Studied by 6 people
The year the republic of Texas was established
1836
The year Texas joined the Union
1845
What is the Texas Creed?
Anglo belief that their race was superior. Used violence to enforce this and believed it was honorable to defend oneself.
How does Texas Creed define early Texas history and impact the political culture of Texas?
Anglo immigration to Texas brought homesteading, racist ideology, and violence toward other races. This built the foundation for traditionalism and provincialism to dominate the early political culture of Texas.
What were the population demographics of Texas at the time of Independence?
Natives, Tejanos, and Anglos
What were the primary motivations for declaring independence from Mexico?
To maintain slavery and refusal to follow the Mexican government.
What are the executive powers of the governor?
Appointive power (weak): sec of state, state board chairs, judicial vacancies, US representatives Military power: TX air, guard, national, martial law, rangers, DPS Executive Orders: set policy for executive branch Proclamations Promote Economic Development
What are the judicial powers of the governor?
Appoint judges Grant pardons, but not for death sentences
Why is the office of governor of Texas traditionally considered a weak office?
The Texas Constitution weakens the governor's power and spreads their power among executive officials.
What do we mean by the plural executive?
Group of officials in charge of making decisions and giving orders (executive branch).
Who makes up the plural executive (be able to name at least three besides governor), and how are they selected?
Lieutenant Governor, The Comptroller of Public Accounts, Commissioner of Agriculture, Commissioner of the General Land Office and The Secretary of State (and the governor) They are selected by the state's electorate (voters) every four years.
What are the pros of a plural executive?
Prevents abuse of power, laws would appoint friends Officials must defend their positions to be elected
What are the cons of a plural executive?
Less cohesion Governor has less power Voters may not elect fully qualified officials
What does it mean that the executive branch has emergency and military powers?
Can deploy martial and military law in a state of emergency
Why would the executive branch hold these powers instead of the legislative branch?
The Executive branch enforces laws, the Legislative branch only makes them.
the president in the executive can veto those laws with a presidential veto
Be able to explain the process through which a bill becomes a law, and what a companion bill is.
Bill is introduced a. Companion Bill- introduced in the House and Senate and the same time
First Reading, bill is assigned to a committee
Committee Consideration a. Kill the bill or pass with majority vote
Second Reading and Vote
Third Reading and Vote
If bills differ, conference committee 5 members from each chamber resolves differences
Enrollment and Certification
Governor Action a. Sign or Veto (⅔ vote, both houses) b. 10 days to sign, if it's not signed then it passes
For how long and how often does the legislature meet?
140 days, every 2 yrs
How are those days of a regular session scheduled?
30- bill introduction 30- committee work/action 80- floor debate and voting
What is the difference between a bicameral and a unicameral legislature?
Bicameral- 2 chambers (House and Senate) Unicameral- 1 chamber (ex: Nebraska)
How long are term limits for Texas senators and house members?
Senate- 4 yr terms House- 2 yr terms
what are the legislative powers of the speaker of the house?
presides over meetings, chooses who to call on during meetings, appoints members to committees, schedules bills for debate and refers bills to the proper committee
How is the speaker of the house chosen?
selected by the House majority party
How is the lieutenant governor chosen?
Statewide election every 4 years. Same time as governor.
What are the legislative powers of the lieutenant governor?
establishes all special and standing committees, appoints all chairpersons and members, and assigns all Senate legislation to the committee of his choice.
What are the formal powers of the Texas Legislature?
include consideration of proposed laws and resolutions, consideration of proposed constitutional amendments for submission to the voters, and appropriation of all funds for the operation of state government
How are special interest groups used in the creation of bills?
Interest groups try to influence Congress by reaching targeted members of Congress, often indirectly through other political actors (thru lobbyists) to get bills they want passed
What is the process through which the Texas Constitution is amended?
⅔ of each chamber pass amendment Voters can approve with majority vote Governor has no veto power Gov needs to be inefficient to not be in daily life
When was the last Texas Constitution ratified?
1876
Is the Texas constitution generally considered to be short or long as compared to constitutions of others states within the U.S.A.?
