Editor’s note: This story was part of a series of articles published in the March 4 edition of The Daily Texan.

A little under a mile away from UT’s campus, the 89th Texas Legislative Session has begun. Legislators have filed nearly 5,000 bills related to issues across Texas since filing began in November 2024. 

For students interested in participating in this process and testifying in support, against or in neutrality for filed bills, there are a few steps to follow: 

• Not all bills will receive a hearing, so students must first check whether a bill is scheduled for discussion on the Texas House or Senate calendar website. 
• Students must create a witness registration profile on the official Texas House or Senate website. This profile will serve as official identification when signing up to speak at a hearing.
• Once at the Texas Capitol, students can visit the kiosks located on the first or second floor of the Capitol Extension. They will need to first select the hearing and the specific committee in charge of the bill. Only the author and the bill’s caption will be displayed on the agenda, so students should know both. 
• Students will then be prompted to select their stance on the bill and provide their contact information or login if they already have an account. 
• If students are speaking on behalf of a group or student organization, they will need to indicate this as well. 
• Finally, the system will ask students to review and confirm all the information they have entered before submission and then the system will display the room number of the hearing.