Bill Text: TX SR613 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Recognizing Texas Legislative Council on the occasion of its 75th anniversary.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Passed) 2025-05-31 - Reported enrolled [SR613 Detail]
Download: Texas-2025-SR613-Enrolled.html
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| WHEREAS, For 75 years, the Texas Legislative Council has | ||
| provided professional, nonpartisan support to the Texas | ||
| Legislature and legislative agencies; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The council was created by the 51st Legislature in | ||
| 1949 as part of a growing national movement to establish | ||
| independent fact-finding and advisory agencies to aid the work of | ||
| state legislatures; the council's governing body--initially led | ||
| by the acting president of the Texas Senate and the speaker of the | ||
| House--held its first organizational meeting on October 19 of | ||
| that year; inaugural executive director John D. Moseley soon took | ||
| charge of the agency's operations, and council staff members | ||
| began their duties in the spring of 1950; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In its early years, the agency completed a number | ||
| of major research projects, including surveys of higher | ||
| education and taxation in Texas and an inventory of water | ||
| problems; it also analyzed proposed legislation and processed | ||
| hundreds of requests for memoranda, bill drafts, and other | ||
| materials; the drafting of legislation became a more prominent | ||
| focus beginning with the 56th Regular Session in 1959, as the | ||
| council adopted the bill-drafting function that had primarily | ||
| been handled by the Office of the Attorney General in the years | ||
| prior; today, the drafting of bills and related legislative | ||
| documents remains an essential responsibility for the agency and | ||
| is ably managed by the attorneys and support staff of the TLC | ||
| legal division; in addition, the division oversees the permanent | ||
| statutory revision program that eliminates invalid, duplicative, | ||
| and otherwise ineffective provisions, an initiative that began | ||
| in 1963; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The council's oversight of the computer | ||
| technology used by the Texas Legislature dates back more than a | ||
| half century; the digital era dawned in the interim between the | ||
| 62nd Regular Session in 1971 and the 63rd in 1973; TLC staff | ||
| readied a room at the State Capitol to house mainframe equipment | ||
| and began the formidable task of applying computerization to the | ||
| legislative process; the revolutionary developments in | ||
| information technology in the decades since have made this | ||
| component of the TLC mission increasingly important, and the | ||
| information systems division is now the agency's largest; its | ||
| responsibilities include the maintenance of network | ||
| infrastructure, the development of applications, and the | ||
| provision of equipment, software, training, and technical | ||
| assistance to the legislative community; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Legislative research was one of the first tasks | ||
| undertaken by the council, and by the early 1970s, the agency had | ||
| established a dedicated research division to oversee this | ||
| multifaceted area; its staff provide policy research and bill | ||
| analysis services, perform statistical and demographic research, | ||
| produce resolutions, publications, and mapping materials, and | ||
| maintain a number of websites; moreover, the division supports | ||
| the legislature's redistricting responsibilities and works | ||
| extensively with the RedAppl district modeling computer system; | ||
| this innovative resource was developed by council computer | ||
| programmers with input from the agency's legal and redistricting | ||
| specialists and was launched in its initial form in 1990; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The processing and delivery of the wide variety of | ||
| print and electronic materials prepared by the council are | ||
| managed by the document production division; the council's print | ||
| shop operations date back many decades, and the agency assumed | ||
| the document processing responsibilities for the Texas House in | ||
| advance of the 65th Legislature in 1977; by the early 1980s, the | ||
| document production division had been established, and today its | ||
| employees produce thousands of drafts, House official printings, | ||
| and other documents and publications; in addition to the print | ||
| shop, the division encompasses the data transcription, | ||
| proofreading, and document processing personnel that facilitate | ||
| this essential aspect of the agency's work; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Over the course of the council's history, staff | ||
| have operated out of offices in a number of different Capitol | ||
| Complex locations, and from the 1950s through 1990s, they often | ||
| resided in the Texas Capitol itself; the "cozy" surroundings that | ||
| existed in the statehouse in that era were a frequent topic in | ||
| council reports, with references to the "elbow-to-elbow" working | ||
| conditions and "cubbyhole" confines of the building; the | ||
| agency's oft-voiced request for additional room was finally | ||
| satisfied with the completion of the Robert E. Johnson Building | ||
| in 2000, which remains the council's home and also houses other | ||
| legislative support agencies; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Fittingly, the building is named in honor of the | ||
| legendary Robert E. Johnson, who served as the agency's executive | ||
| director during a remarkable 17-year tenure from 1963 to 1980 and | ||
| also held the office of House parliamentarian; through the years, | ||
| the council has benefited from the skilled leadership of numerous | ||
| other executive directors, and today that tradition is continued | ||
| by Jeff Archer with additional guidance provided by assistant | ||
| executive director Kimberly Shields, general counsel Jon | ||
| Heining, and chief legislative counsel Brett Ferguson; Kim | ||
| Shields also oversees the administration division, which | ||
| encompasses the human resources, accounting and purchasing, and | ||
| assurance services sections; the agency operates under the | ||
| supervision of its governing body, which is composed of the | ||
| lieutenant governor and the speaker of the House as joint chairs | ||
| as well as six senators, the chair of the House administration | ||
| committee, and five other state representatives; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Since its inception, the Texas Legislative | ||
| Council has worked tirelessly to ensure that lawmakers have the | ||
| information, resources, and support they need to most | ||
| effectively advance the interests of the people of the Lone Star | ||
| State, and it is indeed fitting that the agency be recognized for | ||
| its vital contributions; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 89th | ||
| Legislature, hereby commemorate the 75th anniversary of the | ||
| Texas Legislative Council and extend to all those associated with | ||
| the agency sincere appreciation for their outstanding record of | ||
| public service; and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That an official copy of this Resolution be | ||
| prepared for the council as an expression of high regard from the | ||
| Texas Senate. | ||
| Hughes | ||
| ________________________________ | ||
| President of the Senate | ||
| I hereby certify that the | ||
| above Resolution was adopted by | ||
| the Senate on May 31, 2025. | ||
| ________________________________ | ||
| Secretary of the Senate | ||
| ________________________________ | ||
| Member, Texas Senate | ||
