On August 14, the Chairman of the House Administration Committee, State Rep. Charlie Geren (R-Ft. Worth), released the results of a survey of House Members' responses to a range of questions about the operation of the House in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A copy of the results was published by Harvey Kronberg's Quorum Report  the same day. The questionaire included 38 questions, with 13 (!) open-ended items. We've created graphics for most of the responses, including the open-ended responses, which were coded into categories when appropriate. (Some of the questions were simply general inquiries.) Each graphic below includes the question and the number of respondents to that item. Based on the released results, 116 of the 150 House members responded at least partially to the questionnaire, though not all of the respondents answered all 38 questions.

Fair warning: some of the graphics for the open-ended questions, which we've put at the top of the post since these items weren't coded in the QR release, are a bit unweildy as a result of the length of the stem (i.e. the question), the tendency of most questions to invite mulit-part responses, and our desire to split more than we lumped in order to capture some of the nuance of the open-ended responses.

Compilations of responses to multiple close-ended questions.

Do you favor or oppose...

Do you plan to...

Open-ended questions

Under what circumstances do you believe the Texas Capitol should be fully re-opened to the general public?

What practices and protocols do you believe are necessary in order to safely conduct the legislative session in a manner that both protects the health and safety of lawmakers and staff and follows federal social distancing guidelines?

What safety protocols do you consider most important for holding and attending hearings?

Do you believe the House should consider amending its rules or housekeeping resolution in times of a pandemic or natural disaster, and if so, what types of amendments would you consider most important, taking into account the public access requirements ou

Do you believe the Capitol cafeteria should serve food during the pandemic, and if so, how might operations be adjusted in order to ensure the health and safety of patrons?

In the event one or a combination of safety measures including face masks, face shields, and temperature checks are required, how should it be handled if a lawmaker or staff member declines to participate?

If lawmakers or staff refuse a COVID-19 test, how do you believe that should be handled?

What safety protocols do you plan to implement in your own office — whether limiting the number of visitors or groups, requiring face masks/PPE, enforcing social distancing or other measures?

Closed-ended questions

To what degree should testing for COVID-19 be required for lawmakers during session?

To what degree should testing for COVID-19 be required for staff who are working within the Capitol?

Do you plan to welcome guests or hold meetings in your office?

Do you favor or oppose requiring daily temperature checks during session and any other legislative activities within the Capitol?

Do you plan to limit food and beverage in your office?

Do you favor or oppose requiring face masks while in the Capitol common areas, committee rooms and public meeting spaces?

Do you favor or oppose requiring face shields during session and any other legislative activities within the Capitol?

Do you plan to limit your session staff or interns in order to decrease the number of individuals in your office and the building?

Do you favor or oppose requiring face masks during the session and any other legislative activities within the Capitol?

Do you plan to use Zoom or any similar platform to meet with constituents and advocacy groups?

Do you favor or oppose temperature checks upon entry to the Capitol?

Do you favor or oppose suspending floor recognitions during the pandemic?

Would you like to see the House offer sanitized rooms that could be scheduled by your staff for the purpose of holding meetings with the public?

Do you favor or oppose permitting visitor groups in the gallery during session if their size and number were limited?

Do you favor or oppose permitting visitor groups in the House Gallery during session?

Would you favor or oppose limiting floor access to essential staff during session?

Do you favor or oppose designating certain entrances of the Capitol building to be used only by members and staff?

Do you favor or oppose keeping the Members' Lounge open throughout session?

Do you favor or oppose limiting public access to the Capitol to individuals who have business in the building during the pandemic?

Do you favor or oppose limiting tours to specific areas of the Capitol during the pandemic?

Do you favor or oppose requiring testing for COVID-19 during session and any other legislative activities within the Capitol?

Do you favor or oppose permitting outside public groups to reserve and use public spaces like committee rooms, the legislative conference center and member's extension lounge?