Longer than most but not Alabama's
What article of the U.S. constitution formally identifies states' powers?
Article 2
What is federalism?
Separation of power between the national and state governments.
What are the principles of checks and balances and balance of power?
Each branch of government with individual powers to check the other branches and prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful.
How are the principles of checks and balances exemplified through federalism?
state and federal gov balance each other; limit national gov power
How are the principles of checks and balances exemplified through how a bill becomes a law?
the president can veto any bill passed by Congress, but a two-thirds vote in Congress can override the veto
Why is redistricting necessary?
Represents common views held by a district’s population to insure the right official is elected for them
it can allow equal representation and allow communities to give input
Why is redistricting controversial?
One party can maintain power in state legislature through gerrymandering.
Gerrymandering
when a political group tries to change a voting district boundary to create a result that helps them or hurts the group who is against them.
What is the definition of a caucus?
a meeting at which members of a political party assemble to select delegates and to make policy recommendations at the precinct, county, or state senatorial district, and state levels
a discussion where they make NO DECISIONS, basically just talking
What is the difference between a Traditionalist and a Revisionist interpretation of Texas history?
Traditionalist: a person who believes that older ways of doing or thinking about things are better than newer ways
Revisionist: someone who examines and tries to change existing beliefs about how events happened or what their importance or meaning is
The difference between Individualistic, Traditionalistic, Moralistic and Provincial political cultures
Individualistic: view the govt. as their enemy that uses taxes and regulations to limit economic freedom. Therefore, they view the govt. negatively and wanted to limit their size.
They believe the govt. should maintain a stable society but intervene as little as possible in the lives of people
Traditionalistic: the belief that government should be dominated by political elites and guided by tradition, only elites belong in the political enterprise
strengthen people who are already powerful
they want to preserve their dominant role in society
Moralistic: expect the government to improve conditions for the people through economic regulation and to advance the public good in order to create a just society
citizens believe it’s their duty to become active in governmental decision-making through participation in politics and govt.
Provincial political cultures: broadly shared values, beliefs, and attitudes about how government and society should function
What are the executive, judicial powers and legislative powers of the governor?
Executive: regulating law
Judicial: interpreting law
Legislative powers: making law
What is a veto?
to approve or reject a bill to become a law
What is the role of the Texas attorney general, the comptroller, and secretary of state?
Texas Attorney General:
one of texas’ most visible and powerful officeholders
a major player in making important public policy decisions
represents the state government in lawsuits and provides legal advice to state and local officials
Comptroller:
one of the most powerful elected officers in the texas government
responsible for collecting taxes, keeping accounts, estimating revenue, and serving as treasurer for the state
Secretary of state:
assisting county election officials and ensuring the uniform application and interpretation of election laws throughout Texas
What is the role of the house and senate in the impeachment process?
The Senate: The Senate acts as the jury and has the right to try the executive (president) or judicial (judges) official. The Senate's duty is to try the officials
The House: lists the charges of impeachment only. They have the sole power to list and bring charges of impeachment
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HAS THE SOLE POWER OF IMPEACHMENT.
What is the definition of quorum?
the smallest number of people who must be at a meeting for official decisions to be made by voting
What are the founding principles of Texas Constitution?
popular sovereignty
limited government
separation of powers
checks and balances
federalism
protection of individual rights
What is the definition of social construction?
is a concept that exists not in objective reality, but as a result of human interaction. It exists because humans agree that it exists
Examples: Race, age, beauty, nationality, etc.
Provincialism
a narrow self interested view of politics often associated of rural or common value limited government
OR
belief in the superiority of one's regional government
3 ethnic groups
Anglos
smallest population
many ethics
upper south
they all use guns
TX creed ( belief in the superiority of their institutions, acceptance of violence to sustain them)
Tejanos
largely separated by class
farmers
Indigenous
largest population
fractured/ not unified
What makes a good constitution?
