The Texas Legislature convenes every two years at the State Capitol in Austin. This year, the 86th Regular Session of the Legislature begins on Tuesday, January 8th, 2019. The Regular Session lasts for 140 days and will end on Monday, May 29th, 2019. Here at the State Law Library, we often receive questions about the legislative process and the status of pending bills and resolutions.To assist in answering those questions, we've put together a list of helpful resources:

• Who Represents Me? — this tool can help you find contact information for your state senator or representative
• Texas Legislature Online — the Legislature's website provides a list of bills that have been filed, the status of all bills, links to the House and Senate committees' websites, video broadcasts of committee hearings, and calendars for the House, Senate, and their respective committees
• Texas Legislative Council — the Legislative Council's website offers many publications that can help you make sense of the legislative process; these include pamphlets such as The Legislative Process in Texas, flowcharts for House and Senate bills, the Texas Legislative Glossary, and the Council's Legislative Drafting Manual

It can be difficult to understand certain aspects of the legislative process. If you have questions please don't hesitate to Ask a Librarian!