Texas Opens Bill Filing for 2027 Session Under a Divided Legislature

Bill filing opens Monday for the 2027 Texas legislative session, and the paperwork will arrive in a Legislature unlike any in recent memory: a Democratic governor, a Democratic House majority and a Republican-controlled Senate.

The 90th session of the Texas Legislature convenes Jan. 12. Lawmakers can file bills from Monday through March 12, according to The Texas Tribune, which first reported the schedule.

Hundreds of bills are expected Monday. Thousands more will follow over the course of the session. Most will never reach the governor's desk, but Monday's first batch gives an early read on what lawmakers intend to fight about for 140 days.

What do the bill numbers signal?

The filing mechanism itself carries information. The lowest bill numbers are typically reserved for the highest-priority legislation, as determined by the House speaker and the lieutenant governor, who presides over the Senate.

That makes the first filings a rough map of power. Watch which chambers claim the low numbers and what subjects they attach them to. Those choices reveal the agenda before any vote occurs.

Who holds power in the 90th session?

Republicans keep majority control of the Senate. Lt. Gov.-elect Vikki Goodwin, a Democrat, prepares to take office after a Democratic sweep of statewide offices in last week's election.

The House flips. Democrats will control the chamber in the 90th session and will elect a new leader on day one to replace Speaker Dustin Burrows, the Lubbock Republican.

The leading candidate is Democratic Rep. Senfronia Thompson, the longest-serving woman and the longest-serving Black legislator in any state. Thompson announced Friday that she had secured enough votes to win the speaker's gavel.

What does Governor-elect Hinojosa want to undo?

Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa campaigned heavily on reversing GOP education policy. Her clearest target is the state's school voucher program, passed during the 89th Legislative Session in 2025, which lets families use tax dollars to pay for private schooling.

The Democratic agenda runs wider than education. The party also campaigned on:

• Tighter guardrails on data center development
• Rolling back restrictions on consumable hemp products
• Lowering the cost of living in Texas

Each item now faces the arithmetic of a divided Capitol. A Democratic House can pass bills. A Republican Senate can decline to take them up. A Democratic governor can veto what survives.

Can Hinojosa work with the Senate?

Hinojosa signaled Thursday that she intends to try. She announced a transition team made up of Democrats and Republicans, a deliberate signal of bipartisanship before she takes office.

"I would hope that elected leaders from both parties don't get in the way of the progress we can make together to deliver for working people," Hinojosa said. "That is our obligation as leaders in this state, and I look forward to working with Republican leaders in the Legislature."

The quote sets the tone. The bill filings that begin Monday will show whether that tone survives contact with the Senate's Republican majority.

What happens next?

The filing window stays open until March 12, three months into a session that starts Jan. 12. Monday's flurry of hundreds of filings will offer the first concrete evidence of legislative priorities under the new power arrangement — and the first test of whether a divided Texas government can pass anything at all.

The Tribune notes the story will update as bills get filed.