The Texas Legislative Session

The 89th Texas Legislature’s regular session runs from January 14 to June 2, 2025. Unique as a part-time legislature, both the Senate and House of the Texas Legislature meet every other odd-numbered year.

The nonprofit Texas Impact developed a YouTube series called “Faith in Democracy”. The newest 11-minute episode walks viewers through the stages of a regular Texas legislative session, using the metaphor of a symphony to describe the flow of legislative activity. The Legislative Calendar tracks the “movements” of the session from Start through Slog, Split Screen, and Sprint, ending with the Coda of the veto period. The Legislative Calendar | Faith in Democracy | Episode 4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7uD1VCqSbs
Other You Tube videos in the Texas Impact series “Faith in Democracy” give information on how the legislature works, how the Legislative sessions are structured, and much more. Most are only a few minutes long.

Become a Volunteer Deputy Voter Registrar
Online voter registration is only available in Texas when you obtain a driver’s license. In order to encourage voter registration, Texas law allows County Voter Registrars to appoint individuals, known as Volunteer Deputy Voter Registrars (VDVR), to assist eligible persons to vote. VDVRs operate under State rules and the supervision of the County Voter Registrar.
Becoming a VDVR is an easy and meaningful way to contribute to the democratic process and civic engagement. By registering voters, you ensure that more eligible people vote in elections, which promotes a diverse and representative democracy.
To be eligible to serve as a Volunteer Deputy Voter Registrar, you MUST be:

• at least 18 years of age
• a citizen of the United States
• a resident of Texas
• complete a training session in its entirety

For those who live in Harris County, the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector is responsible for the duties of voter registration and VDVRs. The procedure for registering to be a VDVR in Harris County and attending VDVR virtual trainings is at https://www.hctax.net/Voter/Deputy. Upon completion of the training, you will be deputized for the 2025-2026 term. Opportunities to register voters are available through Harris County, the League of Women Voters, and many other organizations.

If you live outside Harris County, check with your county website regarding completing the training which may use a study guide, in person class, or virtual classes.
Reminder: If you were trained previously, you must reapply and take the training again as ALL VDVR appointments expired at the end of 2024.

Georgia Kimmel, Public Policy Chair