Texas Legislature, Senate:

An Inventory of Senate Committee Minutes at the Texas State Archives, 1959-1967, 1972-1979, 1999-2008, bulk 1999-2008

Agency History

The size of the Texas Legislature and the volume of work confronting it each session make thoughtful deliberation on the many proposed measures by the entire membership impossible. For this reason, the basic business in the Senate is conducted according to the committee system whereby permanent, general, and special bodies, determined and formed by the rules of the chamber, are appointed to consider bills introduced in the legislature and to advise on their disposition. The committee stage in the deliberative process is at the core of legislative politics since the fate of bills under consideration hinges on committee action.

The Texas Constitution provides that no bill may be considered on the floor of a chamber by its members unless the bill first has been referred to a committee and the committee has issued its report on the bill. When a bill is introduced or received in the Senate from the House of Representatives for consideration, it is read for the first time by its caption and referred by the lieutenant governor to an appropriate committee. Known as standing committees, these bodies are created in the rules of the Senate at the beginning of each regular session and generally consist of seven to 15 members. The Senate does not provide subject matter jurisdictions for its committees. Although the lieutenant governor is free to refer legislation in the Senate to any standing committee, unofficial subject matter jurisdictions are usually established and followed to prevent duplication of effort by committees. The membership of committees is determined entirely by appointment by the lieutenant governor. Senators typically sit on three or four committees each. The Senate usually has 15 standing committees at any one time.

Immediately after a bill has been referred to committee, a determination must be made as to whether a fiscal note or other impact statement is required and, if so, a copy of the bill is sent to the Legislative Budget Board for preparation of the note or statement. In preparing the note or statement, the Legislative Budget Board may consult the state agencies affected by the legislation. The Senate requires a copy of the fiscal note be provided to the committee members before the bill is reported from committee and includes the note as part of the senate committee report. A bill requiring extensive analysis is often assigned to a subcommittee of the standing committee to which the bill has been referred. Subcommittees are appointed by the committee chair from the standing committee's membership. After careful scrutiny of the bill under consideration, the subcommittee makes a report to the full committee.

Special committees are appointed to research and make recommendations on a topic of particular focus within a timeframe narrower than usually allowed to subcommittees. Of these, joint or legislative oversight committees have memberships drawn from both the House and Senate, while select committee members are from a single legislative body. Under the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1961, the committee system was expanded, and provisions were made whereby standing, special, and general investigating committees created by each body could function whether or not the legislature was in session.

All committee business is required to be conducted in open meetings. No official action or vote may be taken except in a meeting that is open to the public; testimony may be heard and official action may be taken at any meeting of a senate committee or subcommittee. Although a committee is not required to solicit public testimony on any bill referred to it, public testimony is almost always solicited on bills of outstanding importance, allowing citizens the opportunity to present arguments on different sides of an issue. In the Senate, a public hearing must be held on a bill before it can be reported from committee and notice of the meeting must be posted at least 24 hours in advance.

(Sources include: Guide to Texas State Agencies, 11th ed. (2001); and the Texas Senate Committees web page http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/Commit.htm, accessed February 9, 2011.)

Scope and Contents of the Records

The Texas Senate's basic business is conducted according to the committee system whereby permanent, general, and special bodies, determined and formed by the rules of the chamber, are appointed to consider bills introduced in the legislature and to advise on their disposition. Minutes, witness lists, attachments, notes, printed materials, and a proclamation of Texas Senate and Joint Committees from 1959-1967, 1972-1979, 1999-2008, bulk 1999-2008, document, in a thorough but summary fashion, the official actions of Senate committees during the 56th through 60th, 62nd through 66th, and 76th through 80th Legislatures. Committees known to be absent from records of the 76th through 80th Legislatures are noted in the series descriptions but are not noted for the 56th through 66th Legislatures. Minutes from all meetings held may not be present; empty folders are noted within the contents listing. See the section below, "Other Formats for the Records," for alternate sources of Senate committee minutes. The majority of minutes describe the consideration of legislation and the votes of the committee members. Witness lists of citizens who testified or registered for or against a particular piece of legislation are frequently attached to the minutes. Of special note are the minutes of the Committee of the Whole Senate, 76th Legislature, which met only once, on December 28, 2000, to elect an acting Lieutenant Governor to replace Lt. Governor Rick Perry following his succession of George W. Bush as Governor of Texas.

