What’s in this article

• Information is Power

• Legislative Archive System

• Legislative Intent

• The “Code”

• Parliamentary Procedure Resources

• Action Steps

Information is Power

Whether you’re a staffer, member, lobbyist, advocate, or public citizen, we all know that information is power in the Texas Legislature.

The more information you have, the more strategic you can be within the process, and the higher your chance for success. That’s why it’s important that we become proactive instead of reactive to what’s going on in the Texas Capitol. Today’s TxLege Terminology Tuesday article is the second part of a two-part series on the Texas Legislative Reference Library, a prolific source of knowledge, history, and context that you ignore at your own peril. Here are the key features and terms to know, starting with the Legislative Archive System.

Legislative Archive System

All bills have “receipts” and they live in various places. The Legislative Archive System is meant to provide legislators, staffers, and members of the public with access to documents related to Texas legislation. The LRL has scanned bill files for the 29th through 80th Legislatures, with annotations done for the 30th through 88th Legislatures. You can look up bills, joint resolutions, concurrent resolutions, and simple resolutions. These documents include bill files, witness lists, committee minutes, and hearing video or audio.

If you have just been handed a bill or you’re interested in passing a bill for a cause, the first step is knowing the history of that idea within the legislative process. It is more likely than not that someone else had that idea before you, and they filed a bill on it. You can learn from what happened to that bill, who opposed it, who supported it, and how amendments and/or substitutes impacted it. Most importantly, you can learn how it died (because clearly it still ain’t law yet!).

How to Capitol-ize This

Learning the history of a bill helps us understand what’s going on in the present, learn from past mistakes of others, and build our critical thinking skills when trying to approach the same problem again. Would you rather be a person who tries the same thing again and gets the same outcome, or the one who knows what happened in the past, so you can change course and tactic to generate a different (and hopefully more positive) result?

Legislative Intent

When I was a kid, I loved the children’s books about Amelia Bedelia. Amelia Bedelia always took people’s directions literally, which made for funny mishaps and adventures. For example, when she was told to tag a baseball player in a baseball game, she went searching through her purse for a tag to attach to his clothes. When she was told to “run home” she did run—all the way back to her house. The whole character and every story hinged on her not understanding what others really meant.

Legislative intent is defined by the Texas Legislative Council as “the purpose for which a measure is passed.” Legislative intent can be expressed through resolutions or budget riders (learn more about the General Appropriations Act at the links below). Additionally, when you observe two legislators exchanging a scripted dialogue between microphones while a bill is before the chamber, you’re often watching them attempt to establish legislative intent.

Establishing intent is important because if a law is ambiguous when utilized or challenged in a court process, state agencies and the courts will closely examine what the legislature “meant” through an examination of the bill’s history. This includes bill analyses, statements from the author and/or sponsor about the bill in committee or on the floor, the debate from each chamber, and committee reports.

How to Capitol-ize This

The intent of legislation is often the crux of conflict and debate. One member says a bill will do A, but another member argues it will inadvertently do B, while a third says it will end up doing C. Further, when it passes, agencies sometimes get it “wrong” when they are rulemaking, and a bill author will have to write a letter to the agency leader about their intent. It can get real messy when someone’s having to say, “hey, that’s not what I meant!”

The Legislative Reference Library has a section on researching legislative intent, and if you’re staff or a member, you can ask them to help you find relevant materials. They will refer you to outside resources if necessary, but always start with their walkthrough page to guide your strategy. It can also help you be proactive in ensuring the bill you’re working on now has well-established intent.

The “Code”

The “code” refers to the topical codes that organize Texas law. For example, the Property Code, Penal Code, Family Code, Education Code, etc. There are 27 of these topical codes, and this is where most bills make changes. A “codified law” is a law that has been assigned to a topical code. If a bill is a local bill, however, it’s considered a special or uncodified statute, which lives in the session-law volume (a chronological record of all bills passed in a session). The codes change with every regular session!

Index to Sections Affected

The LRL has a section called “Index to Sections Affected” in which you can search by session and by code. This is where you can select a session (e.g., 89 R.S. (2025)) and then select a code (e.g., Parks and Wildlife Code), then de-select all of the versions other than “enrolled,” and run a search. It will bring up all of the laws that changed that code during that session.

