Texas Legislators Make History with Over 1,500 Bills Filed on First Prefiling Day

There were 1,506 bills brought to the Capitol by Texas lawmakers on Tuesday, which was the first day of prefiling for the 89th legislative term, which starts in January. This was a new record. The Texas Legislature's database shows that the files were counted by 4:30 p.m.

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Leading the way this year was Sen. Judith Zaffirini, who has a long history of filing first. Her team stood in queue for 20 hours to get the first spot. In a press release, Zaffirini said, "Filing bills early shows the dedication my staff and I have kept throughout the interim to meet the needs and priorities of families in Senate District 21." The senator is in charge of a large area that includes Laredo and the southern part of Travis County.

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Zaffirini is still very influential in a chamber dominated by Republicans, even though he is the bill-passer with the most votes. She told them, "Focus on the issue and don't be partisan when presenting a bill," which was how she had been successful in the past.

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Zaffirini filed 34 bills and 4 joint resolutions on Tuesday. He put education, health services, and current issues like the reliability of the energy grid after the 2021 winter storm at the top of his list. Her steady leadership shows how flexible she is and how much she cares about meeting the changing needs of her people.

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