Who appoints representatives to committees in the Texas House of Representatives?

Vacancies Filled by Special Election
Vacancies Filled by Political Party Appointment
Vacancies Filled by Board of County Commissioners Appointment
Vacancies Filled by Governor Appointment
Vacancies Filled by Members of the Same House and Party as Incumbent
Vacancies Filled by Legislature Appointment
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Wendy Underhill

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Table of Contents
Additional Resources
Who appoints committee in Texas?
Who appoints Texas House committee chairs?
Who assigns representatives to each of the committees?
Does the Texas House Speaker appoint the House committees?

There is tremendous variation among state legislatures in how they fill a vacancy among their membership when it occurs.

In general, the vacancy is filled either through a special election or by appointment, and the states fall evenly into two groups. Twenty-five states fill legislative vacancies through special elections. These elections may be ordered by the governor or other official after being notified of the vacancy. The time limits for the execution of a special election vary as well. The other 25 states fill legislative vacancies through some form of appointment process, whether it be by the political party of the incumbent legislator, a board of county commissioners, the governor, the legislature or members of the same house and party as the incumbent legislator.

In addition to the variance in these laws, the provisions covering them vary as well. The vast majority of states have some provision in the state constitution for the filling of legislative vacancies. Some of these provisions state explicitly how they are to be handled while other simply state that the issue will be subject to provisions of law. In addition to constitutional provisions, most states also provide a more detailed process in statute.

Below you will find all 50 states broken down by the process used for filling legislative vacancies.

Vacancy Filled by Special Election

Alabama: Ala. Code § 17-15-1	Louisiana: La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:601	Oklahoma: Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 26, § 12-106
Arkansas**: Ark. Stat. Ann. § 7-11-103; Ark. Cons. Art. 5, § 6	Maine: Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 21-A, § 382; Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 21-A, § 381	Pennsylvania: Pa. Cons. Art. II, §2
California: Cal. Elec. Code, § 10700 et.seq.; Cal. Cons. Art. IV, § 2	Massachusetts: Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 54, § 141; Mass. Const. Amend. Art. 24	Rhode Island: R.I. Gen. Laws § 17-3-6
Connecticut: Conn. Gen. Stat. § 9-215	Michigan: Mich. Const. Art. 5, § 13	South Carolina: S.C. Const. Art. III, § 25; S.C. Code Ann. § 7-13-190
Delaware: Del. Code Ann. tit. 15, § 7101	Minnesota: Minn. Cons. Art. 4, § 4; Minn. Stat. § 204B.13	Texas: Tex. Elec. Code § 203.001 et. seq.
Florida: Fla. Stat. § 100.101	Mississippi: Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-851	Virginia: Va. Code § 24.2-216
Georgia: Ga. Code § 21-2-544	Missouri: Mo. Cons. Art. III, §14	Wisconsin: Wis. Cons. Art. IV, § 14
Iowa: Iowa Code § 69.14	New Hampshire: N.H. Cons. Part II, Articles 16 and 34; N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 661:8
Kentucky: Ky. Rev. Stat. § 118.730	New York: N.Y. Public Officers Law § 42

**State party committees may choose either to hold a special primary election or a convention of party delegates to choose nominees. The Governor has the discretion to determine whether special elections to fill certain vacancies are impractical due to timing of the vacancy

Vacancy Filled by Appointment

Political Party Appoints

*Colorado (Colo. Const., Art. 5, Sec. 2(3); Colo. Rev. Stat. §1-12-203)
*Illinois (IL Const. Art. 4, Sec. 2(d); Ill. Rev. Stat. ch. 10, § 5/25-6)
Indiana (Ind. Code §3-13-5-0.1)
New Jersey (N.J. Const., Art. IV, Sec. IV(1))
North Dakota (7) (N.D. Cent. Code §16.1-13-10)

Board of County Commissioners Appoints

*Arizona (1) (Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. §41-1202)
Montana (2) (Mont. Const. Art. 5, Sec 7; Mont. Code Ann. §5-2-402)
*Nevada (Nev. Const. Art. 4, Sec. 12)
New Mexico (N.M. Const. Art. 4, Sec. 4)
*Oregon (Or. Rev. Stat. §171.051)
Tennessee (6) Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-14-203; Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-14-203
Washington (1) (Wash. Const. Art. 2, Sec. 15, as amended by Amendment 52)
Wyoming (1) (Wyo. Const. Art. 3, Sec. 51; Wyo. Stat., §22-18-111(a)(iii))

Governor Appoints

*Alaska (Alaska Const. Art. 2, Sec. 4; Alaska Stat. §15.40.320)
*Hawaii (3) (Hawaii Const. Art. 3, Sec. 5; Hawaii Rev. Stat., §17-3 and Hawaii Rev. Stat. § 17-4)
*Idaho (4) (Idaho Code §59-904A)
Kansas (5) (Kan. Const. Art. 2, Sec. 9; Kan. Stat. Ann. §25-3902)
*Maryland (5) (Md. Const. Art. 3, Sec. 13)
Nebraska (Neb. Rev. Stat. §32-566)
North Carolina (5) (NC Const. Art. 2, Sec. 10; N.C. Gen. Stat. § 163-11)
South Dakota (S.D. Const. Art. 3, Sec. 10)
Utah (4) (Utah Const. Art. 6, Sec. 13; Utah Code §20A-1-503)
Vermont (Vt. Const. Chap. 2, Art. 45; Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 2, §4 and Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 2, §9)
West Virginia (4) (W.Va. Const. Art. 4, Sec. 7; W.Va. Code Ann. §3-10-5)

Members of the Same House and Party as the Last Incumbent Appoint

Ohio (Ohio Const. Art. 2, Sec. 11)

*State law stipulates that appointee must be of the same political party as the person s/he succeeds.

Notes

Board appoints a person from a list submitted by a citizens' panel.
If vacancy occurs 85 days or more before the general election in the second year of the term (terms are for four years), an individual is elected to fill the vacancy instead of making an appointment.
Governor must choose from a list of three prospective nominees provided by the political party of the prior incumbent. If a senate vacancy occurs at least 10 days prior to the close of filing for the mid-term primary election (terms are for four years), an individual is elected to fill the vacancy instead of making an appointment.
Governor appoints a person from a list submitted by a committee of the political party of the person resigning.
Governor appoints a person selected by a committee of the political party of the person resigning.
If twelve months or more remain prior to the next general election for legislators, a replacement is elected rather than appointed.
If 828 days or more remain until the expiration of the term of office, The qualified electors of a legislative district in which a vacancy in the legislative assembly occurs may petition for a special election to be called by the governor to fill the vacancy.

Additional Resources

Elections and Campaigns Main Page

Who appoints committee in Texas?

Senate members are appointed to committees by the Lieutenant Governor. The Lieutenant Governor also provides each committee with its charge. Links to each committee page are listed below, where you will find committee membership, schedules, video and/or audio archives of previous public hearings, and more.

Who appoints Texas House committee chairs?

Standing committee appointments by committee House committee members are appointed by the Speaker of the House, while Senate committee members are appointed by the Lieutenant Governor.

Who assigns representatives to each of the committees?

How are senators assigned to committees? Each party assigns, by resolution, its own members to committees, and each committee distributes its members among subcommittees. The Senate places limits on the number and types of panels any one senator may serve on and chair.

Does the Texas House Speaker appoint the House committees?

The members give the speaker the authority to appoint the membership of each standing committee, subject to rules on seniority, and to designate the chair and vice chair for each committee.