Adds vs Amends

The search will bring up which section of the code was changed, what effect the change had (“amends” means it changed something currently written while “adds” means it added something new), the session number, the bill and section, and its status (enrolled or enrolled-vetoed). If you were to run the example I provided above, you’d see that the Parks and Wildlife Code was changed dozens of times in the most recent session.

Everything is hyperlinked, so you can not only click a link and go straight to the part of the code mentioned on the Texas Constitution and Statutes webpage, but also off to the bill’s page on Texas Legislature Online. It’s a wonderful tool for understanding what all happened with a code in the most recent session.

How to Capitol-ize This

There is probably a specific area of policy you’re interested in. If it’s foster care, then seeing what changes were made to the Texas Family Code last session is a great way to familiarize yourself with the trajectory of state policy, the key players, and the “flavor” of legislation in this space. As a staffer, you will also most likely have to focus on a topical code whether because that is the code your legislator is most interested in changing, or because it’s the code that the legislator’s committee assignment(s) deal(s) with the most often. The “Index to Sections Affected” page is there to help you achieve familiarity and awareness in whatever code has landed on your desk or in your heart.

Parliamentary Procedure Resources

“Parliamentary procedure” refers to the collection of mutually agreed-upon rules, ethical codes, and practices used to facilitate government meetings, with an intention to be organized, fair, and efficient. Parliamentary procedure governs the Texas Legislative process from the inside out, and few folks ever pause to try to understand what it is, how it works, and where it impacts their goals. The LRL has a collection dedicated to parliamentary procedure resources, and their website can help lead you to the right places to read and research.

“Mason’s Manual”

The National Conference of State Legislatures refers to Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedure (“Mason’s Manual”) as the “premier parliamentary authority for state legislatures.” The Conference actually holds the book’s copyright, and they reprint it every decade with the assistance of the American Society of Legislative Clerks and Secretaries. In 2020, the manual underwent revisions related to remote participation as well as legislative privilege and immunity (pretty important changes!). It’s only one of the supplementary resources used in the Texas legislative process.

House and Senate Rules and Precedents

The LRL also has a neat webpage that contains all of the texts for the House and Senate Rules and Precedents as well as additional links to summaries or synopses for changes to the rules. While these rules get updated every session (they’ll be changed again in January), reading the most recent versions is helpful in either introducing you to a process you don’t know very well, or helping you understand a process you’ve maybe worked in for years, but never fully grasped.

How to Capitol-ize This

Knowing the rules leaves you with a highly practical payoff. You will be able to understand points of order with much more context, and maybe even be able to spot points of order yourself. You’ll also be able to understand the complex nature of various motions and how they apply in different situations, which can help you support your legislator if you’re staff. You can also gain insight into floor maneuvers (which is probably most helpful in the House), keeping you out front and facing the process head-on, rather than always trying to catch up.

Action Steps

To round out this TxLege Terminology Tuesday, I wanted to give you some concrete things you could do that would help you gain a better foothold in the Texas Legislative process, regardless of where you’re coming from.

X/Twitter Directory of Legislators

First, the #txlege world is insanely active on X/Twitter. I wrote an article about the hashtag #txlege specifically to describe this universe, and encourage you to read it if you haven’t yet. The LRL has assembled a list that contains all current Texas legislators with X/Twitter accounts. You can go down the list and follow every legislator. Additionally, the LRL created a feed on X/Twitter that automatically pulls in any tweets that a member of the legislature posts! You can access the feed here.

Scheduling a Tour and/or Workshop

Second, if you’re a current staffer and you haven’t yet toured the LRL, you should schedule that right away. They offer tours and workshops in order to orient staff to everything that the library has to offer, but you have to request it. You can read more about these offerings here on this page.

Go Down the Rabbit Hole!

Sometimes, you have no idea where the LRL is going to take you. I know that it was bookmarked on my browser when I was a staffer, educator, and working in agency GR. I had first encountered it as a student when conducting bill research for a policy brief assignment, and I had no idea how big a space it would soon take up in my professional career within the #txlege world. Since it’s only September and session is months away (but getting closer!), I would take a little bit of time every week to explore their site, read things that interest you, seek answers to questions you find yourself asking, and become familiar with a resource that may one day help you solve a problem for all Texans!

