Legislative committees serve as gatekeepers of the legislative process, deciding which bills advance toward the floor and which die in committee. This data examines how efficiently each committee in the Texas House and Senate operated during the 89th Legislative Session, using a simple formula: Efficiency = Bills Voted Out ÷ Bills Referred
What is Committee Efficiency and Why Does it Matter?
Committees serve as filters, deciding which bills move forward and which quietly die. While not the only measure of productivity, efficiency helps gauge how well a committee processes its workload. High efficiency may indicate tight procedural control and prioritization, while low efficiency can signal bottlenecks, internal conflict, or policy overload.
Key Takeaways & Analysis
Senate Committees Are More Efficient Than House Committees
This gap in efficiency reflects fundamental structural differences between the chambers. The Senate has fewer members, longer terms (4 years vs. 2 years), and a more hierarchical leadership model dominated by the Lieutenant Governor. Bills are more likely to be pre-cleared before referral, and committee chairs often operate with clearer marching orders. In contrast, the House has a more distributed power structure, with the Speaker delegating considerable discretion to committee chairs, resulting in more variance in how aggressively bills are processed. The House is also where most legislation originates, creating a larger base of bills competing for limited bandwidth.
This trend reinforces the perception that the Senate functions as the Legislature’s “upper chamber” not just in formality, but also in procedural efficiency. It’s often where leadership priorities move swiftly while the House wrestles with volume, ideology, and internal factions.
Senate Committee Average Efficiency: 48%
House Committee Average Efficiency: 40%
Committee Efficiency Varies Wildly
This variance points to two critical realities. First, not all committees are designed to advance legislation at the same pace or volume—some (like Redistricting) are only activated for very specific circumstances and may hold jurisdiction more for institutional purposes than active policymaking. Second, this variance exposes how much committee operations are shaped by their chairs. An assertive chair with buy-in from leadership can shepherd bills efficiently; a disengaged or cautious chair can slow the process to a crawl.
Efficiency isn’t always about productivity; it often reveals purpose. High-efficiency committees tend to handle routine, consensus, or priority legislation. Low-efficiency committees may be stuck in ideological crossfire or act as policy gatekeepers.
High Volume Does Not Equal High Output
Large committees like these often serve as catch-alls for high-interest topics (criminal justice, business regulation, insurance, etc.). Many bills are filed to appease constituents, industry groups, or as political markers, but not all are intended to pass. The result is a high degree of triage. Efficiency in these committees isn’t about volume, but about managing that volume thoughtfully.
Many bills referred to these committees are dead on arrival due to cost, legal risk, or leadership opposition. The chair’s role becomes one of filtration, not facilitation. These committees also become sites for negotiations, where bills are rewritten, absorbed into omnibus packages, or used as leverage. Efficiency may look modest, but actual influence is high.
Political Makeup Has Little Impact on Output
Across both chambers, many committees had similar or identical partisan breakdowns—yet wildly different results. For example:
- House Higher Education (6R–5D): 102/224 = 46%
- House Elections (5R–4D): 76/263 = 29%
This suggests partisan breakdown alone doesn’t dictate committee behavior. Instead, efficiency is more often a product of:
- Chairman leadership style
- Bill complexity
- Policy controversy
- Degree of procedural gatekeeping
For example. House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence (6R–5D, chaired by Jeff Leach) had 59% efficiency—nearly double that of Public Education (9R–6D, chaired by Brad Buckley) despite a tighter partisan split. The difference? Judiciary dealt more with legal mechanics and torts, while Education addressed highly charged topics like education savings accounts, curriculum, and parental rights.
Key Policy Areas Lagged in the House
Committees overseeing major policy areas such as Public Education (18%), Public Health (34%), and Appropriations (19%) ranked among the least efficient in the House.
These three committees manage politically sensitive, high-dollar, and high-impact legislation. The lower efficiency isn’t necessarily a sign of dysfunction. It may reflect the volume of placeholder or aspirational bills filed. It also reveals how committee chairs exercise discretion in advancing only leadership-approved or thoroughly negotiated bills.
The House Public Education Committee saw 693 bills referred, but only 124 moved forward, reflecting intense battles over school choice, curriculum control, and funding. Many of these bills were “dead on referral” due to leadership caution or political fragility in swing districts.
Low efficiency in these areas suggests that policymaking is often handled through substitute bills, budget riders, or behind-the-scenes negotiations rather than through the standard legislative track. It also signals which issues are politically radioactive.
