the texas legislature chapter 23 o’connor and sabato american government: continuity and change
TRANSCRIPT
The Texas Legislature
In this chapter we will cover…1. The Roots of the Legislative Branch
2. The State Constitution and the Legislative Branch of Government
3. Legislative Membership: Representing the Public 4. How the Texas Legislature is Organized
5. The Lawmaking and Budgeting Function of the Legislature 6. How the Legislature Makes Decisions7. The Legislature and the Governor
Roots of the Legislature in Texas
Roots in Mexican legislature (Mexican provinces of Tejas and Chohuila)
1836 Texas independence - Constitution of Republic of Texas calls for bicameral Congress
1846 Texas joins Union - Republic of Texas legislature dissolved and first Texas Legislature convenes
Legislature dominated by Anglos During Reconstruction – African Americans in Texas
Legislature (1869/1874… then reduced in #s) End of Reconstruction meant the end of representation for
African Americans
State Constitution & the Legislative Branch of Government Texas legislature – bicameral (Senate has
31 members and House of Representatives has 150)
Constitution sets term limits, compensation, and requirements for office
Legislative session – every two years Constitution provides for regular and special
sessions
Legislative Membership: Representing the Public Issues of representation include
-Nature of representation
-How to achieve representation
-Equality of representation Determining representation
-Districts and redistricting
-Reelection rates& membership turnover
Legislative Membership: Representing the Public
Demographics of representationoccupation education religiongender race agepolitical party ideology
Organization of Texas Legislature Leaders
Lieutenant GovernorSpeaker
Committees (subunit of the legislature) Types of committees
standingproceduraljointconferenceinterim
Organization of Texas Legislature Power and Influence
Legislative Party Caucus (same party identification) Leadership/Opposition – the House
Texas Constitution requires that legislature elect one of their members to be head of House called the “Speaker” (influence and power)
Leadership and Opposition - the SenateConstitution calls for lieutenant governor to be leader of the
Senate (influence and power)Lieutenant governor in Texas is a very powerful position
Lawmaking & Budgeting in the Texas Legislature Bills and Resolutions Rules of the process whereby a bill becomes
a law adopted by legislative chambers embody constitutional limits
Bills are filed, committeed, read, calendared, filibustered, amended, engrossed, and signed
Lawmaking & Budgeting in the Texas Legislature Budgeting process Texas has biennial budget Role of the Governor and Legislative Budgeting Board Balanced budget requirement Budgeting process includes: consideration of balanced
budget requirement, comptrollers revenues estimates, proposed budget by governor and the LBB, spending limits, and governor’s line item veto authority
How the Legislature Makes Decisions decision process – complex involving many
players (voters, lobbyists, judges, media, etc.) Growth and dependency on support staff is focal
point of institutionalization of legislatures Lobbyist influence and role is of special concern
in the development of public policy Campaign finances and election lines become
blurred