Texas Government Structure and Legislative Processes

These flashcards cover the essential vocabulary and concepts regarding the Texas legislature, executive power, judicial systems, local government, and public policy relevant to the upcoming exam.

Frequency of regular sessions in Texas Legislature

Once every two years

Maximum duration of a regular Texas legislative session

140 calendar days

Authority to call special sessions in Texas

Governor

What a fiscal note estimates for a Texas bill

Financial impact; costs, savings, revenue gains, or revenue losses

Number of members in the Texas House of Representatives

150 members

Minimum age to serve in the Texas Senate

26 years old

Type of bills that must originate in the Texas House

Revenue bills

Vote needed for a joint resolution to amend the Texas Constitution

Two-thirds vote

Leader of the Texas House of Representatives

Speaker of the House

Non-legislative power of the Texas Legislature

Oversight of executive agencies

What primarily guides Texas legislators’ voting decisions

Constituent interests

Outcome if a Texas committee takes no action on a bill

The bill dies

Vote required to adopt amendments on a bill’s third reading in the Texas House

Majority vote

When most Texas laws typically take effect after passage

90 days after the end of the session

Document issued by the Texas Comptroller before a legislative session

Biennial Revenue Estimate

Who certifies that Texas’s budget aligns with available revenue

Texas Comptroller

Process that reapportions U.S. congressional seats every ten years

Census

Who takes over Texas redistricting if the legislature fails to agree on maps

Texas courts

Stage at which a Texas bill is first assigned to a committee

Committee stage

Comparison of Texas governor’s power to U.S. president’s

Texas governor has weaker executive powers

Number of elected officials in Texas’s plural executive

Six

Texas executive official that is appointed rather than elected

Secretary of State

Key power of the Texas Attorney General

Provide legal advice to state agencies

Role of the Texas Comptroller in the budget process

Oversees revenue collection and spending

What the Texas Land Commissioner primarily manages

State lands and mineral rights

Primary duty of the Texas Agriculture Commissioner

Regulate agriculture and food safety

Minimum age requirement to be Texas governor

30 years old

Vote required in the Texas Senate to convict a governor in impeachment

Two-thirds vote

Power that allows the Texas governor to significantly influence state policy

Veto power

Limitation on the Texas governor’s clemency power for death penalty cases

Requires Board of Pardons and Paroles' recommendation

Strongest legislative power of the Texas governor

Ability to call special sessions

Fastest-growing employment sector in Texas state government

Health and human services

What the Texas Open Records Act primarily provides access to

Government records and documents

Purpose of the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission

Review state agencies for efficiency and effectiveness

Outcome if the Sunset Commission takes no action on a Texas agency

Agency continues to operate without changes

Proposed reform to control Texas bureaucracy growth

Enhanced oversight and accountability measures

Challenge in reorganizing Texas bureaucracy

Resistance to change from established agencies

Who Texas officials report to in a plural executive

The governor

Power Governor Abbott used extensively during the COVID-19 pandemic

Emergency executive orders

Law based on judicial decisions rather than statutes

Case law

Court with exclusive jurisdiction over Texas death penalty appeals

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

Texas court that handles parking and traffic violations

Municipal Court

Highest trial court level in Texas

District Court

Number of Texas Courts of Appeals

14

Type of jurisdiction that allows a court to hear a case for the first time

Original jurisdiction

Party bringing the lawsuit in a Texas civil case

Plaintiff

First pleading filed in a Texas civil lawsuit

Petition

Stage of a civil lawsuit involving exchanging information

Discovery

Requirement to prove a defendant’s responsibility in a civil case

Preponderance of evidence

Document that formally charges a felony in a Texas criminal case

Indictment

Purpose of a Texas grand jury

Determine whether there is enough evidence to charge someone with a felony

Type of evidence prosecutors must share if requested in a criminal case

Exculpatory evidence

Reform that aims to limit civil lawsuit damages in Texas

Tort reform

Method used to select most Texas judges

Partisan elections

What the Judicial Campaign Fairness Act limits

Campaign contributions to judicial candidates

Who appoints Texas judges to fill vacancies between elections

Governor

Requirement for Texas appellate court judges

Must have been a practicing lawyer or judge for at least ten years

Which Texas judges are not required to be licensed attorneys

Justice of the Peace

Term length for Texas Supreme Court justices

Six years

Number of counties in Texas

254

Principle that limits local government powers to those granted by the state

Dillon's Rule

Type of city that can draft its own charter with over 5,000 residents

Home-rule city

City government form with a professional manager running daily operations

Council-manager form

Power that allows home-rule cities to remove elected officials

Recall election

Type of election that favors minority representation in city councils

Single-member district elections

Who presides over the Texas county commissioners court

County Judge

County official who prosecutes misdemeanor cases

County Attorney

Type of bond that requires voter approval for county projects

General obligation bond

What home-rule cities can do that counties cannot

Set their own ordinances without state approval

State action that can nullify local city ordinances

State preemption

County official who manages the county jail

Sheriff

What special-purpose districts are often called due to low public awareness

Hidden government

Number of special-purpose districts reported in Texas as of 2014

Over 2,300

Power that allows some special districts to take private property with compensation

Eminent domain

Type of election used for school district boards of trustees

At-large elections

Primary local funding source for independent school districts

Local property taxes

Type of charter school authorized by the State Board of Education

Open-enrollment charter school

District that provides water and sewer services to new developments

Utility district

Recommended reform for special-purpose districts

Increase transparency and accountability

What manages Texas’s electric grid

Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)

First step in the public policy process

Problem identification

Who can influence the legislative agenda in Texas

Interest groups

Term for vote trading to pass legislation

Logrolling

What connects interest groups, legislators, and agencies

Lobbying efforts

Commission that reviews Texas state agencies

Legislative Budget Board

Power the U.S. Constitution grants Congress regarding immigration

Exclusive power to regulate immigration

Supreme Court case that affirmed national control over immigration in 1875

Wong Wing v. U.S.

Policy area shared by national, state, and local governments

Environmental policy

Tactic that uses amendments to undermine legislation

Rider amendments

Top-funded policy arena in Texas

Education

Recapture program for school funding

Robin Hood plan

Agency that oversees Texas K-12 education

Texas Education Agency

Program that provides healthcare for low-income Texans

Medicaid

Agency that receives over 80% of business policy funds

Texas Workforce Commission

Largest landowner in Texas

State of Texas

Agency that manages Texas public lands

General Land Office

Rule that allows landowners to pump unlimited groundwater

Rule of Capture

What is published weekly to propose agency rules in Texas

Texas Register

Law that protects consumers from deceptive advertising

Deceptive Trade Practices Act

Primary criminal code in Texas

Texas Penal Code