July 14, 1931 - August 12, 1931

Leadership

Governor: Ross S. Sterling -  Vetoes

Lieutenant Governor: Edgar E. Witt

Speaker of the House: Fred Hawthorne Minor 

Special Session Topics

 Proclamations   Messages

• Enact such legislation as will adequately provide for the conservation of the natural resources of our State. [Wed Jul 8, 1931]
• Make the conservation clause of the Constitution effective. And since this clause covers "all the natural resources of this State,"...your legislative program should properly include the conservation of all mineral resources, of the soil and of the waters of Texas. [Wed Jul 15, 1931]
• Permitting the Red River Bridge Company to sue the State of Texas. [Wed Jul 22, 1931]
• Amending oil production tax to two cents per barrel on crude oil, which would bring in the same amount as the present production tax of two per cent on oil at $1.00 per barrel. [Mon Aug 3, 1931]
• Creation of a new commission to enforce these laws, together with all laws enacted, for the protection of our natural resources. [Mon Aug 3, 1931]
• Amending Articles 2255, Chapter 12, Title 42 of the Revised Statutes of Texas [Thu Aug 6, 1931]
• Creation of a temporary district court in and for Gregg County. [Thu Aug 6, 1931]
• Creation of an additional district court in and for Travis County. [Thu Aug 6, 1931]
• Involving the question of free tuition of pupils in common and independent school districts. [Thu Aug 6, 1931]
• Amending Articles 2559 and 2560 Revised Statutes of the State of Texas for 1925, to provide the way and manner in which cities, towns and villages shall take bids for depositories of fund of such cities, towns and villages and providing for the way and manner inwhich said funds shall be secured. [Fri Aug 7, 1931]
• Amending Chapter 362 of the Acts of the Regular Session of the Forty-second Legislature of Texas. [Fri Aug 7, 1931]
• Amending House Bill 312, passed by the Regular Session of the Forty-second Legislature which deals with the issuance of warrants by cities and towns. [Fri Aug 7, 1931]
• Amending Section 1 of Chapter 120 of the General Laws of the State of Texas enacted by the Regular Session of the Forty-first Legislature so as to provide that the Centennial Committee therein created shall be composed of twenty-one (21) members instead of nine (9) members and providing for their appointment. [Fri Aug 7, 1931]
• Amending Sections 11, 13, 14 and 15 of House Bill No. 547, Acts of the Forty-second Legislature, Chapter 73, page 111, Laws of the Regular Session, and which adds thereto certain sections, and making other provisions amending and corrrecting what is know(n) as the Cigarette Tax Law, in order that the Cigarette Tax Law may be more workable and less expensive in its operation. [Fri Aug 7, 1931]
• Appropriation for the Division of Child Welfare, created by the Forty-second Legislature, regular session. [Fri Aug 7, 1931]
• Authorizing navigation districts to expend their funds for work done or to be done on improvements made or to be made outside of their geographical boundaries. [Fri Aug 7, 1931]
• Authorizing the assignment and transfer of any tax liens levied by the State of Texas an/or any county, municipality, school district or any other political subdivision of the state and providing for the issuance of tax certificates evidencing the transferred tax obligation, providing means for the collection of such tax certificates, the rate of interest for such obligations, the time of payment, the time for filing and filing fees. [Fri Aug 7, 1931]
• Correcting the error in the bill passed by the Regular Session of the Forty-second legislature in designating the terms of court in Mitchell County in the Thirty-second Judicial District of Texas [Fri Aug 7, 1931]
• Corrective provisions pertaining to county depositories. [Fri Aug 7, 1931]
• Creation of the office of Criminal District Attorney in certain counties so as to make said act applicable to counties having a population of not less than thirty-two thousand (32,000) and not more than seventy-five thousand (75,000) inhabitants according to the last preceding Federal Census. [Fri Aug 7, 1931]
• Enactment of a measure to provide for the employment of a supervisor or supervisors in all counties in this State whenever deemed advisable by the county board of school trustees, specifying the classifications and duties of such supervisors and providing for a manner and mode of payment thereof. [Fri Aug 7, 1931]
• Increase the membership of the Board of Optometry Examiners to six members. [Fri Aug 7, 1931]
• Redistricting the State of Texas as to its congressional representative districts. [Fri Aug 7, 1931]
• Validate the incorporation of cities and towns in Texas. [Fri Aug 7, 1931]
• Validating issues of funding or refunding notes, bonds, warrants, time warrants and treasury warrants heretofore issued or authorized to be issued by any counties, cities or towns in Texas. [Fri Aug 7, 1931]
• Amend article 3109 of our laws governing primary elections so as to make it clear that it applies to all offices for which candidates are to be nominated. [Mon Aug 10, 1931]
• Amend our insurance laws so as to provide that licenses for lfe insurance agents will not be renewed each year, thus making the same provision for life insurance agents as the Regular Session of the Legislature make for all other insurance agents and saving the State several thousand dollars per year in unnecessary expense. [Mon Aug 10, 1931]
• Amending Senate Bill No. 467 passed by the Regular Session of the Forty-second legislature [Mon Aug 10, 1931]
• Enactment of legislation waiving the rights of the State of Texas to enter upon, for the purpose of the developing of mines, minerals and mineral rights any lands acquired under the provisions of Article 8225, Revised Statutes, 1925, which lands are now controlled by, or which may hereafter be conveyed to the United States of America for navigation purposes, so long as such lands shall be used by the United States of America for navigation purposes. [Mon Aug 10, 1931]
• Provide that all warrants drawn upon the State Treasury, and not paid back for lack of funds, shall draw interest from and after date of such refusal of payment until the date upon which they are called for payment by the State Treasurer, thus making obligations of the State automatically draw interest after non-payment in the same manner that the State laws have always required as to obligations of private citizens, along the lines of the laws of Missouri and numerous other states. [Mon Aug 10, 1931]
• Amending Article 2350, Revised Civil Statutes of 1925, as amended by Chapter 290 of the Regular Session of the Fortieth Legislature, as amended by Chapter 46 of the First Called Session of the Fortieth Legislature. [Wed Aug 12, 1931]

Journals

The House Journal and Senate Journal for the 42nd 1st Called Session are available from the Legislative Reference Library.

Rules
House Rules (42nd R.S.)
Joint Rules (42nd R.S.)
Senate Rules (42nd R.S.)

Bill statistics for the 42nd Legislature, 1st Called Session

Status	HB	HCR	HJR	HR	SB	SCR	SJR	SR	Total HB & SB	Total
Filed	75	17	0	42	66	18	0	25	141	243
Passed	23	11	0	37	21	8	0	25	44	125
Vetoed	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0