Live, love, txlege!

Disclaimer: The Texas Legislative Academy is an independent, for-profit business providing educational content. It is not affiliated with the Texas Legislature or any government entity.

Start September with some #txlege applications!

Whether you’re an undergraduate student looking to gain some legislative experience this fall, or someone looking for an immediate full-time senior position, or simply searching for your first role during the 90th session—this newsletter has you covered! This week I’ve got 14 openings in the House, five in the Senate, four different legislative fellowships (where you’re placed with members as full-time staff), and 10+ roles across legislative agencies. In the immortal words of Dolly Parton, “You’ll never do a whole lot unless you’re brave enough to try.” Go try!

How prepared are you for these job openings?

Last week’s Capitol Careers Weekly continued the TxLege Academy’s multi-part series on building a complete application package for a legislative office ahead of the peak fall hiring season. First we explored effective legislative resumes, then last week we thoroughly examined the process of writing great cover letters, and this upcoming Friday we’ll discuss the dreaded legislative writing sample that every office seems to ask for, and that so many aspiring #txlegers have told me they don’t have yet. If you’re not a paid subscriber, now’s the time to become one!

Why isn’t this publication free?

The Texas Legislative Academy is my (Grace’s) full-time work, and every subscription directly supports my ability to keep researching, writing, and building resources. This work exists because of readers who believe in making the legislative process more accessible and understandable. A subscription to the Texas Legislative Academy Substack is currently just $5 per month. You get access to multiple sections of the Substack (you can select as many or as few as you want) that support the general public, aspiring staffers, current staffers, and anyone curious to learn more about the legislature. Please consider joining the Academy!

For Legislative Offices (Employers)

It costs nothing to post your opening here! Please send your opportunity to Grace at gkelly@texaslegislativeacademy.com.

Current Job Openings

Subscribe now

Read more

What’s in this article

• Goal: Qualify What You’ve Already Quantified

• Reading a Job Posting Strategically

• Easy-to-Read Formatting

• Strong Letter Structure

• Always Include a Cover Letter

• Review Everything Twice

• Using Generic Templates

Goal: Qualify What You've Already Quantified

A resume is what you are as a professional, while a cover letter is how you’ll apply what you are to a legislative role in an office.

In other words, while a resume quantitatively describes your background in terms of titles, places, degrees, data, and accomplishments, a cover letter is what helps you qualitatively describe how that background makes you a great fit for a future role in the legislative process. You’re responsible for painting a word picture of who you are and what it would be like to work with you to achieve office goals.

A weak cover letter just regurgitates the resume in a longer format, clearly comes from a generic corporate template, and/or fills space up without saying anything substantial. A strong cover letter is tailored to the office (just like your resume), specific to your character, and concise. It’s your first conversation with your potential boss, and you want to leave them feeling like they want to continue the discussion.

This Capitol Careers Weekly post is going to walk you through how to read a job post strategically, how to format your letter well, what to say in each section, how to find the right person to address it to, and the approach you should take to it all. Let’s get started!

Reading a Job Posting Strategically

The person that is going to decide whether or not to offer you an interview is most likely the person who wrote the job posting, so you want to ensure your cover letter demonstrates clear alignment with their expectations for who would perform well in this role. Before you write your cover letter, you need to pay attention to the details of the posting itself.

Circle the Verbs

Postings use specific action verbs (e.g., draft, coordinate, manage, research, represent, analyze, track, etc.) and these words tell you what the job is. Your cover letter should mirror these same verbs in describing your past background and future contributions. Print the posting, take a pen or highlighter, and circle all the verbs. Then find alignment between them and your own resume.

Underline the Adjectives

Underline all of the adjectives in the job posting. These could be words or phrases such as experienced, highly motivated, professional, well-organized, disciplined, proven, effective, etc. Reflect on yourself as a person and decide which of these describe you, and how you’d prove that to someone else. These examples will help you write your opening paragraph of the letter.

Number the Requirements

Take the job posting and number the top three to five major “asks” they have in terms of duties. Then review your background to find examples that correspond with those priorities, and write those examples off to the side of each of the listing’s priorities. These examples will help you write the middle paragraph(s) of the letter.

