The 85th Texas Legislature began on January 10, 2017. All members of the House and Senate were elected in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

held on November 8, 2016.

Party summary

Senate

House of Representatives

Officers

Senate

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Dan Patrick Dan Patrick may refer to: * Dan Patrick (ice hockey) (born 1938), Canadian ice hockey player * Dan Patrick (politician) (born 1950), Lieutenant Governor of Texas and political and sports radio journalist * Dan Patrick (sportscaster) (born 1956), Ame ...

(R) * President Pro Tempore:

Kel Seliger Kelton Gray Seliger, known as Kel Seliger (born June 16, 1953), is a Republican member of the Texas State Senate for District 31, which stretches from the Panhandle south to the Permian Basin. He has announced that he will not be running for re ...

(R)

House of Representatives

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

Joe Straus Joseph Richard Straus III (born September 1, 1959) is an American politician who served as the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives from 2009 to 2019. A Republican, he represented District 121, which comprises northeastern Bexar County, ...

(R) * Speaker Pro Tempore:

Dennis Bonnen Dennis Higgins Bonnen (born March 3, 1972) is an American businessman and politician. Bonnen served as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives from 2019 to 2021. A Republican, Bonnen represented District 25 of the Texas House from 1997 to ...

(R)

Members

Senate

On February 22, 2018 a jury found

Carlos Uresti Carlos "Charlie" Uresti (born September 18, 1963) is an American attorney and Democratic politician from San Antonio, Texas. From November 2006 until his resignation in June 2018, he served as a member of the Texas State Senate representing S ...

on 11 Federal Felony charges relating to his alleged involvement in a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. He resigned 4 months after he was convicted due to pressure from his democratic colleagues. On October 12, 2018

Pete Flores Peter P. Flores (born January 30, 1960) is an American politician. He represented District 19 in the Texas Senate from 2018 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he was the first Hispanic Republican Texas State Senator in Texas history, and ...

was sworn in after winning the Texas Senate District 19 special election and special election run off to fill in the vacant seat for Carlos Uresti.

House of Representatives

Notable legislation

Texas Governor

Greg Abbott Gregory Wayne Abbott (born November 13, 1957) is an American politician, attorney, and former jurist serving as the 48th governor of Texas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 50th Tex ...

signed

Texas Senate Bill 4 Texas Senate Bill 4 (or Texas SB 4) is a bill that effectively bans Sanctuary city, sanctuary cities in the state of Texas. It was filed on November 15, 2016, and discussed during the regular session of the eighty-fifth Texas Legislature. Texas Go ...

, which bans

sanctuary cities Sanctuary city (; ) refers to municipal jurisdictions, typically in North America, that limit their cooperation with the national government's effort to enforce immigration law. Leaders of sanctuary cities say they want to reduce fear of deport ...

, into law on May 7, 2017.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:85th Texas Legislature 85 Texas Legislature 2017 in Texas 2017 U.S. legislative sessions