The Texas Legislative Reference Library is a free online tool that helps regular Texans understand how state government works. Created in 1969, it keeps official records of every bill, vote, and hearing in the Texas Legislature since 1907. You can use it to track bills on issues you care about, research how laws were made, and find your state representatives.
The library offers several key tools: bill search to find legislation by keyword or author, legislative archives with historical documents, newspaper coverage of bills, actual text of passed laws, and records of committee hearings. The Texas Legislature meets every two years for 140 days starting in January. Bills go through a process of filing, committee review, floor votes in both chambers, and governor approval before becoming law.
Most bills die in committee, so understanding this process helps you focus your advocacy efforts. The library makes it easy to follow bills from start to finish and contact your legislators about issues that matter to you.