Special Sessions of the Texas Legislature
After the end of a regular session and before the start of the next regular session, the Governor may call a special session to cover specific topics. Special sessions can last no longer than 30 days and are limited to the topics designated by the Governor (Texas Constitution Article 3, Section 40). For more information, see the FAQ on special sessions.
List of special sessions and years
| Session | Days | Governor | Dates | Session topics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88th 1st C.S. | 30 | Greg Abbott | May 29, 2023–Jun 27, 2023 |
2 topics Proclamations |
| 88th 2nd C.S. | 17 | Greg Abbott | Jun 27, 2023–Jul 13, 2023 |
4 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 88th 3rd C.S. | 30 | Greg Abbott | Oct 9, 2023–Nov 7, 2023 |
10 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 88th 4th C.S. | 29 | Greg Abbott | Nov 7, 2023–Dec 5, 2023 |
4 topics Proclamations |
| 87th 1st C.S. | 30 | Greg Abbott | Jul 8, 2021–Aug 6, 2021 |
11 topics Proclamations |
| 87th 2nd C.S. | 27 | Greg Abbott | Aug 7, 2021–Sep 2, 2021 |
18 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 87th 3rd C.S. | 30 | Greg Abbott | Sep 20, 2021–Oct 19, 2021 |
10 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 85th 1st C.S. | 29 | Greg Abbott | Jul 18, 2017–Aug 15, 2017 |
21 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 83rd 1st C.S. | 30 | Rick Perry | May 27, 2013–Jun 25, 2013 |
4 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 83rd 2nd C.S. | 30 | Rick Perry | Jul 1, 2013–Jul 30, 2013 |
3 topics Proclamations |
| 83rd 3rd C.S. | 7 | Rick Perry | Jul 30, 2013–Aug 5, 2013 |
1 topic Proclamations |
| 82nd 1st C.S. | 30 | Rick Perry | May 31, 2011–Jun 29, 2011 |
6 topics Proclamations |
| 81st 1st C.S. | 2 | Rick Perry | Jul 1, 2009–Jul 2, 2009 |
3 topics Proclamations |
| 79th 1st C.S. | 30 | Rick Perry | Jun 21, 2005–Jul 20, 2005 |
22 topics Proclamations |
| 79th 2nd C.S. | 30 | Rick Perry | Jul 21, 2005–Aug 19, 2005 |
21 topics Proclamations |
| 79th 3rd C.S. | 30 | Rick Perry | Apr 17, 2006–May 16, 2006 |
12 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 78th 1st C.S. | 29 | Rick Perry | Jun 30, 2003–Jul 28, 2003 |
30 topics Proclamations |
| 78th 2nd C.S. | 30 | Rick Perry | Jul 28, 2003–Aug 26, 2003 |
5 topics Proclamations |
| 78th 3rd C.S. | 28 | Rick Perry | Sep 15, 2003–Oct 12, 2003 |
14 topics Proclamations |
| 78th 4th C.S. | 28 | Rick Perry | Apr 20, 2004–May 17, 2004 |
14 topics Proclamations |
| 72nd 1st C.S. | 30 | Ann W. Richards | Jul 15, 1991–Aug 13, 1991 |
10 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 72nd 2nd C.S. | 7 | Ann W. Richards | Aug 19, 1991–Aug 25, 1991 |
13 topics Proclamations |
| 72nd 3rd C.S. | 7 | Ann W. Richards | Jan 2, 1992–Jan 8, 1992 |
3 topics Proclamations |
| 72nd 4th C.S. | 24 | Ann W. Richards | Nov 10, 1992–Dec 3, 1992 |
1 topic Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 71st 1st C.S. | 30 | William P. Clements | Jun 20, 1989–Jul 19, 1989 |
59 topics Proclamations |
| 71st 2nd C.S. | 29 | William P. Clements | Nov 14, 1989–Dec 12, 1989 |
1 topic Proclamations |
| 71st 3rd C.S. | 30 | William P. Clements | Feb 27, 1990–Mar 28, 1990 |
2 topics Proclamations |
| 71st 4th C.S. | 30 | William P. Clements | Apr 2, 1990–May 1, 1990 |
3 topics Proclamations |
| 71st 5th C.S. | 29 | William P. Clements | May 2, 1990–May 30, 1990 |
3 topics Proclamations |
| 71st 6th C.S. | 4 | William P. Clements | Jun 4, 1990–Jun 7, 1990 |
37 topics Proclamations |
| 70th 1st C.S. | 2 | William P. Clements | Jun 2, 1987–Jun 3, 1987 |
4 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 70th 2nd C.S. | 30 | William P. Clements | Jun 22, 1987–Jul 21, 1987 |
72 topics Proclamations |
| 69th 1st C.S. | 3 | Mark W. White, Jr. | May 28, 1985–May 30, 1985 |
3 topics Proclamations |