Easy-to-Read Formatting

Think about the emotional reaction you’d want a potential employer to have when looking at your cover letter for the first time (before reading it). You are aiming for pleased, optimistic, and relieved. Formatting can achieve that just as easily as it can leave them feeling annoyed or impatient. The following are formatting guidelines to help support a positive response:

• Length: Keep it to one page. While a resume may bleed into two pages because of additional degrees, experience, skills, or accomplishments, a cover letter should remain a concise narrative. It’s not the ending credits of a movie; it’s the trailer.

• Font: Use the same font that you used for your resume, which should be something clean and recognizable, like Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri, Aptos, or even Lato. Your font size should also be the same as what is used on your resume, which shouldn’t be less than 10 or greater than 12. You do not want to use any decorative fonts, colors, or other formatting that distracts a reader.

• Margins: I’d recommend matching your resume’s margins, but that’s not a hard and fast rule. It can just make everything feel cohesive. You may have more or less to write, and you can play with the margins to ensure it has space to breathe. The margins shouldn’t be any smaller than .75” though, since this is a letter.

• Spacing: Make sure you also leave a blank line, or a generous paragraph spacing, between each paragraph (1.5 to 2.0), to help improve the letter’s readability. You should always be striving to make it easy on the eyes. For the paragraphs themselves, single-space them.

Strong Letter Structure

A cover letter for any job has a predictable template and structure, but for legislative offices there are different goals for what you hope to convey. Instead of talking about a company or non-profit’s strategic mission or values, you’re talking about a legislator’s policy platform, legislative work, and constituent services, and how you’re the best choice to support them in those functions. This structure can help you.

Your Header

Your full name should be bolded and mirror exactly what’s on your resume. The contact information should also mirror your resume, with your location (if you want to provide that), email, and phone number. You can leave any URLs you have (LinkedIn or website) off a cover letter. Then provide the date of submission, which you should always update to the current date before you submit. Leave a line of space, then write in the recipient’s name, title, office, and mailing address.

Addressing Your Letter

There is no reason why a cover letter for a legislative position should ever begin with “To Whom It May Concern.” Part of being a staffer is being (1) detail-oriented and (2) capable of conducting research. Typically, job postings will include information on who to send the application materials to. It may not have a name, but it will have an email. Context clues from the email address can lead you to finding the person’s full name on legislative staff lists or in online searches. Always double-check the spelling!

Salutation

You ought to address the letter to a specific person, and use a proper title. For example, if it’s to a Chief of Staff (most common), you’d put “Dear Ms./Mr. [Last Name].” If you’re addressing things directly to the legislator, which can sometimes be the case if they’re a freshman (newly elected), between Chiefs of Staff, or prefer to handle hiring themselves, make sure you use the right title. If you’re unsure of how to address it to a legislator, you can use this page from the Legislative Reference Library.

Opening Paragraph

An opening paragraph identifies who you are and why you’re writing. You should state the position you’re applying for and the office by name.

“I am eager to apply for the position of Policy Analyst with Senator Tejano’s office for the 90th Legislative Session.”

You should briefly (briefly!) mention the experience or background that makes you a strong candidate and connect yourself to the office’s specific policy priorities, district needs, or legislative work. The paragraph ought to demonstrate that you’ve done your research on the office and the member before ever setting pen to paper. This paragraph shouldn’t be more than three to four sentences.

Middle Paragraph(s)

In your middle paragraph(s) (the protein of the cover letter sandwich), describe one to two concrete accomplishments that are directly relevant to the role, without parroting your resume lines. Try to use highly specific examples, such as a bill you tracked, a memo you drafted, a problem you solved, or a citizen you helped with a difficult situation. This paragraph should be kept to three or four sentences.

If you have genuinely distinct experiences worth highlighting, or the cadence/style of your writing naturally demands a break, you can expand your middle paragraph to two paragraphs (as long as it doesn’t go over a single page). Remember that one strong paragraph is much better than two weak ones.

Closing Paragraph

In your closing, restate the skills that you bring to the office (aligned with the posting) and emphasize the enthusiasm you have for the legislator’s work. You should also express that you are available to discuss their goals and your qualifications further, and can provide more information as needed. This closing paragraph should also include a statement of genuine gratitude for the office’s time and consideration. Keep the vibes warm and professional. Do not lean into excessive flattery!

