The 62nd Texas Legislature met from January 12, 1971, to May 31, 1971, in regular session, and again in four more special called sessions (see below). All members present during this session were elected in the 1970 general elections.

Sessions

* Regular session: January 12, 1971 – May 31, 1971 * 1st called session: June 1, 1971 – June 4, 1971 * 2nd called session: March 28, 1972 – March 30, 1972 * 3rd called session: June 14, 1972 – July 7, 1972 * 4th called session: September 18, 1972 – October 17, 1972

Party summary

Senate

House

Officers

Senate

* Lieutenant Governor: Ben Barnes, Democrat * President Pro Tempore (regular session): Jack Hightower, Democrat * President Pro Tempore (1st called session): Wallace E. "Pete" Snelson, Democrat * President Pro Tempore (2nd called session):

Barbara Jordan Barbara Charline Jordan (February 21, 1936 – January 17, 1996) was an American lawyer, educator, and politician. A Democrat, she was the first African American elected to the Texas Senate after Reconstruction and the first Southern African-A ...

, Democrat * President Pro Tempore (3rd called session): Chet Brooks, Democrat * President Pro Tempore (4th called session): Wayne Connally, Democrat

House

* Speaker of the House:

Gus Mutscher Gus Franklin Mutscher (November 19, 1932 – February 26, 2023) was an American politician who was Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives The Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the Texas House of Re ...

, Democrat. Mutscher served as Speaker of the House until the second called session of the Sixty-second Texas Legislature beginning on March 28, 1972, at which time he resigned as Speaker and Rayford Price was elected Speaker of the House and served until the end of the Sixty-second Texas Legislature.

Members

Senate

Dist. 1 * A. M. Aikin Jr. (D),

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

Dist. 2 *

Lindley Beckworth Lindley Garrison Beckworth Sr. (June 30, 1913 – March 9, 1984) was an American judge and politician who served as a United States representative from Texas and a judge of the United States Customs Court. Education and career Born on June 30, ...

(D), Longview Dist. 3 * Charlie Wilson (D),

Lufkin Lufkin is the largest city in Angelina County, Texas and the county seat. The city is situated in Deep East Texas and about 60 miles west of the Texas-Louisiana border. Its estimated population is 35,021 as of July 1, 2019. Lufkin was founded ...

Dist. 4 * D. Roy Harrington (D), Port Arthur Dist. 5 * William T. Moore (D), Bryan Dist. 6 * Jim Wallace (D),

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

Dist. 7 * Chet Brooks (D),

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. ...

Dist. 8 * O. H. Harris (R),

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Dist. 9 *

Ralph Hall Ralph Moody Hall (May 3, 1923 – March 7, 2019) was an American politician who served as the United States representative for from 1981 to 2015. He was first elected in 1980, and was the chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space and Tec ...

(D), Rockwall Dist. 10 * Don Kennard (D), Fort Worth Dist. 11 *

(D),

Dist. 12 * J. P. Word (D),

Meridian Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...

Dist. 13 * Murray Watson Jr. (D),

Waco Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...

Dist. 14 * Charles F. Herring (D), Austin Dist. 15 *

Henry Grover Henry Cushing Grover (April 1, 1927 – November 28, 2005), usually known as Hank Grover, was an American politician from the U.S. state of Texas best known for his relatively narrow defeat in 1972. He was a conservative Republican Election his ...

(R),

Dist. 16 * Mike McKool (D),

Dist. 17 * A. R. Schwartz (D),

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Ga ...

Dist. 18 *

Bill Patman William Neff Patman (March 26, 1927 – December 9, 2008) was an American politician who served from 1981 to 1985 as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives for Texas's 14th congressional district. He was the son of Wri ...

(D), Ganado Dist. 19 * Glenn Kothmann (D),

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

Dist. 20 * Ronald W. Bridges (D), Corpus Christi Dist. 21 *

Wayne Connally Wayne Wright Connally (March 19, 1923 – December 20, 2000) was an American politician. He served as a Democratic member for the 58th district of the Texas House of Representatives. He also served as a member for the 21st district of the Texa ...

(D), Floresville Dist. 22 * Tom Creighton (D), Mineral Wells Dist. 23 * Oscar Mauzy (D),

Dist. 24 * David Ratliff (D), Stamford Dist. 25 * W. E. Snelson (D), Midland Dist. 26 * Joe J. Bernal (D),

Dist. 27 * James Bates (D), Edinburg Dist. 28 * H. J. Blanchard (D),

Lubbock Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...

Dist. 29 * Joe Christie (D),

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

Dist. 30 * Jack Hightower (D), Vernon Dist. 31 * Max Sherman (D),

Amarillo Amarillo ( ; Spanish for " yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall Cou ...

House

Legislative actions

The Legislature established the Texas Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association.

External links

{{Texas State Legislatures 61st Texas Legislature 1971 in Texas 1971 U.S. legislative sessions