Texas Senate - wikipedia Texas Senate Not to be confused with the two United States Senators from Texas. Texas State Senate Texas State Legislature Type Type Upper house of the Texas Legislature Term limits None History New session started January 10, 2017 Leadership President of the Senate Dan Patrick ( R ) Since January 20, 2015 President Pro Tempore Juan Hinojosa ( D ) Since January 13, 2015 Structure Seats 31 Political groups Majority Republican ( 20 ) Minority Democratic ( 11 ) Length of term 4 years Authority Article 3, Texas Constitution Salary $7,200 / year + per diem Elections Voting system First - past - the - post Last election November 8, 2016 ( 16 seats ) Next election November 6, 2018 ( 15 seats ) Redistricting Legislative Control Meeting place State Senate Chamber Texas State Capitol Austin, Texas Website Texas State Senate Another view of the Texas Senate ( 2013 ) The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single - member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per constituency, based on the 2010 U.S. Census. There are no term limits, and each term is four years long. Elections are held in even numbered years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. In elections ending in years ending in 2, all seats are up for election. Half of the senators will serve a two - year term, based on a drawing ; the other half will fill regular four - year terms. As such, in other elections, about half of the Texas Senate is on the ballot. The Senate meets at the Texas State Capitol in Austin. The Republicans currently control the chamber, which is made up of 20 Republicans and 11 Democrats, as of January 10, 2017. Contents 1 Leadership 1.1 Leaders 2 History 2.1 Quorum - busting 3 Committee structure 4 Current composition 4.1 List of members 4.2 Notable past members 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Leadership The Lieutenant Governor of Texas serves as the President of the Senate. Unlike most lieutenant governors who are constitutionally designated as presiding officers of the upper house, the Lieutenant Governor regularly exercises this function. The Lieutenant Governor 's duties include appointing chairs of committees, committee members, assigning and referring bills to specific committees, recognizing members during debate, and making procedural rulings. The Lieutenant Governor may also cast a vote should a Senate floor vote end in a tie. If the Senate votes to dissolve itself into the Committee of the Whole, in which all members are part of the Committee, the President Pro-Tempore presides over the proceedings, with the Lieutenant Governor acting as a regular voting member. Due to the various powers of committee selection and bill assignment, the Lieutenant Governor is considered one of the most powerful lieutenant governorships in the United States. Unlike other state legislatures, the Texas Senate does not include majority or minority leaders. Instead, the President Pro Tempore is considered the second most powerful position, and can be reserved to any political party in the chamber regardless if the party is a majority or not. Presidents Pro Tempore are usually the most senior members of the Senate. The President Pro Tempore presides when the Lieutenant Governor is not present or when the legislature is not in regular session. For the 82nd Legislative Session, which began in 2011, there were only two new, or freshman, senators, Brian Birdwell, a Republican from Granbury, and José R. Rodríguez, a Democrat from El Paso. For the 83rd Legislative Session, which