Sign Off

Your closing can be unique to you, but most common examples are “Sincerely” or “Regards” or “Kind Regards.” Put in a blank space and then your full name printed out in bold font. When you have completed the letter, you should save it as a PDF (similar to your resume), and then use the Adobe signature function to input a good signature above your printed name.

Always Include a Cover Letter

Sometimes, legislative offices will ask for a resume, writing samples, and references, without ever mentioning a cover letter. Sometimes they’ll ask for a “brief email of introduction.” Sometimes they’ll ask for a resume alone. My recommendation is that you always include a cover letter. They may ignore it and never read it, and that’s fine. But including a good one can show that you went the extra mile, that you did your research on the office and the position, and that your interest is strong. It also gives them another side of you, one that may land better with them than the resume.

With a brief email of introduction, follow the same guidance given related to cover letters, with the exception of the length and the header. Emails of introduction are usually shorter than formal cover letters, so cut each section by one to two sentences. And instead of a header, ensure that your email signature is professional and updated, with a clear link to your LinkedIn.

An email you send is also a sample of the type of work they can expect from you. If you send an email with poor capitalization, poor grammar, bad punctuation, short-form internet slang, or no email signature, they will know that’s what they can expect from you while representing their office to other offices, constituents, and major stakeholders. Proof it!

Review Everything Twice

Everything you write as part of an application package should be double proofread for typos, grammar mistakes, style issues, clarity, and conciseness. Sometimes you can write, edit, revise, and re-write a piece of material so much that you start going blind to mistakes. That’s why it’s important to not leave things to the last minute or to write in a vacuum.

Instead, build application packages, and especially cover letters, days prior to any deadlines, and then get a good night’s sleep or a significant amount of time and brain space away from the content (an afternoon, a work day). Return to it with fresh eyes, and you’ll be much better suited to identifying strengths and weaknesses when finalizing the product. Also pass it along to a mentor, colleague, friend, or family member who you can trust will actually read it for mistakes and clarity. You don’t want, “looks good,” you want, “here are a few things I noticed…”

Using Generic Templates

There are a lot of cover letter templates out there, but they’re almost all for the corporate world. While the underlying principles may be roughly the same, a cover letter for a legislative office is markedly different.

You’re aligning your core values with those of a single elected official, not a corporation or non-profit. You’re translating your background into something that could be a cog within the legislative process, not a cog in a large organization launching a product or campaign or providing a single service. You’re arguing for your future impact in terms of changes that affect an entire state, not just a bottom line.

Thus, I would encourage anyone who decides to use a template to remember that everything should be tailored to (1) the office and (2) you. Don’t plug-and-play—instead, strategize and execute. This approach is especially important when you get into writing the dreaded writing samples, but that’s for next week. Until then…

Live, love, txLege!

To read more details on this topic, as well as get access to a cover letter template and a sample, please purchase Capitol Careers: How to Get a Job in the Texas Legislature. There are discounts available for students, first responders, and groups—just email me to ask at gkelly@texaslegislativeacademy.com.

Disclaimer: The Texas Legislative Academy is an independent, for-profit business providing educational content. It is not affiliated with the Texas Legislature or any government entity.

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New internship opportunities in both House and Senate, new FT roles in legislative agencies, and a new fellowship application just dropped!

Quite a few jobs fell off the list in the last week because deadlines passed and posts were taken down as office roles were successfully filled. It’s important to remember that you should never be the first person to tell yourself “no” when it comes to applying to a job. You never know what will work out, so you should try hard to open any door that looks like it may be a good fit for you, while also being flexible that after peeking in, you may decide to back out and head onto the next one. In this week’s list we’ve got 34+ openings and one upcoming deadline, so go open some doors!

Ready to build a stellar legislative application package?

Last week’s Capitol Careers Weekly started a multi-part series on putting together a complete application package for a legislative office. After diving into building effective resumes (part 1), we’ll next go into effective cover letters before exploring the dreaded legislative writing sample, curating references, building a solid online presence, and preparing for interviews. By the time this special series finishes, it will be the end of September, and you’ll be ready just in time for the peak of the legislative hiring season to begin in October/November. If you’re not a paid subscriber yet, now’s the time to become one!

