90th Texas Legislature
Texas Legislative Calendar
The Texas Legislature meets for 140 days every two years. Deadlines drive everything — a bill either moves or it's gone for another two years. These are the dates that decide it.
Dates of interest
Pre-filing begins
Members may start filing bills for the coming session. The proposals filed in these first weeks usually signal where the fights over legal costs, liability and accountability are headed.
Opening day
The House and Senate convene, adopt rules and begin formal business. Leadership decisions and committee assignments made now shape what has a path later.
Organizing the session
The first weeks are procedural, but they set the board for everything that follows.
- Governor and Lieutenant Governor sworn in
- State of the State address by the Governor
- State of the Judiciary by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas
- House and Senate committees assigned
- Deadline
Last day to file bills
After this date the scope of the session is essentially set. Any major bill touching costs, liability or legal accountability has to already be filed. Local bills may still be filed, and otherwise the rules have to be suspended for a new bill to be considered on first reading.
- Deadline
House last day to consider House bills (3rd reading)
House-origin bills that have not passed the House by this point are finished for the session.
- Deadline
House last day to consider Senate bills (3rd reading)
The last chance for the House to act on legislation that started in the Senate.
- Deadline
Last day for conference committee reports
Final significant opportunity for either chamber to move legislation across the finish line.
Sine Die
The session ends. What passed during these 140 days starts working its way into Texas courts, contracts and household budgets.
How a bill actually becomes law
Every stage is a place a bill can stall. Most never make it out of committee, and once a deadline passes there is no way back.
- Step 1
Filed
A member introduces the bill and it is referred to committee.
- Step 2
Committee
Public hearing, testimony, possible substitute. Most bills die here.
- Step 3
Floor
Calendar placement, debate, amendments, second and third reading.
- Step 4
Other chamber
The whole process repeats, with its own committee and deadlines.
- Step 5
Conference
Differences between House and Senate versions get reconciled.
- Step 6
Governor
Signature, veto, or becomes law without a signature.
Track bills, hearings and floor activity through the state's official system at Texas Legislature Online.
Why the calendar matters
What happens at the Capitol lands on kitchen tables. The laws written in these 140 days shape insurance and everyday costs, the legal environment employers operate in, and whether Texas stays a place where people invest and hire. When the system gets misused, families and small businesses pay for it.
Timing matters as much as substance. Early engagement — especially while a bill is still in committee — carries the most weight. Once the deadlines start falling in May, the options narrow fast.