Texas Statutes
- Texas Statutes
- - Provided through the Texas Secretary of State’s office, contains an alphabetical listing of all Texas Codes, available in pdf and Word format. Exact word search and topic search available.
- Texas Legislature Online - Bill Search
- - Useful for bill tracking. Search bills since the 71st legislature in 1989, by bill chamber, bill type, author, sponsor, committee, subjects, and actions.
- Index to Sections Affected
- - Provided through the Legislative Reference Library of Texas. Use to determine whether bills have effected or will effect sections of the Texas Statutes, which sections, and the status of the related bill. Searchable by bill number or code section.
Texas Legislature
- Texas Legislature Online
- - Look up bills, follow the status of a bill, find out who your senators and representatives are, and many other useful tools. Also links to other resources such as the Texas Statutes, Constitution, and Administrative Code, as well as House and Senate links.
- Texas Senate
- - Official website for the Texas State Senate.
- Texas House of Representatives
- - Official website for the Texas House of Representatives.
- The Guide to Texas Legislative Information
- - Offers general information to help legislators, other state officials and employees, and interested citizens in researching the work of past legislatures and in tracking the progress of pending legislative measures during a session.
- Legislative Budget Board
- - The Legislative Budget Board (LBB) is a permanent joint committee of the Texas Legislature that develops budget and policy recommendations for legislative appropriations for all agencies of state government, as well as completes fiscal analyses for proposed legislation. Helpful resources on budget and funding related items.
Executive Offices
- Governor's Office
- - Official website of the Governor of the State of Texas.
- Secretary of State
- - Official website of the Texas Secretary of State. Contains links to the Texas Business Organizations Code, Business/Nonprofit Forms, the Texas Register, the Texas Administrative Code, and the Texas Constitution, among others. Also contains information and forms for voter registration.
- Attorney General
- - Official website for the Attorney General of the State of Texas. Link to Attorney General Opinions, which are written interpretations of existing law. All opinions issued since January 4, 1939 are online. Opinions are indexed by Attorney General and by subject, and are searchable.
- Comptroller of Public Accounts
- - Official website of the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Contains information and forms for Sales and Use Tax and Franchise Tax, among other things.
- Complete Index to Texas Agencies
- - Hosted by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, this site provides an alphabetical listing of each Texas state agency with links to a page that provides contact information, addresses, phone numbers and links to enabling legislation for that agency. Links to agency websites are also provided.
Texas Regulations
- Texas Administrative Code Home
- - Provided through the Texas Secretary of State’s office, the Texas Administrative Code (TAC) is a compilation of all state agency rules in Texas. Link directly to the TAC here.
- Texas Register
- - Provided through the Texas Secretary of State’s office. Published weekly, information includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. Current issue and several previous issues available in pdf.
- Texas Register Archive
- - Hosted by the University of North Texas Libraries, contains issues of the Texas Register back to June 14, 1991. Later years (starting in mid 1996) are provided in pdf.
Texas Courts
- Texas Courts Online
- - Portal to the Texas Judicial pages. Contains a diagram of the court structure of Texas which is hyperlinked to each category of courts (e.g., Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals, and District Courts). Also contains a judicial directory and an A-Z Index, which is a Texas Courts Online Encyclopedia with links arranged by topic.
- Texas Supreme Court
- - Official website of the Texas Supreme Court. Opinions/orders available starting with October 1997. Search by case, opinion, oral arguments, and briefs (when filed). Also contains links to each of the Texas appellate courts.
- Court of Criminal Appeals
- - Official website for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Texas’ highest court for criminal cases. Opinions available in a searchable database.
- Third Court of Appeals (Austin)
- - The Third Court of Appeals is the state appellate court serving the Austin area. Search by opinion or browse released orders/opinions organized by docket date. Also contains links to each of the official county websites of the counties served by the Third Court of Appeals, as well as to the other Texas appellate courts.
- Courts of Appeals Directory
- - Provided through the Texas Courts Online site, this page contains a listing of the 14 Texas state courts of appeal with links to each of their official websites. Also contains an interactive map of the state with a graphical depiction of the regions covered by each appellate court.