Why isn’t this publication free?

The Texas Legislative Academy is my (Grace’s) full-time work, and every subscription directly supports my ability to keep researching, writing, and building resources. This work exists because of readers who believe in making the legislative process more accessible and understandable. A subscription to the Texas Legislative Academy Substack is currently just $5 per month. You get access to multiple sections of the Substack (you can select as many or as few as you want) that support the general public, aspiring staffers, current staffers, and anyone curious to learn more about the legislature. Please consider joining the Academy!

For Legislative Offices (Employers)

It costs nothing to post your opening here! Please send your opportunity to Grace at gkelly@texaslegislativeacademy.com.

Current Job Openings

Subscribe now

Read more

What’s in this article

• Goal: Clean, Readable, Professional, & Relevant

• Formatting Your Resume

• Structuring Your Sections

• Avoiding Resume Red Flags

• Tailoring It to the Job Posting

• Before You Submit

• Staying Ho…

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What’s in this article

• Budget Bill (General Appropriations Act)

• Texas House Committee on Appropriations (“Approps” or “HAC”)

• Texas Senate Committee on Finance (“Senate Finance” or “Finance”)

• Budget Night

Read more

New roles dropped in House and Senate, with a few new #txlege agency openings, and a couple of impending deadlines (36+ opportunities)!

As we head into a new school year for many graduate/undergraduate students with their eyes set on full-time legislative roles this upcoming session, it will be tempting to put off applications until after that test, after that paper, after that organization’s big event. But we’re entering the season of not only openings, but short opening windows. Some get posted on a Monday with a deadline of the following Monday. Many will require writing samples, detailed applications, or even an assignment. “More opportunities will come,” you’ll tell yourself. And yes, they will. But what if the opportunity that was right for you comes between two big project deadlines?

That’s why it is so important to read these lists as soon as they come out, and also to be fully prepared ahead of time for any post. That means having your resume locked and loaded, a couple of writing samples ready to deploy, and at least three great references who can attest to your skills and character at a moment’s notice. If you haven’t yet prepped your materials, you can download the Capitol Careers eWorkbook: How to Get a Job in the Texas Legislature. It includes templates and samples for all application materials, as well as research-backed and insight-driven guidance on interviews, salary negotiations, and more. Don’t wait to prepare yourself!

Growing Your Capitol Network Can Lead You to Job Openings!

Last week’s Capitol Careers Weekly covered networking in the Texas Capitol community, giving readers concrete strategies, upcoming networking opportunities, and insider recommendations on organizations to join. Building a #txlege network doesn’t require money or power, but authenticity and presence. Read more at the link below.

Why isn’t this publication free?

The Texas Legislative Academy is my (Grace’s) full-time work, and every subscription directly supports my ability to keep researching, writing, and building resources. This work exists because of readers who believe in making the legislative process more accessible and understandable. A subscription to the Texas Legislative Academy Substack is currently just $5 per month. You get access to multiple sections of the Substack (you can select as many or as few as you want) that support the general public, aspiring staffers, current staffers, and anyone curious to learn more about the legislature. Please consider joining the Academy!

For Legislative Offices (Employers)

It costs nothing to post your opening here! Please send your opportunity to Grace at gkelly@texaslegislativeacademy.com.

Current Job Openings

Subscribe now

Read more

What’s in this article

• The Texas Capitol Has a Lot of Doors

• Active Authenticity

• Joining Organizations

• Attending Events

• Fighting Tribalism

The Texas Capitol Has a Lot of Doors

I have come across folks who th…

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What’s in this article

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New office openings, lots of fellowship opportunities, and a just added #txlege agency post!

There are a lot of ways to work for the Texas Legislature during the upcoming 90th session in 2027, and one way is through legislative fellowships. These are opportunities to get financially and professionally supported while working full-time in a legislator’s office as staff, or working for members through a caucus on the inside of the process. Fellowships have various eligibility criteria, with some seeking current undergraduate students, recently graduated students, current graduate students, and/or early career professionals. Never be the first person to tell yourself no—always check to see if you qualify! There are several fellowship opportunities, along with other new posts, for a total of 33+ jobs below the paywall.

Have you seen these four #txlege documentaries?

