Texas Senate

Texas Senate

Infobox Legislature
name = Texas Senate
coa_pic = Texas Senate Seal.png session_room = Tx-senate.jpg
house_type = Upper house
leader1_type = President of the Senate
leader1 = David Dewhurst
party1 = R
election1 = January 17, 2003
leader2_type = President Pro Tempore
leader2 = Mario Gallegos, Jr.
party2 = D
election2 = January 9, 2007
members = 31
p_groups = Democratic Party
Republican Party
meeting_place = Senate Chamber, Texas State Capitol, Austin
website = http://www.senate.state.tx.us/

The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing 31 single-member districts across the state with populations of approximately 672,000 per constituency. There are no term limits for the Senate. The Senate meets at the Texas State Capitol in Austin.

Leadership

The Lieutenant Governor of Texas serves as the President of the Senate. The lieutenant governor's duties include presiding over the Senate, appointing chairships of committees, committee members, assigning and referring bills to specific committees, recognizing members during debate, and making procedural rulings. The lieutenant governor may also cast a vote should a Senate floor vote end in a tie. Due to the various powers of committee selection and bill assignment, the lieutenant governor is arguably considered more powerful than the Governor of TexasFact|date=May 2008, and is considered one of the most power lieutenant governorships in the United States.

Unlike other state legislatures, the Texas Senate does not include majority or minority leaders. Instead, the President Pro Tempore is considered the second most powerful position, and can be reserved to any political party in the chamber regardless if the party is a majority or not. President Pro Tempores are usually the most senior members of the Senate. The President Pro Tempore serves when the lieutenant governor is not present or when the legislature is not in regular session.

The President of the Senate is Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst. The President Pro Tempore is Democrat Mario Gallegos, Jr. of District 6 (Houston).

Leaders

Past notable members

* Preston Smith, Governor of Texas from 1969 to 1973.
* Allan Shivers, Lieutenant Governor of Texas (1946–1949), Governor of Texas (1949–1957).
* Lloyd Doggett, present U.S. House Representative, 1995 to present.

ee also

* Texas Legislature
* Texas House of Representatives

External links

* [http://www.senate.state.tx.us/ Official website]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Texas Senate — Sénat du Texas Le Sénat du Texas (en anglais : Texas Senate) est la chambre haute du corps législatif du Texas. Il se compose de 31 sénateurs représentant chacun un district de 672 000 habitants. Il n y a pas de limite de mandat pour les… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Texas Senate, District 2 — District 2 of the Texas Senate is a senatorial district that serves all of Delta, Fannin, Hopkins, Hunt, Kaufman, Rains, Rockwall and Van Zandt counties, and portions of Dallas and Smith counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The current Senator… …   Wikipedia

  • Texas Senate, District 1 — District 1 of the Texas Senate is a senatorial district that serves all of Bowie, Camp, Cass, Franklin, Gregg, Harrison, Lamar, Marion, Morris, Panola, Red River, Rusk, Titus, Upshur and Wood counties and a portion of Smith county in the U.S.… …   Wikipedia

  • Texas Senate, District 25 — District 25 of the Texas Senate is a senatorial district that currently serves all of Comal, Guadalupe, Hays and Kendall counties, and portions of Bexar and Travis counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The current Senator from District 25 is Jeff… …   Wikipedia

  • Texas Senate, District 26 — District 26 of the Texas Senate is a senatorial district that currently serves a portion of Bexar county in the U.S. state of Texas. The current Senator from District 26 is Leticia R. Van de Putte.Election historyElection history of District 26… …   Wikipedia

  • Texas Senate, District 3 — District 3 of the Texas Senate is a senatorial district that serves all of Anderson, Angelina, Cherokee, Hardin, Henderson, Jasper, Nacogdoches, Newton, Polk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby and Tyler counties, and portions of… …   Wikipedia

  • Texas Senate, District 30 — District 30 of the Texas Senate is a senatorial district that currently serves all of Archer, Baylor, Clay, Cooke, Grayson, Jack, Montague, Palo Pinto, Parker, Shackelford, Stephens, Throckmorton, Wichita, Wilbarger, Wise and Young counties, and… …   Wikipedia

  • Texas Senate, District 15 — District 15 of the Texas Senate is a senatorial district that currently serves a portion of Harris county in the U.S. state of Texas. The current Senator from District 15 is John Whitmire.Election historyElection history of District 15 from 1992 …   Wikipedia

  • Texas Senate, District 4 — District 4 of the Texas Senate is a senatorial district that serves all of Liberty and Orange counties, and portions of Chambers, Harris, Jefferson and Montgomery counties in the southeastern portion of the state of Texas. The current Senator… …   Wikipedia

  • Texas Senate, District 29 — District 29 of the Texas Senate is a senatorial district that currently serves a portion of El Paso county in the U.S. state of Texas. The current Senator from District 29 is Eliot Shapleigh.Election historyElection history of District 29 from… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”