37 Organization and Leadership
Learning Objectives
At the end of this section you’ll be able to:
- Understand how the Texas State Legilsature is organized
- Understand the Leadership of the Texas State Legislature
Organization
Although members are elected on partisan ballots, both houses of the Legislature are officially organized on a nonpartisan basis, with members of both parties serving in leadership positions such as committee chairmanships. As of 2018, a majority of the members of each chamber are members of the Republican Party.
Leadership
The Lieutenant Governor (currently Dan Patrick), elected statewide separately from the governor, presides over the Senate, while the Speaker of the House (currently Joe Straus) is elected from that body by its members. Both have wide latitude in choosing committee membership in their respective houses and have a large impact on lawmaking in the state.