• Governor Ann Richards testified on March 3, 1991, before the House Insurance Committee in favor of an insurance bill (HB 2, 72R) that later passed. During a special session, she testified on July 16, 1991, before the Senate State Affairs Committee for a government reorganization bill (SB 7, 72nd 1st C.S.) that did not pass. Typescripts of her prepared testimonials are available for both bills—with a caveat noted on her testimony for SB 7 that "Governor Richards frequently deviates from prepared remarks."
• Governor George W. Bush testified on the need for tort reform at the 74th Legislature's Senate Committee on Economic Development meeting on February 2, 1995. (Search within the document to find his name on witness lists for bills SB 25, SB 28, and SB 32, all of which passed.) We do not have his testimony transcripts.
• Governor Rick Perry also "frequently departs from prepared remarks," according to the May 20, 2004, testimony published for his remarks to the House Select Committee on Public School Finance for the 78th Legislature.

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• Musician Willie Nelson was the second individual to testify at the House Committee on Government Organization public hearing on April 4, 1989. Nelson spoke in favor of SB 489, 71R, a sunset bill that provided for the continuation of the Department of Agriculture. Noted in the minutes: "Chair recognized Willie Nelson of Austin, Texas, representing himself, as well as rabbits and horned toads." Congresswoman Barbara Jordan "of Austin, Texas, representing herself"—the Texas Legislature's own past Sen. Jordan—testified immediately following Nelson.
• On March 11, 2009, the 81st Legislature's House Committee on Appropriations heard from Linda Gray and Larry Hagman, actors of Dallas fame, regarding film incentive funding.
• Sometimes you have to know your Texas history—and possible name misspellings—to spot the notable figure mention. In the 39th Legislature (1925), the House Committee to Investigate Certain State Departments was charged with, among other items, investigating "the administration of highway affairs by the State Highway Commission." Former Rep. Sam Johnson, at the time a section foreman with the Highway Commission, testified before the committee, and he talks about his son, "Linden Johnson," who was driving tractors and helping Sam with payroll. "Lyndon" is the correct spelling of Rep. Johnson's son's name—as in future U.S. president Lyndon Baines Johnson! 

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• View committee meeting information, both for today (with agendas) and past (with agendas, witness lists, and/or minutes).
• View committee member lists for standing committees and committee lists by session, from the 1st Legislature to present.
• Search for committees by member name or committee member name.
• Explore interim reports and other legislative reports published by legislative committees, back to the 1st legislative session.
• Search for legislative committee minutes and related documents for the 63rd-77th Legislatures. (Minutes from the 78th-85th Legislatures can also be searched here; they are available through Texas Legislature Online.)
• Review standing committee appointment lists sorted by committee back to 1991.

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Scanned committee minutes have been linked to bills in the Legislative Archive System (LAS) for the 63rd–77th Legislatures (1973–2001).

 

If we have committee minutes for a bill in that time period, there will be a "Committee information" tab in the bill's LAS record, and you can see links to committee minutes at the bottom of the History tab view.

 

Linking bills to scanned minutes from the 62nd Legislature and prior is underway. You also can search minutes by committee name, chamber, and session. More recent committee minutes can be accessed via the Committees tab on Texas Legislature Online.

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House and Senate committee minutes are a valuable resource for understanding the work that goes into crafting legislation. House standing committee minutes in the Legislative Reference Library collection from before 1973 have been scanned and are available in the LRL's committee minutes database. 

 

Scanned minutes, particularly from earlier sessions, may also include other committee documentation, including agendas, exhibits, hearing notices, press releases, rules, testimony, transcripts, and vote sheets. For example:

• The 42nd Legislature's House Committee on State Affairs minutes from 1931, which are the earliest House minutes we have scanned. They are pasted in a composition book, complete with attendance record and subcommittee rosters.
• A 1971 brief of opposition submitted by the Kingsville Chamber of Commerce, to the House Committee on Higher Education and the Senate Committee on State Affairs, regarding a proposed University of South Texas.
• Testimony, transcripts, and exhibits presented regarding investigations on alleged improper lobbying for "right to work" legislation (1945), the state prison system (1943), the State Department of Public Welfare (1943), and much more.
• The House Committee on State Affairs' discussion of Daylight Savings Time, per HB 275, 60R. 

The LRL database also allows users access to committee documents from House, Senate, and Joint committees, 63rd–77th Legislatures (1973–2001), as well as to search for minutes from the 78th–85th Legislatures that are available through Texas Legislature Online.

 

The digitization of the Senate standing committee minutes prior to 1973 is in process.

 

Image: On April 9, 1969, several leaders from the Baylor College of Medicine, including Dr. Michael E. DeBakey, testified before the House and Senate's respective State Affairs committees, offering possible solutions for the state's physician shortage.

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Committee minutes of the 77th Legislature (House, Senate, and Joint, 2001–2002) have been scanned and are available in the LRL's committee minutes database. Our database now contains scanned minutes for the 63rd–77th Legislatures (1973–2001).

In addition to the information typically included in minutes, a variety of interesting supplemental resources, reports, maps, and transcripts are available. (Some of these PDFs include bookmarks to enhance navigation.) For example:

• The October 28, 1977 minutes for the House Committee on Natural Resources’ Subcommittee on the Texas Water Plan, 65th Legislature, include maps documenting the state of water resources at the time and projections for the future. (Large file may take a while to load.)
• At the January 23, 1979 meeting of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources, 63rd Legislature, attendees seem to have heard a “Poem about Pollution,” which is included on the last page of the minutes document.
• The 70th Legislature’s Joint Special Task Force on Rural Health Care Delivery documentation includes Rural Health Care '89, an excellent summary of the legislative package in the 71st Legislature, including the Omnibus Health Care Rescue Act, Medicaid enhancement, creation of the Outstanding Rural Scholar Recognition Program for rural students to pursue education in a health-related field, and hospital districts. (The report is also linked in the Legislative Archive System for the bills discussed, such as HB 1345, 71st R.S.)
• The House Committee on Redistricting, 77th Legislature, produced and reviewed many special supporting documents and color redistricting maps.
• The majority of meetings do not have transcriptions, but for the Senate Interim Committee on Economic Development, 75th Legislature, you can click on the dates to access minutes, witness lists, and transcripts for all of its meetings.

The LRL database also allows users to search for committee documents from the 78th–85th Legislatures that are available through Texas Legislature Online.

The committee minutes database will continue to grow as we scan older minutes before 1973 in our collection.

Images, left to right: 

The Joint Blue Ribbon Task Force on the Uninsured held meetings in various Texas cities, such as this one in Harlingen, as they examined the problem of Texans who lack health insurance.

If you’re interested in contested elections, you can use the committee search (http://www.lrl.texas.gov/committees/cmteSearch.cfm) to find election committee records. Election contests usually fall to a select/special committee, like the Special House Committee on Privileges and Elections, 66th R.S., that reviewed the contest between Kae Patrick and Donald Cartwright for the election of a representative from District 57H.

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