art. 13). The House also may meet as a
committee of the whole, but rarely does (Rule 4, secs.
53-55).
Senate order of business
The Senate has no Calendars Committee similar to that
in the House. However, the Senate Administration
Committee does serve a function similar to the House
Local and Consent Calendars Committee in setting a
Local and Uncontested Calendar of bills and resolutions
for consideration by the Senate. Bills and resolutions
reported from Senate committees are listed on the daily
Senate calendar in the order in which their committee
reports are received by the Senate. The secretary of the
Senate notes the date and time the report was filed, and
the journal clerk records the order of receipt in the next
day's Senate Journal (Senate Rules 5.12, 11.13).
In practice, the Senate controls the calendar by
lodging a "blocker" bill at the top of the calendar.
(This session's "blocker" measures are SB 69 by
Harris, establishing a county park beautification
program, and SJR 13 by Harris, authorizing the state
to accept gifts of historical value.) As a result, any bill
listed after the "blocker" bill must be considered "out
of order," which requires approval of two-thirds of the
members present. For a bill to be considered out of
order, notice of intent to suspend the regular order
must be filed before 4 p.m. on the last preceding day
in which the Senate is in session and, unless the
printing rule was previously suspended, the bill had
been printed and furnished to each senator before that
notice was given. The bill then is listed on the Intent
Calendar, which must be made available to all senators
and the press no later than 6:30 p.m. on the day the
notice of intent is filed.
Notice of intent must be given day to day. Prior to
April 15, no senator may give notice on more than
three bills or resolutions. On or after April 15, no
senator may give notice on more than five bills or
resolutions (Senate Rule 5.14).
Each Senate day begins with the "morning call,"
which includes petitions and memorials, introduction of
bills and resolutions and their referral to committee,
acceptance of messages, and consideration of motions
such as those to concur with House amendments to
Senate bills, to appoint Senate conferees, or to adopt
conference committee reports. Upon conclusion of thePage 13
House Research Organ n
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Texas. Legislature. House of Representatives. Research Organization. Focus Report, Volume 76, Number 3, January 1999, periodical, January 29, 1999; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth641010/m1/13/?q=%22~1~1%22~1: accessed August 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.