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INF 382M

Government Information

Fall 2004

Doty

TEXAS STATE GOVERNMENT:

INTRODUCTION AND LEGISLATIVE INFORMATION

As we did with U.S. government information, we will use the tri-partite structure of government to help us consider sources of information by and about Texas state government. Please also keep in mind other themes we have stressed:

  • The only way to become familiar with information sources of any kind is to use them, and, generally speaking, the more you use them, the better you understand their strengths and limitations.
  • Be sure to use as many formats of a source as are available, including print, microform (of whatever kind[s]), and digital (whether online or on CD-ROM).
  • It is imperative to recall that there are important private (for-profit and not-for-profit) as well as governmental sources of government information. Private sources are especially valuable for value-added indexing and abstracting services, even in digital environments.
  • Spend time with the Government Information site at UT Library Online ( one of the best sources of government information anywhere.
  • The more one understands about the structure and workings of government, especially the relations among the various actors of interest, the more one can understand what information products and services result from those workings.

What follows are some very brief remarks and recommendations about Texas state government information. Remember, the more pro-active you are in making your own learning, the more you will learn.

Some general information sources

Throughout the course, we have found the UT Government Information site extremely valuable for information about all kinds of governmental entities; Texas state information is no exception ( Here are only a very few of the general links there you may find useful:

  • the official Texas Web site --

Who Represents Me? (

Handbook of Texas (

Hopwood v. Texas (

Texas County Maps (

Texas Divorce Law Links (Divorce Source) (

Texas Exports Database (Texas Business and Industry Data Center) (

Texas Fact Book 2004 [PDF format] (Texas_Fact_Book_2004_1103.pdf)

Texas Maps (University of Texas, General Libraries) (

Texas Lottery Information (

Texas Nonprofit Organizations (Internet Nonprofit Center) (

Texas State Library and Archives Commission (

Texas legislative information

As at the federal level, a good place to start in general is with source law. The Texas Constitution is available in many forms and from many places; here’s one: -- especially read Article 3 on the Legislative Department. And give a look at the FAQ about the Texas Constitution at As noted, this version of the Constitution incorporates those changes made as of the beginning of 2004; they were the latest such changes. Also recall that the Texas Constitution, compared to the U.S. Constitution, is relatively long and relatively easy to change.

With regard to information about Texas laws and the Legislature, you will especially want to be able to identify bills, hearings, and laws, including codes. Here are some suggestions to help. First, always remember that the Texas Legislature meets only every other year, with each two-year time period called a biennium. Second, like the federal government, the Texas legislature is bicameral. The House of Representatives has 150 members serving a term of two years each, while the Senate has 31 members half of whom are elected every two years for terms of four years.

  • Visit the official Texas Web site --

Be sure to explore the links to Laws and Criminal Justice, and then especially to Laws, Codes, and Statutes.

All four of the higher level links at the Laws, Codes, and Statutes Web site are useful: Bill Search, The Legislative Process, Texas Administrative Code (which we’ll consider under our discussion of Texas executive branch sources), and Texas Statutes [see below].

Bill Search allows you to search on a number of characteristics (author, sponsor, committee, subject, and action), and also allows you to search in either the Texas House or Senate. As you can see, this tool goes only as far back as the 74th regular session in 1995. How would you search for similar information from prior to 1995?

The Legislative Process link is very useful, directly going to the site for the Texas Legislature Online at -- this is an excellent source of information from and about the Texas legislature. There is a link to a PDF version of this document at the bottom of the page.

Especially follow the link at the Texas Legislature Online to the Diagram of the Legislative Process ( Bills can be introduced in either legislative chamber; they can be amended or tabled, or become the sources of hearings; they can lead to conference committees to resolve differences between House and Senate versions; and then the bills passed by both chambers must be signed by the governor or the governor’s veto overridden for the bill to become law. As with the federal legislature, note the terms “engrossed” and “enrolled.” Do they have the same meanings here in Texas as they do in Washington, DC?

Another very useful source is under the Research menu at the left of the Texas Legislature Online page – it’s the Legislative Glossary ( This is a source you may want to pay special attention to; check out a few terms of interest.

  • Here is a good source for Texas Statutes:

The warning that opens this Web site is extremely important:

The statutes on this website are current through the 3rd Called Session of the 78th Legislature. The Texas Legislative Council makes no warranty as to the accuracy of the data, and users rely on the data entirely at their own risk. (emphasis in the original)

So spend some time perusing the Index to Sections Affected (listed on the top right-hand side of this site -- trying the various menus and search functions. Some initiative here is worth it.

As is almost always the case, the digital versions of Texas laws and government documents of all types are NOT the official versions. A good maxim to remember . . .

Explore the various codes and civil statutes according to your interests, as well as some that do not particularly interest you. What do you see when you look at the text of the statutes themselves? What are the important elements? How are they like and unlike what we see in the U.S. Code and the U.S. Code Annotated? What about the superseded sections? Legislative histories?

And speaking of the U.S. Code Annotated, you should look at the PRINT versions of both the West’s Texas Statutes and Codes and the [Vernon’s] Texas Statutes and Codes Annotated at PCL and elsewhere on campus and in town.

  • The Sections [of the Texas Statutes] Affected Web site noted above is supported at the Legislative Reference Library of Texas (

This entire site is worth the time it takes you to explore it, and a particularly valuable link is to a good source on legislative intent ( See the link to a one-page HTML version of the file at the bottom right of the page.

The Legislative Reference Library has a number of links to try – give them a go. Especially useful is the link to Legislative Resources ( on the bottom of the menu on the right-hand side of the main Legislative Reference Library page.