The most complete reference guide to Texas legislative procedure, Texas House Practice is the “authoritative book on the rules,” according to the Texas Observer and designated by the Texas Legislative Reference Library as a core material to supplement the Texas House Rules. Compared to other rulebooks, Texas House Practice offers

• more House precedents, including pertinent rulings from the last 22 years;
• more Congressional precedents, the default when the House Rules are silent or ambiguous;
• more practice notes;
• more cross-references to Rules sections, Constitutional provisions, and statutes;
• more readable and easy-to-use format; and
• more information that you just can’t get from any other publication.

To see the table of contents and sample pages from Texas House Practice, click here.

This is the rulebook used by many Members of the House since 1999 and edited by Hugh Brady, a Texas law professor who spent nine sessions as a parliamentary advisor helping Members design effective procedural strategies and floor tactics. He was appointed as House Parliamentarian in 2019. Get the book and find out why the Texas Observer reported that “without ever stepping on the House floor, Hugh Brady . . . had a larger impact on the 78th Legislature than many representatives did.”

Publication of Texas House Practice is on hiatus. The last edition, for the 85th Legislature, was printed in March 2017. If you have questions, contact us.