Last week’s Capitol Careers Weekly dove into four films that every aspiring or veteran #txleger should watch. From getting up close and personal with a statehouse race in 2002, to watching how legislators, lobbyists, and advocates interact during session to pass (or block) laws, and finishing with the rulemaking process, you’ll get a comprehensive “movieducation” in the Texas Legislature. And all of these films are currently free to watch! You can prepare yourself and access the movie playlist at the article link below:

Why isn’t this publication free?

The Texas Legislative Academy is my (Grace’s) full-time work, and every subscription directly supports my ability to keep researching, writing, and building resources for current and future legislative professionals. This work exists because of readers who believe in making the legislative process more accessible and understandable. A subscription to the Texas Legislative Academy Substack is currently just $5 per month. You get access to multiple sections of the Substack (you can select as many or as few as you want) that support aspiring staffers, current staffers, and anyone curious to learn more about the legislature. Please consider joining the Academy!

For Legislative Offices (Employers)

It costs nothing to post your opening here! Please send your opportunity to Grace at gkelly@texaslegislativeacademy.com.

Current Job Openings

Subscribe now

Read more

What’s in this article

• Why Every #TxLeger Should Watch These Films

• Campaign/Elections: Last Man Standing: Politics, Texas Style (2004)

• Legislating & Lobbying: The Best Little Statehouse in Texas (1981)

• L…

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What’s in this article

• Lobbying

• “The Lobby” / “The Third House”

• Lobbyist

• Contract Lobbyists or “Hired Guns”

• In-House Lobbyists

• Lobbyists and Constituent Services

• Revolving Door

• Access

Introduction

What do you …

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Lots of new postings in the Texas House and other #txlege agencies!

So what awaits you beyond the paywall today? Four new roles in the Texas House, a recently updated role in the Texas Senate, a PAID legislative fellowship that puts folks in offices across the legislature for session, and new posts across three legislative agencies—all part of a list of 31+ jobs in the legislative branch of Texas.

Curious to learn more about the Texas Legislative Academy?

Last week the Texas Legislative Academy published its first YouTube video on its official channel! It includes a 5-minute presentation by me (Grace) on why I founded the academy, followed by ten minutes of Q&A from my local community of small business owners, non-profits, and local government folks. If you’ve wondered why I’m doing what I’m doing and what I have planned for the future, I encourage you to take the time to watch!

Visit Capitol Careers Workbook Page

Download the Capitol Careers eBook

If you want to ensure you’re ready for any of these jobs, then don’t wait to purchase Capitol Careers: How to Get a Job in the Texas Legislature. One purchaser has already said it helped them get their first full-time #txlege role! It is a 244-page PDF and includes resources on building professional legislative writing samples, crafting memorable cover letters, acing interviews, evaluating offers, and setting expectations for your first weeks (plus a lot more). If you’re a current student, veteran, first responder, or military, there is a deep discount available for you—just ask via email!

Why isn’t this publication free?

The Texas Legislative Academy is my (Grace’s) full-time work, and every subscription directly supports my ability to keep researching, writing, and building resources for current and future legislative professionals. This work exists because of readers who believe in making the legislative process more accessible and understandable. A subscription to the Texas Legislative Academy Substack is currently just $5 per month. You get access to multiple sections of the Substack (you can select as many or as few as you want) that support aspiring staffers, current staffers, and anyone curious to learn more about the legislature. Please consider joining the Academy!

For Legislative Offices (Employers)

It costs nothing to post your opening here! Please send your opportunity to Grace at gkelly@texaslegislativeacademy.com.

Current Job Openings

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Regardless of who you are or why you’ve subscribed to the Texas Legislative Academy Substack, you may have wondered, “what really is the Texas Legislative Academy?” This week, in…

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What’s in this article

• Who Is Your Texas Legislator?

• Listening Tours

• Constituent Meeting

• Doing Your Homework

• The “Ask”

• Leave-Behind

• Registering a Position

• Don’t Complete a Transaction, Build a Relationship

Wh…

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Lots of deadlines this week and a new Chief of Staff role just dropped!

In addition to a new Chief of Staff role, a new internship opportunity has popped up with a short window for applications (deadline is tomorrow!). Additionally, there are three other internships with deadlines this upcoming Friday (7/31). These are all part of an overall list of 24+ open positions in the legislative branch of Texas (below the paywall).

