78th Texas Legislature
The 78th Texas Legislature met from January 14 to June 2, 2003 in regular session, and in three called sessions in 2003, and a fourth called session in 2004. All members of the House of Representatives and all members of the Senate were elected in the 2002 general election, with seats apportioned among the 2000 United States census.
This was the first legislature in over 100 years that Republicans had control of both Houses of the Legislature. Tom Craddick was elected as the first Republican Speaker of the House since 1873.
Notable Events
Mid-Decade Redistricting and Quorum Break
During the 2003 Texas redistricting, the majority Republicans in the Texas House of Representatives sought to carry out a controversial mid-decade congressional redistricting bill which would have favored Republicans by displacing five Democratic U.S. Representatives from Texas, nicknamed the "Texas Five", from their districts. The House Democrats, certain of defeat if a quorum were present, took a plane to the neighboring state of Oklahoma to prevent a quorum from being present. The group gained the nickname the "Killer Ds".Similarly, the minority Democrats in the Texas Legislature's upper chamber, the Texas Senate, fled to New Mexico to prevent a quorum of the Senate to prevent a redistricting bill from being considered during a special session. The group, nicknamed the "Texas Eleven", stayed in New Mexico for 46 days before John Whitmire returned to Texas, creating a quorum. Because there was now no point in staying in New Mexico, the remaining ten members of the Texas Eleven returned to Texas to vote in opposition to the bill.
Sessions
78th Regular session: January 14, 2003 – June 2, 200378th First called session: June 30, 2003 – July 28, 200378th Second called session: July 28, 2003 – August 26, 200378th Third called session: September 15, 2003 – October 12, 200378th Fourth called session: April 20, 2004 – May 17, 2004Officers
Senate
Lieutenant Governor: David Dewhurst, RepublicanPresident Pro Tempore ':' Eddie Lucio, Jr., DemocratPresident Pro Tempore ':' Jane Nelson, RepublicanPresident Pro Tempore ':''' Jeff Wentworth, RepublicanHouse of Representatives
Speaker of the House: Tom Craddick, RepublicanMembers
Members of the Seventy-eighth Texas Legislature at the beginning of the regular session, January 14, 2003:Membership Changes
Senate
| District | Outgoing Senator | Reason for Vacancy | Successor | Date of Successor's Installation |
| District 1 | Bill Ratliff | Retirement. Senator Ratliff resigned effective January 10, 2004 for personal reasons. | Kevin Eltife | March 5, 2004 |
| District 31 | Teel Bivins | Resignation. Senator Bivins resigned effective January 12, 2004 after being appointed U.S. Ambassador to Sweden by President George W. Bush. | Kel Seliger | March 2, 2003 |
- District 1: A special election was held on January 20, 2004. No candidate received a majority of the votes on that date, so the top two candidates faced each other in a runoff on February 17, 2004. Kevin Eltife received a majority of the vote and was sworn in on March 5, 2004.
- District 31: A special election was held on January 20, 2004. No candidate received a majority of the votes on that date, so the top two candidates faced each other in a runoff on February 17, 2004. Kel Seliger received a majority of the vote and was sworn in on March 2, 2004.
House of Representatives
| District | Outgoing Representative | Reason for Vacancy | Successor | Date of Successor's Installation |
| District 43 | Irma Rangel | Representative Rangel died on March 18, 2003. | Juan Manuel Escobar | May 9, 2003 |
| District 62 | Ron Clark | Representative Clark declined his seat after accepting appointment as United States federal judge. | Larry Phillips | January 14, 2003 |
- District 43: A special election was held on April 15, 2003. No candidate received a majority of the votes on that date, so the top two candidates faced each other in a runoff on May 6, 2003. Juan Manuel Escobar won the runoff and was sworn in 3 days later, on May 9, 2003.
- District 62: Representative Clark was elected in the 2002 General Election, but resigned before re-taking the oath of office for the Seventy-eighth Legislature. A special election was held on December 14, 2002. No candidate received a majority of the votes on that date, so the top two candidates faced each other in a runoff on January 7, 2002. Larry Phillips won the runoff and was sworn in at the opening of the regular session.