Texas Legislature

Texas State Legislature
Texas State Legislature
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Senate ; House of Representatives
History
Founded	March 10, 1836
Leadership
Senate President	Dan Patrick (R) ; since January 20, 2015
Senate President pro tempore	Brandon Creighton (R) ; since January 14, 2025
House Speaker	Dustin Burrows (R) ; since January 14, 2025
Structure
Seats	181; 31 Senators; 150 Representatives
Senate political groups	Republican (20); Democratic (11);
House political groups	Republican (88); Democratic (62);
Elections
Last Senate election	November 5, 2024
Last House election	November 5, 2024
Meeting place
	Texas State Capitol; Austin
Website
	https://capitol.texas.gov

The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful arm of the Texas government not only because of its power of the purse to control and direct the activities of state government and the strong constitutional connections between it and the lieutenant governor of Texas, but also due to Texas's plural executive.

The Legislature is the constitutional successor of the Congress of the Republic of Texas since Texas's 1845 entrance into the Union. The Legislature held its first regular session from February 16 to May 13, 1846.