TX Ch 3: TX Legislature

Baker v. Carr

court case that required state legislative districts to contain about the same number of citizens

Bicameral

legislative body that consists of two houses

Biennial Sessions

Legislature meets every two years

Citizen Legislatures

legislatures characterized by low pay, short sessions, and fewer staff resources

Conference Committees

joint committees of the house and senate that work out differences in bills passed in each chamber

Delegates

representational role of member stating that he or she represents the wishes of the voters

Extra Legislative Powers

legislative leaders serve on boards outside of the legislature

Extraordinary Session

a specially called meeting of the legislature, outside the regular session, to discuss specified matters

Gerrymandering

drawing district boundary lines for political advantage

Hunt v. Cromartie

court case that ruled while race can be a factor, it cannot be the primary factor in determining the makeup of legislative districts

Informal Rules

set of norms or values that govern legislative bodies

Legislative Professionalism

legislatures with higher pay, longer sessions, and high levels of staff support are considered more professional

Legislative Redistricting Board (LRB)

state board composed of elected officials that can draw new legislative districts for the house and senate if the legislature fails to act

Lieutenant Governor

presiding officer of the Texas Senate; elected by the voters of the state

Multimember Districts

districts represented by more than one member elected to the legislature

Noncompetitive Districts

districts in which a candidate from either party wins 55 percent or more of the vote

Political Action Committees (PACs)

a spin-off of an interest group that collects money for campaign contributions and other activities

Political Gerrymandering

drawing legislative districts to the advantage of a political party

Racial Gerrymandering

legislative districts that are drawn to the advantage of a minority group

Reapportionment

process of allocating representatives to districts

Redistricting

the drawing of district boundaries

Reynolds v. Sims

court case holding that issues of representation are justiciable, and that one person’s vote should be roughly equal in weight to another person’s

Sine Die

legislature must adjourn at end of regular session and cannot continue to meet

Single-Member Districts (SMD)

district represented by one elected member to the legislature

Speaker of the House

member of the Texas House, elected by the house members, who serves as presiding officer and generally controls the passage of legislation

Special Sessions

in TX, sessions called by the governor to consider legislation proposed by the governor only

Standing Committees

committees of the house and senate that consider legislation during sessions

Term Limits

limitations on the number of times a person can be elected to the same office in state legislatures

Trustees

representational role of a member that states that the member will make decisions based on his or her own judgment about what is best for voters

Turnover

the number of new members of the legislature each session