How to Follow A Bill Using TLO

Below are the basic steps involved in passing a bill into law. Links to information available on the Texas Legislature Online are provided to aid in following these steps.

Idea

The process for creating a new law starts when a legislator first begins to formulate an idea. An idea for a new law may be suggested by anyone: concerned citizens, special interest groups, state agencies, or the governor, for example. If you have an idea you would like to suggest to your legislator, use the Who Represents Me website to determine your senator or representative and to find his or her contact information.

Introduction

During a legislative session, members may introduce new legislation until filing deadlines identified on the legislative dates (PDF) calendar. When the legislature is in session, the Texas Legislature Online (TLO) home page will include the time that the house and senate are scheduled to convene each day. Methods to view introduced legislation include:

• Legislative Reports - View a list of bills that have been filed in the house or senate.
• Bill Status - View the current status and legislative history for a bill.
• Text Search - Find bills with specific content.
• Subject Search - Find bills on a specific subject using the bill search or the subject index.

You can create a personal bill list and receive email notification as the status changes on bills you chose to watch.

Referral to House/Senate Committee

Bills that have been referred to committee may be viewed using:

• Legislative Reports
• Bill Search

Considered in House/Senate Committee

When a bill is scheduled to be heard by a house or senate committee, public notice is made to allow public participation in the committee process. View house meeting notices and senate meeting notices to see which bills are scheduled to be considered at a particular committee meeting.

Minutes are created by committee clerks after each public hearing. Use this website to view house meeting minutes and senate meeting minutes.

Most committee meetings are available for viewing over the Internet on the house and senate websites. You can receive notice of upcoming house and senate committee meetings through email.

Placed on House/Senate Calendar

After a bill has been reported favorably by a committee and the committee report has been printed, the bill is available for placement on a calendar. A calendar is a list of bills and resolutions that are scheduled to be considered by the full house or senate. Use this website to view house calendars and senate calendars.

Considered on House/Senate Floor

Journals are records of activity that occurs on the house or senate floor and include actions that are taken on a bill and any amendments added to the bill. Use this website to view house journals and senate journals.

View the amendments website to search for amendments based on chamber, author, bill, reading, and date.

Proceedings on the house and senate chamber floor may be viewed over the Internet at house and senate websites.

Signed/Vetoed by Governor

If a bill passes both the house and senate, it may be signed or vetoed by the governor or pass without signature. View the legislative reports to see a list of all bills passed or vetoed.

Laws of Texas

Once legislation becomes law, it becomes codified as a statute. Statutes may be viewed and searched at the Texas Statutes website.