- Travis County District Courts
- - Comprised of both civil and criminal courts. Provides standing orders, civil courts docket, local rules, contact information, among other things.
- 2009 Texas Judicial System Directory
- - Provided through the Texas Courts Online, this link brings you to an annual directory of the Texas State Judiciary. Search the directory.
Texas Rules
Note: There are many layers when dealing with court rules. In addition to Federal Rules and State Rules, there are also Local Rules of Court for each county. You may wish to perform a Google® search for the county court rules, such as “Travis County court rules.”
- Texas Supreme Court - Rules and Standards
- - Provided through the Supreme Court of Texas. Links to the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, Texas Rules of Evidence, Texas Discovery Rules, and other Texas rules and standards. Individual links are listed below.
- Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure
- - These rules govern procedure in appellate courts and before appellate judges and post-trial procedure in trial courts in criminal cases in Texas.
- Texas Rules of Civil Procedure
- - These rules govern the procedure in the justice, county, and district courts of Texas in all civil actions.
- Texas Rules of Evidence
- - These rules govern civil and criminal proceedings in all courts of Texas, except small claims courts.
Texas Legal Ethics
- Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct
- - Provided through the Texas Center for Legal Ethics and Professionalism. Lawyers are held accountable to a set of rules, the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct. Lawyers who violate those rules are prosecuted under the Texas Rules of Disciplinary Procedure.
- Texas Rules of Disciplinary Procedure
- - Provided through the Texas Center for Legal Ethics and Professionalism. Lawyers are held accountable to the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct. Lawyers who violate those rules are prosecuted under the Texas Rules of Disciplinary Procedure.
- Texas Center for Legal Ethics and Professionalism
- - Contains links to many useful resources including the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, Texas Professional Ethics Opinions issued by the Supreme Court Professionalism Committee, and Texas Procedural Conduct and Rules.
- Texas Ethics Commission
- - Created by constitutional amendment on November 5, 1991. Website contains links to Ethics Advisory Opinions issued by the Texas Ethics Commission since 1992 and Commission Rules.
- Texas Ethics Reporter
- - Provided through the University of Houston Law Center. Access to current and previous versions of the Texas ethics rules along with ethics opinions and disciplinary actions.
- State Bar of Texas: Client Assistance and Grievance
- - Sponsored by the State Bar of Texas, this site provides resources for clients seeking to file grievances with the State Bar of Texas against an attorney for violations of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct.
Austin Area Libraries
- Texas State Law Library
- - A public law library serving the legal research needs of the Court of Criminal Appeals, Supreme Court, Office of the Attorney General, other state agencies and commissions, and citizens of the state. Sponsors the Inmate Copy Service, which seeks to provide Texas State inmates, whose case records are held by the Court of Criminal Appeals or the 3rd Court of Appeals, with copies of their trial records at a reasonable cost. Library staff will also photocopy State and Federal statutes, codes and case law for a fee.
- Legislative Reference Library
- - Serves the reference and research needs of the Legislature, its staff, and its committees. Whenever possible, assists the public and other state agencies with legislative research. Has electronic access to Bill-Chapter/Chapter-Bill Cross Reference Tables and Index to Sections Affected.
- Travis County Law Library
- - Legal search materials available to the public.
Texas Academic Libraries
- Underwood Law Library (Southern Methodist University)
- - Located in Dallas, Texas.
- O'Quinn Law Library (University of Houston)
- - Located in Houston, Texas.
- Baylor Law Library
- - Located in Waco, Texas.
- Sarita Kenedy East Law Library (St. Mary's University)
- - Located in San Antonio, Texas.
- The Law Library at Texas Tech
- - Located in Lubbock, Texas.
- The Fred Parks Law Library (South Texas College of Law)
- - Located in Houston, Texas.
- Thurgood Marshall School of Law Library
- - Located in Houston, Texas.
- Dee J. Kelly Law Library (Texas Wesleyan University)
- - Located in Ft. Worth, Texas.