What Are the Duties of Texas Senators?

• The Texas Senate is comprised of 31 members, each of whom represents one of 31 single-member districts. The Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature and meets at the Texas State Capitol in Austin. The senators debate and vote on legislation for the state. It is the responsibility of each senator to represent the interests of his constituents.

Committees

• All Texas state senators must participate in committees. Committees are nonpartisan groups that conduct research on issues relevant to the state. Normal committees include administration, agricultural and rural affairs, business and commerce, criminal justice, economic development, education, health, international relations and trade and jurisprudence. Texas also has select, interim and joint committees on topics such as redistricting, veterans' health, public school finance and criminal commitments of individuals with mental retardation. The senators in committees lead investigations into these subjects to help the senate as a whole understand relevant issues so that it can draft and vote on laws regarding these topics. The committees also keep abreast of pressing issues related to these topics.

Write Legislation

• Texas senators draft legislation for the state. This means that the senators write and propose new laws to keep the state running smoothly. Sometimes, the senators write new laws specifically to help their own constituents, and other times the senators attempt to change laws they feel are not functioning properly. The senators conduct extensive research before writing new laws and interview constituents and specialists to gain a wide variety of perspectives on related issues. The laws the senators draft are often very lengthy, detailed documents.

Vote on Legislation

• All of the state senators vote on bills proposed to the senate. The voting can be a time-consuming and difficult process. The senators must read the bills proposed as well as all the supporting documents accompanying them. Then they consult with their constituents and experts to determine whether the proposed law is beneficial to the people. After all of the senators have read and researched the material for themselves, they hold debates. During the debates, senators argue in favor or against the new laws. Sometimes the bills are held up when some senators do not like the way the text is worded. If this is the case, the bill must be amended. Once the senators have voted in favor of a bill or new law, the House of Congress and the governor must approve the bill before it can become a law. The House of Congress holds its own voting session for or against the bill and also writes bills for the Senate to approve.