Do you want to know how to find a legislator worth working for?

As a legislative staffer, who you work for has a massive impact on how you work, so before you make a decision on whether or not to accept a role in a legislative office, spend a significant amount of time determining if your future boss is a green flag boss. Regardless of your final decision, what’s most important is that it’s an informed one. You can start here with last week’s Capitol Careers Weekly post on the five green flags to look for. [Read here: Green Flags Only: A Former Staffer’s Guide to Spotting a Texas Legislator Worth Working For].

Download the Capitol Careers eBook

If you want to ensure you’re ready for any of these jobs, then don’t wait to purchase the Texas Legislative Academy’s eBook: Capitol Careers: How to Get a Job in the Texas Legislature. One purchaser has already said they credit this workbook for helping them get their first full-time role in the legislature! It is a 244-page PDF and includes resources on researching legislative offices, finding unposted roles, crafting legislative resumes, cover letters, and writing samples, acing interviews, evaluating offices and offers, and setting expectations for your first weeks.

Visit Capitol Careers Workbook Page

Why isn’t this publication free?

The Texas Legislative Academy is my (Grace’s) full-time work, and every subscription directly supports my ability to keep researching, writing, and building resources for current and future legislative professionals. This work exists because of readers who believe in making the legislative process more accessible and understandable. A subscription to the Texas Legislative Academy Substack is currently just $5 per month. Please consider joining the Academy!

For Legislative Offices (Employers)

It costs nothing to post your opening here! Please send your opportunity to Grace at gkelly@texaslegislativeacademy.com.

Current Job Openings

Subscribe now

Read more

What’s in this article

• Why This Matters

• Flag # 1: Praised Across Party Lines

• Flag # 2: Protective of Staff

• Flag # 3: Former Staff Respect Them

• Flag # 4: They Do Their Homework

• Flag # 5: Fully Transparent a…

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What’s in this article

• Constituent Services

• Casework

• Correspondence Management System (CMS)

• Information Requests

• Agency Complaints

• Benefits Assistance

• Legislative Liaison

• Correspondence

We’re All Constituen…

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Fancy an internship or being a policy analyst? New roles just posted.

This week’s edition of TxLege Staffer Jobs Only includes three new internship opportunities as well as a new full-time policy analyst role, in addition to 12 other openings (some recently added) in legislative offices, a new role for the Texas Senate (non-member), a smattering of opportunities for the Texas House, and a handful of posts with legislative agencies. All for a grand total of 25+ jobs in the legislative branch of Texas! This is a list you won’t find anywhere else in the state.

Did you miss last week’s Capitol Careers Weekly? It was a good one!

Researching a potential employer is part of any job search, but it’s especially difficult to parse out the management style of a potential boss when they’re an elected official (whether incumbent or incoming). A legislative job isn’t like any other job and a legislator as a boss isn’t like any other boss. As a staffer, you are entering a small, close-quarters, high-intensity, high-risk, very public work environment built around the single personality, priorities, and leadership style of one person. You cannot take this lightly… [Read More in The Legislator is the Job: How to Research a Potential Boss]

Download the Capitol Careers eBook

If you want to ensure you’re ready for any of these jobs, then don’t wait to purchase the Texas Legislative Academy’s eBook: Capitol Careers: How to Get a Job in the Texas Legislature and using your summer months to go through it. It is a 244-page PDF and includes resources for how to research legislative offices, how to find unposted roles, how to craft legislative resumes, cover letters, and writing samples, ace interviews, evaluate offices and offers, and set your expectations for your first weeks on the job!

Visit Capitol Careers Workbook Page

Why isn’t this publication free?

The Texas Legislative Academy is my (Grace’s) full-time work, and every subscription directly supports my ability to keep researching, writing, and building resources for current and future legislative professionals. This work exists because of readers who believe in making the legislative process more accessible and understandable. A subscription to the Texas Legislative Academy Substack is currently just $5 per month. Please consider joining the Academy!

For Legislative Offices (Employers)

It costs nothing to post your opening here! Please send your opportunity to Grace at gkelly@texaslegislativeacademy.com.

Current Job Openings

Subscribe now

Read more