Most Efficient Committees by Chamber
Texas House of Representatives (Top 3):
- Licensing & Administrative Procedures: 60%
- Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence: 59%
- Culture, Recreation & Tourism: 56%
Texas Senate (Top 3):
- Administration: 88%
- Water, Agriculture & Rural Affairs: 57%
- Local Government: 51%
Texas House of Representatives
| Committee | Chairman | Partisan Split | Bills Referred | Bills Voted Out | Efficiency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture & Livestock | Ryan Guillen (R) | 7R - 2D | 48 | 30 | 63% |
| Appropriations | Greg Bonnen (R) | 14R - 13D | 69 | 13 | 19% |
| Corrections | Sam Harless (R) | 6R - 3D | 89 | 38 | 43% |
| Criminal Jurisprudence | John Smithee (R) | 6R - 5D | 437 | 185 | 42% |
| Culture, Recreation & Tourism | Will Metcalf (R) | 5R - 4D | 181 | 102 | 56% |
| Delivery of Government Efficiency | Giovanni Capriglione (R) | 8R - 5D | 172 | 79 | 46% |
| Elections | Matt Shaheen (R) | 5R - 4D | 263 | 76 | 29% |
| Energy Resources | Drew Darby (R) | 6R - 5D | 72 | 38 | 53% |
| Environmental Regulation | Brooks Landgraf (R) | 5R - 4D | 114 | 37 | 32% |
| Higher Education | Terry Wilson (R) | 6R - 5D | 224 | 102 | 46% |
| Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs | Cole Hefner (R) | 8R - 3D | 397 | 164 | 41% |
| House Administration | Philip Cortez (D) | 6R - 5D | 21 | 2 | 10% |
| Human Services | Lacey Hull (R) | 7R - 4D | 277 | 105 | 38% |
| Insurance | Jay Dean (R) | 6R - 3D | 202 | 79 | 39% |
| Intergovernmental Affairs | Cecil Bell Jr. (R) | 6R - 5D | 362 | 204 | 56% |
| Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence | Jeff Leach (R) | 6R - 5D | 369 | 216 | 59% |
| Land & Resource Management | Gary Gates (R) | 5R - 4D | 147 | 79 | 54% |
| Licensing & Administrative Procedures | Dade Phelan (R) | 7R - 6D | 149 | 90 | 60% |
| Natural Resources | Cody Harris (R) | 7R - 6D | 216 | 105 | 49% |
| Pensions, Investments & Financial Services | Stan Lambert (R) | 5R - 4D | 163 | 66 | 40% |
| Public Education | Brad Buckley (R) | 9R - 6D | 693 | 124 | 18% |
| Public Health | Gary VanDeaver (R) | 7R - 6D | 461 | 156 | 34% |
| Redistricting | Cody Vasut (R) | 8R - 7D | 6 | 0 | 0% |
| State Affairs | Ken King (R) | 9R - 6D | 657 | 186 | 28% |
| Trade, Workforce & Economic Development | Angie Chen Button (R) | 6R - 5D | 396 | 139 | 35% |
| Transportation | Tom Craddick (R) | 8R - 5D | 300 | 166 | 55% |
| Ways & Means | Morgan Meyer (R) | 7R - 6D | 504 | 164 | 33% |
| All Committee Avgs | 259 | 102 | 40% |
Texas Senate
| Committee | Chairman | Partisan Split | Bills Referred | Bills Voted Out | Efficiency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Administration | Bob Hall (R) | 4R - 3D | 68 | 60 | 88% |
| Border Security | Brian Birdwell (R) | 3R - 2D | 22 | 12 | 55% |
| Business & Commerce | Charles Schwertner (R) | 7R - 4D | 583 | 234 | 40% |
| Criminal Justice | Pete Flores (R) | 5R - 2D | 417 | 182 | 44% |
| Economic Development | Phil King (R) | 3R - 2D | 171 | 91 | 53% |
| Education K-16 | Brandon Creighton (R) | 9R - 2D | 488 | 177 | 36% |
| Finance | Joan Huffman (R) | 11R - 4D | 214 | 68 | 32% |
| Health & Human Services | Lois Kolkhorst (R) | 6R - 3D | 540 | 213 | 39% |
| Jurisprudence | Bryan Hughes (R) | 3R - 2D | 99 | 48 | 48% |
| Local Government | Paul Bettencourt (R) | 4R - 3D | 494 | 254 | 51% |
| Natural Resources | Brian Birdwell (R) | 6R - 3D | 117 | 47 | 40% |
| State Affairs | Bryan Hughes (R) | 10R - 1D | 568 | 230 | 40% |
| Transportation | Robert Nichols (R) | 5R - 4D | 217 | 108 | 50% |
| Veteran Affairs | Kelly Hancock (R) | 4R - 3D | 46 | 23 | 50% |
| Water, Agriculture & Rural Affairs | Charles Perry (R) | 6R - 3D | 183 | 104 | 57% |
| All Committee Avgs | 282 | 123 | 48% |
The following committees were not included:
- Texas House of Representatives:
- Calendars
- General Investigating
- Local & Consent Calendars
- Congressional Redistricting, Select (not created until after the regular session)
- Disaster Preparedness & Flooding, Select (not created until after the regular session)
- Texas Senate:
- Nominations
- Disaster Preparedness & Flooding, Select (not created until after the regular session)
- Congressional Redistricting, Special (not created until after the regular session)
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