Sen. Royce West

Senator, District 23; Ex-officio Member

Royce West was first elected to the Texas Senate in November 1992. Since taking office he has represented the 23rd Senatorial District on behalf of the citizens of Dallas County in the Texas Legislature. During his tenure, Senator West has been named by Texas Monthly as one of the 25 most powerful people in Texas politics, been selected for the magazine's biennial "Ten Best Legislators in Texas" list, and has twice been named as an "Honorable Mention." Senator West has also received mention on the Associated Press' "Movers and Shakers" list, and Texas Insider named Senator West to its 2009 "Best Legislators" list.

On April 17, 2006, Senator West was sworn in by his fellow state senators to serve as President Pro Tempore of the Texas Senate.

Senator West is Vice-Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee and is a member of Senate committees on Education, Local Government, and Finance. Senator West has been appointed to serve on the Supreme Court of Texas Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth, and Families and also serves on the following national and regional organizations:

  • Education Committee of the Southern Legislative Conference (SLC);
  • Standing committee on Communications, Financial Services and Interstate Commerce of the National Conference of State Legislature (NCSL);
  • Education Commission of the States;
  • Intergovernmental Affairs Committee of the Council of State Governments; and the Southern Regional Education Board Legislative Advisory Council.

Senator West's key initiatives include the creation of college admission opportunities for all students, including the establishment of the University of North Texas at Dallas and UNT-Dallas School of Law. His legislation created the Texas Juvenile Crime Prevention Center at Prairie View A&M University; increased funding for at-risk youth programs, awarded greater compensation to victims of violent crime, established new standards for child care, enhanced enforcement of protective orders and instituted more efficient uses of criminal justice resources through legislation that created a system of progressive sanctions. During the 2009 Legislative Session, Senator West passed legislation that created a kinship care program whereby qualified relatives can receive state support to help raise children who could otherwise become part of the foster care system. Senator West also created a special TANF program for grandparent caregivers.

Since 1993, Senator West has sponsored the Dr. Emmett J. Conrad Leadership Program. The program has provided college students from Senatorial District 23 with paid employment in their respective fields of study. In 1996, Senator West established a Student Advisory Committee (SAC) to obtain the perspectives of junior high and high school students on legislative and community issues and to expose them to volunteer opportunities in the community.

To promote inclusiveness in the procurement practices of state agencies in working with Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUBs), Senator West created the "Doing Business Texas Style - Spot Bid Contract Fair" and regularly sponsors procurement workshops and seminars.

In the 88th and 89th sessions of the Texas Legislature, Senator West was instrumental in passing a number of measures to help children in foster and kinship care, including legislation for child support to follow the child with kinship placements, and to insure children in Parent-Child Safety Placements were able to enroll in school without difficulty.

In addition to his senatorial duties, Senator West is a partner in the law firm of West & Associates, L.L.P. He is also a caring father to his children and devoted husband to Carol R. West, CPA, as well as an active deacon of Good Street Baptist Church.