began in 2013, there were six new senators, including Sylvia Garcia, who succeeded the late senator Mario Gallego through a special election. The five other new senators were Charles Schwertner, a Republican from Georgetown, Ken Paxton, a Republican from McKinney, Kelly Hancock, a Republican from Fort Worth, Larry Taylor, a Republican from Friendswood, and Donna Campbell, a Republican from New Braunfels. For this term of the Legislature the President of the Senate is Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. The President Pro Tempore is Republican Craig Estes of District 30 ( Wichita Falls ). Senator John Whitmire, a Democrat from Houston, is the Dean of the Senate, meaning he is the most senior member, having served since 1987. Senator Chris Harris, a Republican from Arlington, is the most senior member of his party, and the fourth most - senior overall member. New senators elected in 2014 are Bob Hall, Paul Bettencourt, Van Taylor, Don Huffines, and Konni Burton, all Republicans. Leaders Position Name Party Residence District Lieutenant Governor / President of the Senate Dan Patrick Republican Houston President Pro Tempore Juan Hinojosa Democrat McAllen 20 History Quorum - busting Further information : Texas Eleven and Twelfth Texas Legislature § Rump Senate There have been at least three cases of quorum - busting in Texas Senate history. The first case was in 1870, with the Rump Senate, followed by the 1979 killer bees and finally the Texas Eleven in August 2003, who were following the example of the Texas house Killer Ds. Committee structure The following represents the Senate committee structure for the 85th Legislature. Administration Agriculture, Water & Rural Affairs Business & Commerce Criminal Justice Education Finance Health & Human Services Higher Education Intergovernmental Relations Natural Resources & Economic Development Nominations State Affairs Transportation Veteran Affairs & Military Installations In addition, the House and Senate operate the permanent joint committee known as the Legislative Budget Board ( LBB ). Current composition Affiliation Party ( Shading indicates majority caucus ) Total Republican Democratic Vacant End of previous legislature 19 11 30 Begin 2013 19 11 30 March 3, 2013 12 31 0 Begin 2015 20 11 31 0 Begin 2017 20 11 31 0 Latest voting share 7001645000000000000 ♠ 64.5 % 7001355000000000000 ♠ 35.5 % List of members District Senator Party Residence First elected Next election County ( ies ) represented Bryan Hughes Republican Mineola 2016 2020 Bowie, Camp, Cass, Franklin, Gregg, Harrison, Lamar, Marion, Morris, Panola, Red River, Rusk, Smith, Titus, Wood, Upshur Bob Hall Republican Edgewood in Van Zandt County 2014 2018 Dallas ( part ), Delta, Fannin, Hopkins, Hunt, Kaufman, Rains, Rockwall, Van Zandt Robert Nichols Republican Jacksonville 2006 2018 Anderson, Angelina, Cherokee, Hardin, Henderson, Houston, Jasper, Liberty, Montgomery ( part ), Nacogdoches, Newton, Orange, Polk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Trinity, Tyler Brandon Creighton Republican The Woodlands 2014 † 2020 Chambers, Galveston ( part ), Harris ( part ), Jefferson, Montgomery ( part ) 5 Charles Schwertner Republican Georgetown 2012 2018 Brazos, Freestone, Grimes, Leon, Limestone, Madison, Milam, Robertson, Walker, Williamson 6 Sylvia Garcia Democratic Houston 2013 † 2020 Harris ( part ) 7 Paul Bettencourt Republican Houston 2014 2018 Harris ( part ) 8 Van Taylor Republican Plano 2014 2018 Collin ( part ), Dallas ( part ) 9 Kelly Hancock Republican Fort Worth 2012 2018 Dallas ( part ), Tarrant ( part ) 10 Konni Burton Republican Colleyville 2014 2018 Tarrant ( part ) 11 Larry Taylor Republican Friendswood 2012 2020 Brazoria ( part ), Galveston ( part ), Harris ( part ) 12 Jane Nelson Republican Flower Mound 1992 2020 Denton ( part ), Tarrant ( part ) 13 Borris Miles Democratic Houston 2016 2020 Fort Bend ( part ), Harris ( part ) 14 Kirk Watson Democratic Austin 2006 2018 Bastrop, Travis ( part ) 15 John Whitmire Democratic Houston 1982 2018 Harris ( part ) 16 Don Huffines Republican Dallas 2014 2018 Dallas ( part ) 17 Joan Huffman Republican Southside Place 2008 † 2018 Brazoria ( part ), Fort Bend ( part ), Harris ( part ) 18 Lois Kolkhorst Republican Katy 2014 2018 Aransas, Austin, Burleson, Calhoun, Colorado, DeWitt, Fayette, Fort Bend ( part ), Goliad, Gonzales, Harris ( part ), Jackson, Lee, Matagorda, Nueces ( part ), Re fugio, Victoria, Waller, Washington 19 Carlos Uresti Democratic San Antonio 2006 2020 Atascosa ( part ), Bexar ( part ), Brewster, Crockett, Dimmit, Edwards, Frio, Kinney, Maverick, Medina, Pecos, Real, Reeves, Terrell, Uvalde, Val Verde, Zavala 20 Juan Hinojosa Democratic McAllen 2002 2020 Brooks, Hidalgo ( part ), Jim Wells, Nueces ( part ) 21 Judith Zaffirini Democratic Laredo 1986 2020 Atascosa ( part ), Bexar ( part ), Bee, Caldwell, Duval, Guadalupe ( part ), Live Oak, Jim Hogg, Karnes, La Salle, McMullen, San Patricio, Starr, Travis ( part ), Uvalde, Webb, Wilson, Zapata 22 Brian Birdwell Republican Granbury 2010 † 2020 Bosque, Ellis, Falls, Hill, Hood ( part ), Frio, Johnson, McLennan, Navarro, Somervell, Tarrant ( part ) 23 Royce West Democratic Dallas 1992 2018 Dallas ( part ) 24 Dawn Buckingham Republican Horseshoe Bay 2016 2020 Bandera, Bell, Blanco, Brown, Burnet, Callahan, Comanche, Coryell, Gillespie, Hamilton, Kerr, Lampasas, Llano, Mills, San Saba, Taylor ( part ), Travis ( part ) 25 Donna Campbell Republican New Braunfels 2012 2018 Bexar ( part ), Travis ( part ), Comal, Hays, Kendall 26 Jose Menendez Democratic San Antonio 2015 † 2020 Bexar ( part ) 27 Eddie Lucio Jr. Democratic Brownsville 2020 Cameron, Hidalgo ( part ), Kenedy, Kleberg, Willacy 28 Charles Perry Republican Lubbock 2014 † 2020 Baylor, Borden, Childress, Coke, Coleman, Concho, Cottle, Crane, Crosby, Dawson, Dickens, Eastland, Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Garza, Hale, Hardeman, Haskell, Hockley, Irion, Jones, Kent, Kimble, King, Knox, Lamb, Lubbock, Lynn, Mason, McColluch, Menard, Mitchell, Montague, Motley, Nolan, Reagan, Runnels, Sleicher, Scurry, Shackelford, Stephens, Sterling, Stonewall, Sutton, Terry, Throckmorton, Tom Green, Upton, Ward, Wheeler, Wilbarger, Young 29 José R. Rodríguez Democratic El Paso 2020 Culberson, El Paso, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Presidio 30 Craig Estes Republican Wichita Falls 2000 2020 Archer, Clay, Collin ( part ), Cooke, Denton ( part ), Erath, Grayson, Jack, Montague, Palo Pinto, Parker, Wichita, Wise, Young 31 Kel Seliger Republican Amarillo 2004 † 2018 Andrews, Armstrong, Bailey, Briscoe, Carson, Castro, Cochran, Collingsworth, Coke, Coleman, Dallam, Deaf Smith, Donley, Ector, Gaines, Glasscock, Gray, Hall, Hartley, Hemphill, Hansford, Howard, Hutchinson, Jones, Lipscomb, Loving, Lynn, Martin, Midland, Moore, Motley, Ochiltree, Oldham, Parmer, Potter, Randall, Roberts, Sherman, Swisher, Wheeler, Winkler, Yoakum † Elected in a special election Notable past members Edward Clark, Lieutenant Governor of Texas ( 1859 -- 1861 ), Governor of Texas ( 1861 ). Wayne Connally, Senator from Wilson County ( 1967 -- 