In 2025, the Levin Center conducted a study of all 50 states to examine how legislatures ensure government programs work effectively for citizens. Factors such as legislative oversight committees, routine engagement with executive agencies, collection of casework data, digital transparency tools, and user-centered policy evaluation were of particular importance. The full report can be found here.
State Summary #
It is not clear from the Texas Legislature’s websites that any typical legislative oversight is occurring on a regular basis. The state of Texas has two “oversight” committees listed, however, a deeper investigation into these committees reveals little evidence of oversight in a traditional sense. The other oversight committee, the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, does not have its own homepage (links point directly to the State Auditor’s homepage), the chairs of the committee do not have any contact information available, and there is no evidence this committee has met in the past two years.
The House’s website allows the public to register as a witness to appear before committees, but it requires the creation of a public profile in advance. The website provides an instructional video and indicates that this process can also be completed on a touch screen at the Capitol. However, the site cautions that “Witness registration will be open at the discretion of the committee clerk,” so completing the five-step process is not a guarantee of being heard. The Senate does not have a similar registration process online, but committees in both chambers publish lists of witnesses at all committee meetings.
