Lieutenant Governor of Texas - wikipedia Lieutenant Governor of Texas Lieutenant Governor and President of the Senate of Texas Seal of the Lieutenant Governor Incumbent Dan Patrick since January 20, 2015 Style The Honorable Term length Four years, no term limits Inaugural holder Albert Clinton Horton 1846 Formation Texas Constitution Website Office of the Lieutenant Governor The Lieutenant Governor of Texas is the second - highest executive office in the government of Texas, a state in the U.S. It is the second most powerful post in Texas government because its occupant controls the work of the Texas Senate and controls the budgeting process as a leader of the Legislative Budget Board. Under the provisions of the Texas Constitution, the Lieutenant Governor is President of the Texas Senate. Unlike with most other states ' senates and the U.S. Senate, the Lieutenant Governor regularly exercises this function rather than delegating it to the president pro tempore or a Majority Leader. By the rules of the Senate, the Lieutenant Governor establishes all special and standing committees, appoints all chairpersons and members, and assigns all Senate legislation to the committee of his choice. The Lieutenant Governor decides all questions of parliamentary procedure in the Senate. He or she also has broad discretion in following Senate procedural rules. The Lieutenant Governor is an ex officio member of several statutory bodies. These include the Legislative Budget Board, the Legislative Council, the Legislative Audit Committee, the Legislative Board and Legislative Council, which have considerable sway over state programs, the budget and policy. The Lieutenant Governor is also a member of the Legislative Redistricting Board ( together with the Speaker of the House, Attorney General, Comptroller, and Land Commissioner ), which is charged with adopting a redistricting plan for the Texas House of Representatives, Texas Senate, or U.S. House of Representatives after the decennial census if the Legislature fails to do so. In the case of a vacancy in the Lieutenant Governor 's office, the Senate elects one of its members to act as President of the Senate until the next statewide office election, in effect becoming the Lieutenant Governor. A Senator elected as presiding officer in this way retains his district seat and the voting privileges entailed with his Senate election. The Lieutenant Governor is sworn - in on the third Tuesday every four years, the same as the Governor. Dan Patrick has been the Lieutenant Governor of Texas since January 20, 2015. The term of office was two years from 1846 to 1972. Voters then increased it to four years, effective for the 1974 election. The Lieutenant Governor assumes the powers of the Governor of Texas when the governor is out of the state or otherwise unable to discharge the office. The Lieutenant Governor is elected separately from the Governor, rather than on the same ticket ; it is therefore possible for the Governor and Lieutenant Governor to be from different political parties ( which was the case during Governor George W. Bush 's first term and also during Bill Clements 's two non-consecutive terms ). The Lieutenant Governor becomes Governor if the elected Governor resigns, dies or is removed from office via impeachment and conviction. Former Governor Rick Perry took office upon George W. Bush 's resignation on December 21, 2000. Bush became US President on January 20, 2001. When Perry became lieutenant governor on 19 January 1999, he became the first Republican since Albert Jennings Fountain in 1873 to serve as lieutenant governor, and the first Republican to be elected as Lieutenant Governor since James W. Flanagan in 1869. Contents 1 Compared to other lieutenant governors 2 See also 3 References 4 External links Compared to other Lieutenant governors Texas is one of the few states that vests significant power in the office of lieutenant governor, making it among the most influential. By contrast, the lieutenant governor position in other states has few ( if any ) legislative responsibilities, akin to the Vice President of the United States. The consequence is that the Governor of Texas is weaker than other states ' governors. See also Texas portal List of Lieutenant Governors of Texas References Jump up ^ Lieutenant Governor from the Handbook of Texas Online External links Duties and Powers of the Lieutenant Governor Current lieutenant governors in the United States Vice President of the United States : Mike Pence ( R ) AL Marsh ( R ) AK Mallott ( D ) AZ Reagan ( R ) AR Griffin ( R ) CA Newsom ( D ) CO Lynne ( D ) CT Wyman ( D ) DE Hall - Long ( D ) FL López - Cantera ( R ) GA Cagle ( R ) HI Chin ( D ) ID Little ( R ) IL Sanguinetti ( R ) IN Crouch ( R ) IA Gregg ( R ), Whitver ( R ) KS Mann ( R ) KY Hampton ( R ) LA Nungesser ( R ) ME Thibodeau ( R ) MD Rutherford ( R ) MA Polito ( R ) MI Calley ( R ) MN Fischbach ( R ) MS Reeves ( R ) MO Parson ( R ) MT Cooney ( D ) NE Foley ( R ) NV Hutchison ( R ) NH Morse ( R ) NJ Oliver ( D ) NM Sanchez ( R ) NY Hochul ( D ) NC Forest ( R ) ND Sanford ( R ) OH Taylor ( R ) OK Lamb ( R ) OR Richardson ( R ) PA Stack ( D ) RI McKee ( D ) SC Bryant ( R ) SD Michels ( R ) TN McNally ( R ) TX Patrick ( R ) UT Cox ( R ) VT Zuckerman ( P ) VA Fairfax ( D ) WA Habib ( D ) WV Carmichael ( R ) WI Kleefisch ( R ) WY Murray ( R ) DC Mendelson ( D ) Territories : AS Mauga ( D ) GU Tenorio ( R ) MP Hocog ( R ) PR Marín ( R ) VI Potter ( I ) Next - in - line of succession for states and territories without official lieutenant governors : 1. Secretary of State 2. Senate President 3. Council Chair 4. Acting ; not in succession Political party affiliation : Republican : 39 ( 36 states, 3 territories ) Democratic : 15 ( 13 states, 1 territory, 1 district ) Vermont Progressive : 1 ( state ) Independent : 1 ( territory ) Current statewide political officials of Texas U.S. Senators John Cornyn Ted Cruz State government Greg Abbott, Governor Dan Patrick, Lieutenant Governor & President of the Senate Rolando Pablos, Secretary of State ( appointed ) Ken Paxton, Attorney General Glenn Hegar, Comptroller ( Treasurer equivalent ) George P. Bush, Land Commissioner Sid Miller, Agriculture Commissioner Christi Craddick, Ryan Sitton, Wayne Christian, Railroad Commissioners Senate Juan Hinojosa, President pro tempore In the Texas Senate, there are no majority or minority leaders. House Joe Straus, Speaker Dennis Bonnen, Speaker pro tempore In the Texas House, there are no majority or minority leaders. Supreme Court ( civil ) Nathan Hecht, Chief Justice Debra Lehrmann John P. Devine Paul W. Green Jeff Brown Jeffrey S. Boyd Phil Johnson Eva Guzman Jimmy Blacklock, Associate Justices Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Sharon Keller, Presiding Justice Mary Lou Keel Bert Richardson Kevin Patrick Yeary Scott Walker Michael Keasler Barbara Hervey Elsa Alcala David Newell Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lieutenant_Governor_of_Texas&oldid=817488403 '' Categories : Lieutenant Governors of Texas State constitutional officers of Texas Texas Senate Talk Contents About Wikipedia Italiano Edit links This page was last edited on 28 December 2017, at 18 : 38. About Wikipedia

Question: who is the presiding officer of the texas senate
Answer: Dan Patrick