UT Austin Texas Government Exam

True or False: The Texas Legislative Branch is the least weak of the three branches

True

How senators are in the Texas Senate?

31

How many representatives are in the Texas House of Rep. ?

150

Connecticut Compromise

Proposed two chambers for legislative branch: one with the number of representatives based on state population and the other with fixed number of senators per state.

Different for Texas legislature: Senate represents larger districts and more broad concerns for state (have longer terms than House of Rep. reps). Representatives in the House have shorter terms and represent smaller districts. They are more in tune with the ever changing needs of the people.

How often does the Texas Legislature hold its regular session?

For 140 days every other year.

What happens to a bill at the end of the regular sessions if it hasn't been passed or denied?

It dies

What are Special Sessions

Special sessions are legislative sessions that the governor can call for after the regular session is over. He can call for as many as he or she wants and the governor dictates the content of the session.

True or False: Texas legislatures are elected in single-member districts and districts are redrawn ever 10 years

true

Who is given the position of President of the Senate

The Lieutenant Governor is given this position by the Texas Constitution. The Lt. Gov. is an elected via a statewide election.

T or F: The Texas House has always had single-member districts

False, up until a Supreme Court decision in 1972, House reps where elected in multi-member districts

How long are the terms of office for legislative positions?

The house have elections every two years where all seats are up for grabs

The senate has elections every two years where only half the members are up for re-election. Which half is up for election is rotated every two years. Each term is four years long. This staggering restarted after re-redistricting. Senators draw straws for who gets a four-year or two-year term.

Requirements to run for the Texas House of Reps.

• must be at least 21

• legal resident of the state for the past two years

• resident of their district for at least one year

• US citizen

Requirements to run for the Texas Senate

• must be at least 26

• legal resident of the state for the past 5 years

• resident of their district for at least one year

• US citizen

private interest group

groups that seek to influence public policy for the specific and often exclusive benefit of their members or people with similar interests

public interest group

groups that seek influence public policy for the benefit of the general population

in-house lobbyist

employed directly by the interest groups themselves (e.g. Vice President of Legislative Affairs

Contract Lobbyist

independent professionals who are hired to represent an interest group for a fixed period of time. Often represent multiple interest groups at the same time

public advocacy firm lobbyist

hybrid of the other two types. work for law firms or public advocacy firms that businesses and interest groups can hire.

Political Action Committee (PAC)

An entity other than a political party that raises and sends money to elect or defeat candidates. PACs are regulated under both federal and state law.

Interest Group scorecards

Interest groups create scorecards ranking how well candidates align with there interests

bracket bills

legislation or proposed legislation intended to benefit a relatively narrow class of beneficiaries without directly naming them.

a legislative resolution

a formal statement of opinion or a specific decision. can be issue by either chamber

joint resolution

the mechanism used to propose amendments to the Texas Constitution. passed by both chambers of the legislature

Three types of resolutions

simple resolution

joint resolution

concurrent resolution (a formal statement of opinion but does not carry the force of law)

Legislature Administrative Power

Ratify gubernatorial appointments

Create, abolish and redefine state agencies

Require report and special reporting from state agencies

Approve state agency budgets

Ratify gubernatorial appointments

The appointments made by the governor must have two-thirds approval vote in the senate

Name the three types of bills that can be introduced in the legislature

general, special and local

Who impeaches and who tries the case?

The house impeaches and the senate tries the case

gerrymandering

the manipulation of political boundaries and/or electoral constituencies to favor one party over another

Senatorial Standing Committees

chair and members are appointed by the lieutenant governor

deal with public policy

Senatorial Special Committees

essentially subcommittees of permanent committees

created to study important issues

House Substantive Committee

similar to senatorial Standing Committees; deal with issues of public policy

House Procedural Committees

dedicated to regulating the functioning and operations of the house itself

Example: Calendar Committee - decides when bills are heard on the floor

Conference Committee

include members of both chambers and are formed to resolve differences in bills that passed by each house that deal with same issue. Consists of five members from both chambers.

interim committee

formed to consider bills when the legislature is not in session

• can be formed to study a particular issue that arose at the end of the previous session

Ad hoc committees

used to study specific issues, problems or questions

line-item veto

the governor may veto certain items in an appropriations bill.

T or F: The legislature can override the governor's veto with a 2/3 vote in both chambers

true

Committees in the House and Senate that deal with taxes and appropriations

House:

Ways and Means Committee

Appropriations Committee

Senate:

Finance Committee

Business and Commerce Committee

State Affairs Committee

Prestigious committee that deals with operation of the state government

How long is the waiting period that members must wait in before acting on legislation

60 days

Lieutenant Governer

• four year terms

• appoints members to committees

• assigns bills to committees

• the tie breaker

• chair the legislative budget board and Legislative council

• vice-chair of Leg. Audit committee and Education board

• member of the LRB

Attorney General

• opinions on public policy has the force of law

• "the state's lawyer"

• generally doesn't work on criminal cases; mainly advises when asked

Comptroller of Public Accounts

• in charge of tax collection, accounting, estimating revenue for the state, and acts as custodian of state funds and investments

Texas Secretary of State

• in charge of voter registration

• keeping records of all debt and Uniform Commercial Code fillings

• appointed by the governor and approved by the senate

Public Utilities Commission

• oversees rates and enforces rules and laws related to electricity and telecommunications