The Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives is the
presiding officer of the
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abou ...
. The Speaker's main duties are to conduct meetings of the House, appoint
committee
A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
s, and enforce the Rules of the House. The current speaker is
Dade Phelan
Matthew McDade Phelan (born September 18, 1975) is an American real estate developer and Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives for District 21. He has served as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives since January 2021.
...
, a
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
from
Beaumont
Beaumont may refer to:
Places Canada
* Beaumont, Alberta
* Beaumont, Quebec
England
* Beaumont, Cumbria
* Beaumont, Essex
** Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s
* Beaumont Street, Oxford
France (communes)
* Beaumont, Ardèche
* ...
, who was elected Speaker on January 12, 2021.
Election
The speaker is elected from the legislature of Texas, by a vote of its fellow members.
[Specified b]
§302.001
of the Texas government code. On the first day of each regular session, the members may nominate a fellow member, and a record vote is held to determine who the speaker will be. The Secretary of State calls the House to order, and presides over the chamber until a speaker is elected.
Duties
The speaker is the presiding officer of the House of Representatives. The
Texas Constitution requires the House of Representatives, each time a new
legislature convenes, to choose one of its own members to serve as Speaker.
As presiding officer, the Speaker maintains order during floor debate,
recognizing legislators who wish to speak and ruling on procedural matters.
The constitution also requires the Speaker to sign all bills and joint
resolutions passed by the legislature. As a member of the House of
Representatives, the Speaker may vote on all questions before the House.
The other duties and responsibilities of the Speaker are determined by the
members of the house in the House Rules of Procedure, which are adopted by a
majority vote of the members at the beginning of each regular session of the
legislature. The members give the Speaker the authority to appoint the
membership of each standing committee, subject to rules on seniority, and to
designate the chair and vice chair for each committee. Under the rules, the
Speaker is responsible for referring all proposed legislation to committee,
subject to the committee jurisdictions set forth in the rules. The rules
also allow the Speaker to appoint conference committees, to create select
committees, and to direct committees to conduct interim studies when the
legislature is not in session.
See also
*
List of speakers of the Texas House of Representatives
References
{{TXSpeakers