Committees and subcommittees represented in holdings are:

Standing Senate Committees

• Senate Committee on Administration
• Senate Committee on Business and Commerce (and Subcommittee on Border Affairs, Subcommittee on Emerging Technologies and Economic Development)
• Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
• Senate Economic Development Committee
• Senate Committee on Education (and Subcommittee on Higher Education)
• Senate Finance Committee (and Subcommittee on Capital Funding for Higher Education)
• Senate Committee on Government Organization
• Senate Committee on Health and Human Services (and predecessor committees: Senate Health Committee, Senate Committee on Human Services)
• Senate Committee on Human Resources, Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs
• Senate Committee on Infrastructure Development and Security
• Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations (and Subcommittee on Flooding and Evacuations)
• Senate Committee on International Relations and Trade
• Senate Jurisprudence Committee (and Subcommittee on Civil Matters, Subcommittee on Criminal Matters, Subcommittee on Workmen's Compensation)
• Senate Natural Resources Committee (and Subcommittee on Agriculture; Subcommittee on Agriculture and Coastal Resources; Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Affairs and Coastal Resources; Subcommittee on Water)
• Senate Nominations Committee
• Senate Committee on Redistricting
• Senate Committee on State Affairs
• Senate Committee on Transportation and Homeland Security
• Senate Committee on Veteran Affairs and Military Installations (and Subcommittee on Base Realignment and Closure)
• Senate Committee of the Whole

Joint and Special Interim Committees

• Joint Agriculture Policy Committee
• Bexar Metropolitan Water District Legislative Oversight Committee
• Interim Committee on Binational Health Benefit Plan Coverage
• Special Committee on Border Affairs
• Select Interim Committee to Study the Practice of Breeding White-Tailed and Mule Deer
• Criminal Justice Legislative Oversight Committee
• Senate Select Committee on Education Reform and Public School Finance
• Joint Committee on Oversight of Edwards Aquifer
• Joint Committee on Oversight of Electric Utility Restructuring
• Joint Committee on Oversight of Electronic Government Projects
• Interim Committee to Study the Power of Eminent Domain
• Environmental Flows Advisory Group
• Joint Interim Committee on Mandated Health Benefits
• Joint Select Committee to Study the Texas Health Insurance Risk Pool Deficit
• Joint Interim Committee on Health Services
• Joint Interim Committee on Higher Education
• Joint Committee on Legislative Oversight on Higher Education
• Joint Interim Committee on Higher Education Excellence Funding
• Legislative Oversight Committee on Long-Term Care
• Medicaid Reform Legislative Oversight Committee
• Joint Select Committee to Study the Medical Peer Review Process
• Joint Committee on Natural Resource Public Interest Counsel
• Joint Committee on Nutrition and Health in Public Schools
• Joint Committee on Permits Processing at TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality)
• Joint Study Commission on Availability of Pre-Owned Heavy Duty Commercial Motor Vehicles
• Legislative Study Committee on Private Participation in Toll Projects
• Special Committee on Prompt Payment of Health Care Providers
• Property and Casualty Insurance Legislative Oversight Committee
• Joint Legislative Property Tax Committee
• Joint Interim Committee on Private Activity Bonds
• Select Committee on Public School Accountability
• Joint Select Committee on Public School Finance
• Special Committee on State Employee Compensation Benefits
• Legislative Oversight Committee on TEXAS and Teach for Texas Grant Programs
• Texas Quarter Dollar Coin Design Advisory Committee
• Study Commission on Transportation Financing
• Special Commission on 21st Century Colleges and Universities
• Blue Ribbon Task Force on the Uninsured
• Joint Interim Committee on the Study Commission on Water for Environmental Flows
• Joint Committee on State Water Funding
• Select Committee on Water Policy (and Interim Subcommittee on the Lease of State Water Rights)
• Joint Committee on Water Resources
• Joint Select Committee on Windstorm Coverage and Budget Impact
• Select Interim Committee on Worker's Compensation
• Joint Select Committee on Operation and Management of the Texas Youth Commission

To prepare this inventory, the described materials were cursorily reviewed to delineate series, to confirm the accuracy of contents lists, to provide an estimate of dates covered, and to determine record types.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Materials do not circulate, but may be used in the State Archives search room. Materials will be retrieved from and returned to storage areas by staff members.

Restrictions on Use

Most records created by Texas state agencies are not copyrighted and may be freely used in any way. State records also include materials received by, not created by, state agencies. Copyright remains with the creator. The researcher is responsible for complying with U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.).

Technical Requirements

None.

Related Material

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item and cite the series), Senate committee minutes, Texas Legislature. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Accession Information

Accession numbers: 1987/071, 1987/102, 2001/100, 2001/137, 2004/070, 2005/105, 2007/078, 2007/097, 2010/098

These records were transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by the Texas State Library Publications Clearinghouse on January 9, 1987 and February 23, 1987; by the Texas Secretary of the Senate on February 13, 2001; December 4, 2003; January 26, 2005; February 9, 2007; and May 20, 2010; by the Texas Senate's Committee on Intergovernmental Relations on July 9, 2001; and by the Texas Legislative Reference Library on December 19, 2006.

Processing Information

Processed by Nancy Enneking, August 2001

Finding aid converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by TARO using the conversion stylesheet v1to02.xsl, July 22, 2003

Two accessions of minutes added by Rebecca Romanchuk, March 2005

Three accessions of minutes added, and DACS compliance by Rebecca Romanchuk, May 2010

Other Formats for the Records

An additional resource of Senate committee minutes is available at the Senate of Texas committee archives web page (http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/CmArch.htm) for minutes and other documentation of committees from the 75th Legislature to the last completed legislature. Choose the link "Current Committees" on that page to access minutes and other documentation of Senate committees for the current legislature.

Detailed Description of the Records