| 69th 2nd C.S. | 30 | Mark W. White, Jr. | Aug 6, 1986–Sep 4, 1986 |
19 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 69th 3rd C.S. | 23 | Mark W. White, Jr. | Sep 8, 1986–Sep 30, 1986 |
21 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 68th 1st C.S. | 4 | Mark W. White, Jr. | Jun 22, 1983–Jun 25, 1983 |
11 topics Proclamations |
| 68th 2nd C.S. | 30 | Mark W. White, Jr. | Jun 4, 1984–Jul 3, 1984 |
31 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 67th 1st C.S. | 30 | William P. Clements | Jul 13, 1981–Aug 11, 1981 |
20 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 67th 2nd C.S. | 5 | William P. Clements | May 24, 1982–May 28, 1982 |
7 topics Proclamations |
| 67th 3rd C.S. | 3 | William P. Clements | Sep 7, 1982–Sep 9, 1982 |
2 topics Proclamations |
| 65th 1st C.S. | 11 | Dolph Briscoe | Jul 11, 1977–Jul 21, 1977 |
5 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 65th 2nd C.S. | 30 | Dolph Briscoe | Jul 10, 1978–Aug 8, 1978 |
18 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 63rd 1st C.S. | 3 | Dolph Briscoe | Dec 18, 1973–Dec 20, 1973 |
1 topic Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 62nd 1st C.S. | 4 | Preston Smith | Jun 1, 1971–Jun 4, 1971 |
10 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 62nd 2nd C.S. | 3 | Preston Smith | Mar 28, 1972–Mar 30, 1972 |
2 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 62nd 3rd C.S. | 24 | Preston Smith | Jun 14, 1972–Jul 7, 1972 |
1 topic Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 62nd 4th C.S. | 30 | Preston Smith | Sep 18, 1972–Oct 17, 1972 |
30 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 61st 1st C.S. | 30 | Preston Smith | Jul 28, 1969–Aug 26, 1969 |
2 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 61st 2nd C.S. | 14 | Preston Smith | Aug 27, 1969–Sep 9, 1969 |
12 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 60th 1st C.S. | 30 | John B. Connally, Jr. | Jun 4, 1968–Jul 3, 1968 |
3 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 59th 1st C.S. | 10 | John B. Connally, Jr. | Feb 14, 1966–Feb 23, 1966 |
1 topic Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 57th 1st C.S. | 30 | Price Daniel, Sr. | Jul 10, 1961–Aug 8, 1961 |
24 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 57th 2nd C.S. | 5 | Price Daniel, Sr. | Aug 10, 1961–Aug 14, 1961 |
2 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 57th 3rd C.S. | 30 | Price Daniel, Sr. | Jan 3, 1962–Feb 1, 1962 |
39 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 56th 1st C.S. | 30 | Price Daniel, Sr. | May 18, 1959–Jun 16, 1959 |
11 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 56th 2nd C.S. | 30 | Price Daniel, Sr. | Jun 17, 1959–Jul 16, 1959 |
13 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 56th 3rd C.S. | 21 | Price Daniel, Sr. | Jul 17, 1959–Aug 6, 1959 |
3 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 55th 1st C.S. | 30 | Price Daniel, Sr. | Oct 14, 1957–Nov 12, 1957 |
56 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 55th 2nd C.S. | 21 | Price Daniel, Sr. | Nov 13, 1957–Dec 3, 1957 |
3 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 53rd 1st C.S. | 30 | Robert Allan Shivers | Mar 15, 1954–Apr 13, 1954 |
23 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 51st 1st C.S. | 30 | Robert Allan Shivers | Jan 31, 1950–Mar 1, 1950 |
39 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 47th 1st C.S. | 11 | Coke R. Stevenson | Sep 9, 1941–Sep 19, 1941 |
1 topic Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 45th 1st C.S. | 30 | James V Allred | May 27, 1937–Jun 25, 1937 |
29 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 45th 2nd C.S. | 30 | James V Allred | Sep 27, 1937–Oct 26, 1937 |
3 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 44th 1st C.S. | 30 | James V Allred | Sep 16, 1935–Oct 15, 1935 |
