In Texas, the Rules and Precedents of the Texas House (Rule 8, Section 7) and Senate Rules (Rule 7.04) allow legislators to prefile bills "beginning the first Monday after the general election preceding the next regular legislative session."
Prefiling for the 83rd Texas Legislature began on Monday, November 12, the first Monday after the general election on November 6. Following are the number of prefiled bills and joint resolutions as of Monday, January 7:
83R Prefiled Bills and Joint Resolutions
(11/12/12–1/7/13)
HB/HJR 385
SB/SJR 149
Total 534
How do these numbers compare to previous sessions? Following are the number of bills and joint resolution prefiled during the last two regular sessions:
82R Prefiled Bills and Joint Resolutions
(11/8/10–1/10/11)
HB/HJR 575
SB/SJR 312
Total 887
81R Prefiled Bills and Joint Resolutions
(11/10/08–1/12/09)
HB/HJR 603
SB/SJR 455
Total 1,058
The total number of bills and joint resolutions prefiled for the 83rd regular session is 60.2% of those prefiled during the 82nd regular session, and 50.5% of those prefiled during the 81st regular session.
