13-05-2025
TxLege data: How long do sessions last and how many bills are typically passed?
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AUSTIN (KXAN) — Each legislative session, thousands of bills are filed by state lawmakers, but how many actually become law? And how long does each session typically last?
KXAN dug through the legislative archives to find out.
As seen in the chart below, the number of bills filed each legislative session has grown tremendously.
In the 27th, 28th and 29th sessions, in the early 1900s, fewer than 1,000 House and Senate bills were filed by state lawmakers. That compares to the more than 8,700 filed so far in the current Legislative session. As of May 13, a total of 5,644 House bills and 3,072 Senate bills have be filed by the current legislature.
Of course, not every bill is passed. In the 88th Legislative Session, in 2023, a total of 8,616 bills were filed by state lawmakers in the regular session and four subsequent special sessions. Of those, 1,252 were passed, about 14.5% of all bills filed. Gov. Abbott vetoed 76 bills, according to online legislative statistics.
When averaging the last 10 full sessions, lawmakers typically file about 6,890 bills, of which roughly 1,350 are passed — about 19.6% of the total. This session, lawmakers have passed 165 bills as of May 13, about 1.9% of the total.
The legislature meets every two years, in odd-numbered years. Since the 1960s, regular sessions have lasted for 140 days. Before then, they ranged from as short as 45 days in 1863 to 177 days in 1949.
By state law, special sessions can last a maximum of 30 days, but the governor has the power to call as many special sessions as they want.
The record came in the 71st Legislative Session, in 1989 and 1990. Gov. Bill Clements called a total of six special sessions. Since the first legislative session in 1846, there have been an average of 1.5 special sessions for each legislature.
The 12th Legislative Session was the longest in state history, at 353 days in total. That session included a 17-day 'provisional' session in February 1870, so Texas could ratify the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Just because a bill passes both the House and Senate, doesn't mean it will become law. The governor has the power to veto bills. An average of 28 bills are vetoed each legislative cycle.
The 12th Legislature, in 1870-71, saw the most vetoes in state history. Gov. Edmund J. Davis vetoed a total of 123 bills, 83 of which were in special sessions.
When only looking at regular sessions, a record 83 bills were vetoed by Rick Perry in the 77th Legislature, in 2001. Gov. Greg Abbott's 76 vetoes in the most recent regular session ranks second.
The two Republicans also rank first and second when it comes to total vetoes during their time in office. Rick Perry vetoed almost 300 bills between 2001 and 2013. Abbott has vetoed almost 250 as of May 12, 2025.
William P. Clements, Edmund J. Davis and Daniel J. Moody, Jr. are the only other governors to have vetoed more than 100 bills while in office.
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