34 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 44th 2nd C.S. | 30 | James V Allred | Oct 16, 1935–Nov 14, 1935 |
31 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 44th 3rd C.S. | 30 | James V Allred | Sep 28, 1936–Oct 27, 1936 |
3 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 43rd 1st C.S. | 30 | Miriam Ferguson | Sep 14, 1933–Oct 13, 1933 |
153 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 43rd 2nd C.S. | 30 | Miriam Ferguson | Jan 29, 1934–Feb 27, 1934 |
116 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 43rd 3rd C.S. | 30 | Miriam Ferguson | Aug 27, 1934–Sep 25, 1934 |
59 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 43rd 4th C.S. | 30 | Miriam Ferguson | Oct 12, 1934–Nov 10, 1934 |
9 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 42nd 1st C.S. | 30 | Ross S. Sterling | Jul 14, 1931–Aug 12, 1931 |
31 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 42nd 2nd C.S. | 26 | Ross S. Sterling | Sep 8, 1931–Oct 3, 1931 |
28 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 42nd 3rd C.S. | 23 | Ross S. Sterling | Aug 30, 1932–Sep 21, 1932 |
23 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 42nd 4th C.S. | 10 | Ross S. Sterling | Nov 3, 1932–Nov 12, 1932 |
2 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 41st 1st C.S. | 30 | Daniel J. Moody, Jr. | Apr 22, 1929–May 21, 1929 |
58 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 41st 2nd C.S. | 30 | Daniel J. Moody, Jr. | Jun 3, 1929–Jul 2, 1929 |
40 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 41st 3rd C.S. | 18 | Daniel J. Moody, Jr. | Jul 3, 1929–Jul 20, 1929 |
14 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 41st 4th C.S. | 30 | Daniel J. Moody, Jr. | Jan 20, 1930–Feb 18, 1930 |
13 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 41st 5th C.S. | 30 | Daniel J. Moody, Jr. | Feb 19, 1930–Mar 20, 1930 |
51 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 40th 1st C.S. | 30 | Daniel J. Moody, Jr. | May 9, 1927–Jun 7, 1927 |
78 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 39th 1st C.S. | 26 | Miriam Ferguson | Sep 13, 1926–Oct 8, 1926 |
125 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 38th 1st C.S. | 1 | Pat M. Neff | Mar 15, 1923–Mar 15, 1923 |
4 topics Proclamations |
| 38th 2nd C.S. | 30 | Pat M. Neff | Apr 16, 1923–May 15, 1923 |
58 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 38th 3rd C.S. | 30 | Pat M. Neff | May 16, 1923–Jun 14, 1923 |
16 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 37th 1st C.S. | 30 | Pat M. Neff | Jul 18, 1921–Aug 16, 1921 |
134 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 37th 2nd C.S. | 9 | Pat M. Neff | Aug 17, 1921–Aug 25, 1921 |
3 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 36th 1st C.S. | 5 | William P. Hobby | May 5, 1919–May 9, 1919 |
3 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 36th 2nd C.S. | 30 | William P. Hobby | Jun 23, 1919–Jul 22, 1919 |
253 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 36th 3rd C.S. | 30 | William P. Hobby | May 20, 1920–Jun 18, 1920 |
204 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 36th 4th C.S. | 12 | William P. Hobby | Sep 21, 1920–Oct 2, 1920 |
30 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 35th 1st C.S. | 30 | James E. Ferguson | Apr 18, 1917–May 17, 1917 |
96 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 35th 2nd C.S. | 59 | James E. Ferguson | Aug 1, 1917–Aug 30, 1917 |
24 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 35th 3rd C.S. | 30 | William P. Hobby | Aug 31, 1917–Sep 29, 1917 |
71 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 35th 4th C.S. | 30 | William P. Hobby | Feb 26, 1918–Mar 27, 1918 |
172 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 34th 1st C.S. | 30 | James E. Ferguson | Apr 29, 1915–May 28, 1915 |