Not too broad
clear, easy to understand
able to change (flexible/rigid)
establish guiding principles how power is shared, basic rules/ power of government
equitable/ inclusive (include everyone)
6 constitution of TX
Coahuila y Tejas (1827)
first state of consitution
Republic of texas (1836)
State of TX (1845)
Confederate state constitution (1861)
Reconstruction (1869)
TX Constitution of 1876 (current)
distrust in government
weak executive
binial, short legislative session
lengthy, over 200 pages
Amend
2/3 vote in both chambers
majority vote
Key principles of constitution
distrust in government
self-interest is expected
separation of powers
division of responsibilities between branches
Checks and balances
the ability of one branch to check or constrain another
shared sovereignty
home rule, self rule
10th amendment
powers not delegated by the constitution nor prohibited by its state, are reserved for the states, or to the people
Article 6 U.S. constitution
national supremacy Claus
federal law, constitution, treaties are supreme law of land
Jurisdiction
scope of authority
the power, right, or authority to interpret and apply the law
full faith and credit clause
contracts of one state must be honored in all states
Privileges and immunities
citizens of one state shall be treated as citizens of another
reserved state powers
police
taxation
eminent domain → allows state to steal individual private property
proprietary power → the right to own property
grants
federal money provided to the states
Legislatures
filled up legislators
Representatives = legislators
Bicameral
made up two chambers
Unicameral
made up one chambers
What’s the requirement to be in the house?
2 years term
21 years old
2 years state resident
What’s the requirement to be in the Senate?
4 years terms
26 years old
5 years resident
How many members does the house have?
150 members
How many members does the Senate have?
31 members
Redistricting
redrawing of voting boundaries to create equal representation → every 10 years
Every ten years, local governments use new census data to redraw their district lines to reflect how local populations have changed.
Trustee
elected officials rely on their own judgement
Delegates
rely on the constituents
voters represented by politician
President of Senate (lieutenant govt.)
popular elected
Speaker of the house
voted by representatives
Powers of both speaker of the house and president of senate
Create/ abolish committees
Appoint committee chairs
Send bills to committee chairs
recognize speakers
Lt. government appoints all committee member
speaker of the house appoints most committee members BUT NOT ALL OF THEM
committee - tx house
substantive - permanent
7 most common number
seniority accounts for 1/2 of membership
procedural
deal with procedural matters in the house
Ex: calendar, redistricting
interim committee
between session of the Legislature in order to study subjects of legislative concern
study key issues facing the state to help prepare for the 45-day general session.
select committee
issues that cross committee jurisdiction, temporary committees and asked to perform a specific task or study by the senate
oversight
state agencies report to congress is responsible to monitor their spendings and actions
legislative function
impeachment
state judges, executive officers, appointed state officials
majority of house to impeach (how impeachment works)
2/3 of senate remove (remove from office)
Presidents can still run for office after impeachment because they haven’t been remove from office
simple resolution
rule changes to the house or senate
concurrent resolution
majority of both chambers government signature
joint resolutions
majority of 2/3 of chambers and no action from the government
companion bill
introduced in both chambers at the same time
140 days
30 days - introduce bills, resolutions
30 days -committee work
80 days - floor debate voting
= 140 days
14% bill to become a law
how many senators needed for quorum?
21 senators
Executive
enforce/ carry out laws
chief executive
head of executive branch
governor
30 years old
5 years Texas resident
4 year term, no term limits
U.S citizen
Executive power
appointive (weak)
secretary of state, state board chairs, confirmed 2/3 senator vote → checks and balances
Secretary of state serve 6 years, replace 1/3 every 2 years
U.S. representative
replace, call special election
TX representative
only special election
incumbent
current office holder running for re-election
could have an upper hand
people already know them and how they are
military
commander and chief of TX armed forces
martial law
temporary military law
head of DPS, rangers
executive orders
sets policy within the executive branch, carries force of law
proclamations
formal announcements
head of economics development
head of state
Legislative
make law → congress
legislative powers
budgetery - submit a budget line -item veto- strikesingle items from bills
veto
rejection of bill
2/3 congress to overrule
checks and balancesspecial session power
special session power
call 30 day issue specific session
Note 
Flashcard (43)