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Committee & Commission Assignments

Source: Texas Legislative Reference Library [Link to VanDeaver Information Page].

Legislation Passage Recap

A “great” passage rate for a legislator is around 10% of their personally filed bills. This means that if a legislator files 20 bills, they should hope to pass two of them. Rep. VanDeaver has filed 82 bills across his four terms, with a total passage rate of 31.7%! His highest passage rate in a session was 47%. These are considered outstanding passage rates for a single legislator, at over triple the goal.

Note on Passage Rate: It is important to note that some bills are added as amendments to bills from other authors, or are passed as their Senate companions if the Senate version got through that chamber faster than the House version. These bills contribute to the passage rate even if the stand alone bill did not pass on its own.

Source: Texas Legislative Reference Library [Link to VanDeaver Legislation Page].* *This service has not yet been updated with bills from the 87th Regular Session.

Texas Legislature 101

The Texas legislative process is fascinating and very complex, but the more knowledge you have about the steps, the more effective you will be at advocating for the policies you think are best for all Texans. Below is an annotated list of resources for constituents to find out more about the legislature, bills, and legislative process.

Texas Legislature Online (TLO)	This is your best resource to look up bills, read their text, find analyses, peruse fiscal notes, and check out authors and sponsors. You can follow the status of a specific bill, find out how a legislator voted, track legislation, and receive bill movement and/or committee meeting alerts.
	Note on Using TLO: Some people report having trouble ensuring they’re looking at the right voting record. They very often have made a mistake with the session or bill number. Bill numbers are reused every session (e.g. SB 8 was the Heartbeat Act in 87R but SB 8 was the ad-valorem tax exemption in 87:1-2, and the supplemental budget bill in 87:3), it’s imperative to not rely on social media or word-of-mouth for a bill number.
The Legislative Process in Texas by Texas Legislative Council	This is a 16 page PDF that will walk you through how a bill goes from an idea to a law. It describes the roles of legislators and committees, conference committees, governor actions, different types of legislation, and even includes easy to understand flow charts.
Dates of Interest	This 4-page PDF not only lists the specific days and deadlines the legislature must follow, but also gives hyperlinked references to House Rules, Senate Rules, State Laws, and the Texas Constitution.
Legislative Reference Library of Texas	This website holds a wealth of historical and current information about past sessions, legislators, research, articles, and documents.
Texas Legislature (TSHA)	The Texas State Historical Association has a detailed entry about the history of the state legislature.

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