77 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 33rd 1st C.S. | 30 | Oscar Branch Colquitt | Jul 21, 1913–Aug 19, 1913 |
50 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 33rd 2nd C.S. | 30 | Oscar Branch Colquitt | Aug 24, 1914–Sep 22, 1914 |
8 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 33rd 3rd C.S. | 30 | Oscar Branch Colquitt | Sep 23, 1914–Oct 22, 1914 |
7 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 32nd 1st C.S. | 30 | Oscar Branch Colquitt | Jul 31, 1911–Aug 29, 1911 |
86 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 31st 1st C.S. | 30 | Thomas Mitchell Campbell | Mar 13, 1909–Apr 11, 1909 |
27 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 31st 2nd C.S. | 30 | Thomas Mitchell Campbell | Apr 12, 1909–May 11, 1909 |
38 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 31st 3rd C.S. | 30 | Thomas Mitchell Campbell | Jul 19, 1910–Aug 17, 1910 |
27 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 31st 4th C.S. | 24 | Thomas Mitchell Campbell | Aug 18, 1910–Sep 10, 1910 |
7 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 30th 1st C.S. | 30 | Thomas Mitchell Campbell | Apr 12, 1907–May 11, 1907 |
31 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 29th 1st C.S. | 30 | S.W.T. Lanham | Apr 15, 1905–May 14, 1905 |
12 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 29th 2nd C.S. | 9 | S.W.T. Lanham | Mar 26, 1906–Apr 3, 1906 |
1 topic Proclamations |
| 28th 1st C.S. | 30 | S.W.T. Lanham | Apr 2, 1903–May 1, 1903 |
15 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 27th 1st C.S. | 30 | Joseph D. Sayers | Aug 6, 1901–Sep 4, 1901 |
27 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 27th 2nd C.S. | 27 | Joseph D. Sayers | Sep 5, 1901–Oct 1, 1901 |
4 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 26th 1st C.S. | 30 | Joseph D. Sayers | Jan 23, 1900–Feb 21, 1900 |
22 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 25th 1st C.S. | 30 | Charles A. Culberson | May 22, 1897–Jun 20, 1897 |
14 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 24th 1st C.S. | 7 | Charles A. Culberson | Oct 1, 1895–Oct 7, 1895 |
5 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 22nd 1st C.S. | 30 | James Stephen Hogg | Mar 14, 1892–Apr 12, 1892 |
16 topics Proclamations |
| 20th 1st C.S. | 30 | Lawrence Sullivan Ross | Apr 16, 1888–May 15, 1888 |
7 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 18th 1st C.S. | 30 | John Ireland | Jan 8, 1884–Feb 6, 1884 |
14 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 17th 1st C.S. | 30 | Oran M. Roberts | Apr 6, 1882–May 5, 1882 |
31 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 16th 1st C.S. | 30 | Oran M. Roberts | Jun 10, 1879–Jul 9, 1879 |
91 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 14th 2nd R.S. | 63 | Richard Coke | Jan 12, 1875–Mar 15, 1875 |
56 topics Supp. Mat. |
| 12th Provisional | 17 | Edmund J. Davis | Feb 8, 1870–Feb 24, 1870 |
3 topics Supp. Mat. |
| 12th 1st C.S. | 112 | Edmund J. Davis | Apr 26, 1870–Aug 15, 1870 |
36 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 12th Adjourned | 82 | Edmund J. Davis | Sep 12, 1871–Dec 2, 1871 |
5 topics Supp. Mat. |
| 10th 1st C.S. | 20 | Pendleton Murrah | May 9, 1864–May 28, 1864 | |
| 10th 2nd C.S. | 30 | Pendleton Murrah | Oct 17, 1864–Nov 15, 1864 |
5 topics Proclamations Supp. Mat. |
| 9th 1st C.S. | 34 | Francis R. Lubbock | Feb 2, 1863–Mar 7, 1863 |
21 topics Supp. Mat. |
| 8th 1st C.S. | 20 | Sam Houston | Jan 21, 1861–Feb 9, 1861 | |
| 8th Adjourned | 23 | Edward Clark | Mar 18, 1861–Apr 9, 1861 | |
| 6th Adjourned | 57 | Elisha M. Pease | Jul 7, 1856–Sep 1, 1856 | |
| 4th 1st C.S. | 29 | Peter Hansbrough Bell | Jan 10, 1853–Feb 7, 1853 | |
| 3rd 1st C.S. | 26 | Peter Hansbrough Bell | Aug 12, 1850–Sep 6, 1850 | |
| 3rd 2nd C.S. | 16 | Peter Hansbrough Bell | Nov 18, 1850–Dec 3, 1850 |