1973 ), brother of Governor John Connally. Lloyd Doggett, Texas Supreme Court Justice ( 1989 -- 1994 ), U.S. House of Representatives ( 1995 -- present ). Robert L. Duncan, State Senator from Lubbock, 1996 - 2014 ; Chancellor of the Texas Tech University System since 2014 Chet Edwards, U.S. House of Representatives ( 1991 -- 2011 ). James W. Flanagan, U.S. Senate ( 1870 -- 1875 ). Glenn Hegar, current Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts ( 2015 - present ). John Ireland, Texas Supreme Court Justice ( 1876 ), Governor of Texas ( 1883 -- 1887 ). Eddie Bernice Johnson, U.S. House of Representatives ( 1993 -- present ). Rienzi Melville Johnston, U.S. Senate ( 1913 ). Barbara Jordan, U.S. House of Representatives ( 1973 -- 1979 ). Earle Bradford Mayfield, U.S. Senate ( 1923 -- 1929 ). William Neff `` Bill '' Patman, Senator from Jackson County ( 1961 -- 1981 ), U.S. House of Representatives ( 1981 -- 1985 ). Dan Patrick, current Lieutenant Governor of Texas ( 2015 - present ). Jerry E. Patterson, Commissioner of the Texas General Land Office ( 2003 - 2015 ). Ken Paxton, current Attorney General of Texas ( 2015 - present ). Lawrence Sullivan Ross, Governor of Texas, ( 1887 -- 1891 ). Joseph D. Sayers, Lieutenant Governor of Texas ( 1879 -- 1881 ), U.S. House of Representatives ( 1885 -- 1899 ), Governor of Texas ( 1899 -- 1903 ). Allan Shivers, Lieutenant Governor of Texas ( 1946 -- 1949 ), Governor of Texas ( 1949 -- 1957 ). Preston Smith, Governor of Texas ( 1969 -- 1973 ). Frank Tejeda, U.S. House of Representatives ( 1993 -- 1997 ). James W. Throckmorton, Governor of Texas ( 1866 -- 1867 ), U.S. House of Representatives ( 1875 -- 1879, 1883 -- 1887 ). Carlos Truan, Senator from Corpus Christi from 1977 to 2003 ; author of Texas Bilingual Education Act. Jim Turner, U.S. House of Representatives ( 1997 -- 2005 ). Matthias Ward, U.S. Senate ( 1858 -- 1859 ). Ferdinand C. Weinert, Texas House and Texas Senate ( 1893 -- 1935 ), Texas Secretary of State ( 1913 ). Louis Wigfall, U.S. Senate ( 1859 -- 1861 ). Charles Wilson, U.S. House of Representatives ( 1973 -- 1997 ). See also Texas portal Politics portal Texas Legislature Texas House of Representatives List of Presidents pro tempore of the Texas Senate Texas Government Newsletter Voting History of the Texas Legislature. References Jump up ^ Fikac, Peggy, August 21, 2003, Senators ' 1870 walkout also drew GOP 's wrath Reconstruction - era tiff led to arrests and one expulsion, San Antonio Express - News Jump up ^ Democrat Mario Gallegos, Jr. ( District 6 ) died October 16 and was reelected posthumously. Jump up ^ Democrat Sylvia Garcia elected to succeed Gallegos External links Official Texas Senate website Members of the Texas Senate 85th Texas Legislature ( 2017 ) President of the Senate : Dan Patrick ( R ) President Pro Tempore : Kel Seliger Bryan Hughes ( R ) Bob Hall ( R ) Robert Nichols ( R ) Brandon Creighton ( R ) Charles Schwertner ( R ) Sylvia Garcia ( D ) Paul Bettencourt ( R ) Van Taylor ( R ) Kelly Hancock ( R ) Konni Burton ( R ) Larry Taylor ( R ) Jane Nelson ( R ) Borris Miles ( D ) Kirk Watson ( D ) John Whitmire ( D ) Don Huffines ( R ) Joan Huffman ( R ) Lois Kolkhorst ( R ) Carlos Uresti ( D ) Juan Hinojosa ( D ) Judith Zaffirini ( D ) Brian Birdwell ( R ) Royce West ( D ) Dawn Buckingham ( R ) Donna Campbell ( R ) Jose Menendez ( D ) Eddie Lucio Jr. ( D ) Charles Perry ( R ) José R. 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Question: who serves as the president of the senate in the texas legislature
Answer: Lieutenant Governor