The 85th Session will have a few new faces when it begins on January 10, 2017. Bill pre-filing for the 85th Session begins in 5 days on November 14, 2016.
House and Senate Split
- Senate – 20 Republicans and 11 Democrats
- House – 95 Republicans and 55 Democrats
Census Population
31 Senate districts in the state each represent an avg. of 811,147 Texans.
150 House districts in the state each represents an avg. of 167,637 Texans.
*Based 2010 census population
New Faces in the 85th
The freshmen figures outlined below indicate these persons are new members to their respective chambers.
Senate (3 Freshmen and 6 Sophomores)
- 20 Republicans
- 2 Freshmen
- 11 Democrats
- 1 Freshmen
House (26 Freshmen and 24 Sophomores)
- 95 Republicans
- 16 Freshmen
- 55 Democrats
- 10 Freshmen
Chair/Vice-Chair Positions
Through retirement or the election process, members will not be returning to the following chair and/or vice-chair positions on several House and Senate standing committees:
- House Appropriations (Rep. John Otto – Chair & Rep. Sylvester Turner – Vice Chair)
- House Appropriations Subcommittee on Budget Transparency & Reform ( Rep. Marisa Marquez – Vice Chair)
- House County Affairs (Rep. Joe Farias – Vice Chair)
- House Defense & Veterans’ Affairs (Rep. Susan King – Chair)
- House Emerging Issues in Law Enforcement (Rep. Allen Fletcher – Chair)
- House Juvenile Justice & Family Issues (Rep. Debbie Riddle – Vice Chair)
- House Licensing & Administrative Procedures (Rep. Wayne Smith – Chair)
- House Natural Resources (Rep. Jim Keffer – Chair)
- House Public Education (Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock – Chair)
- House Public Health (Rep. Myra Crownover – Chair & Rep. Elliott Naishtat – Vice Chair)
- House Special Purpose Districts (Rep. Doug Miller – Chair)
- Senate State Affairs (Sen. Rodney Ellis – Vice Chair)
- Senate Select Committee on Government Facilities (Sen. Kevin Eltife – Chair)