Tex. Government Code § 301.003

This is the official text of Tex. Government Code § 301.003, part of Texas’s Government Code — covers the structure and operation of Texas state and local government.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

§ 301.003. PRESIDING OFFICERS.

Official statutory text

(a) The secretary of state shall attend and preside at the organization of the house of representatives.

(b) If there is no secretary of state or if the secretary of state is absent or unable to attend, the attorney general shall attend and preside at the organization of the house of representatives.

(c) The lieutenant governor shall attend and preside at the organization of the senate. If the lieutenant governor is absent or unable to attend, the lieutenant governor may designate a member of the senate who is entitled to organize the senate under Section 301.002(a)(1) to preside.

(d) If there is no lieutenant governor, the senator with the greatest number of years of cumulative service as a member of the senate who is entitled to organize the senate under Section 301.002(a)(1) shall preside.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

Need a lawyer in Texas?

Find a Texas lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.