PSCI 2316 EXAM 2

qualifications for House of Reps

25+ years old, US citizen for 7 years, resident of the state they want to represent

qualifications for senate

30+ years old, US citizen for 9 years, resident of state they want to represent

2 chambers of congress

house of reps and senate

how many representatives for each state for the Senate

2

how many representatives for each state in house of reps

based on population

House TOTAL number of seats

435

Senate TOTAL number of seats

100

House member represents an

represents an electoral district consisting of 750k citizens

Senate member represents a

large, diverse population spanning an entire state

House has a ____ party leadership structure

stronger, hierarchical, power centralized in party leadership, carve out policy niches/issue specialists

Senate has a ___ party leadership structure

weaker. tend to be issue generalists, equal power, less formal

Members of the house are elected

elected every two years by citizens in congressional districts

Members of the senate are elected every

elected every six years by election of citizens

Overall, every 2 years, Americans elects

all members of the house and 1/3 members of senate

Reapportionment

process which seats in House of Reps are redistributed to ea. state to account for nationwide population shifts detected in decennial census

Redistricting

process which states decide how to redraw their congressional district lines to accommodate seat allotment following the census

Gerrymandering

politicians deliberately draw congressional district lines for electoral advantage, named after Elbridge Gerry

3 types of gerrymandering

party, incumbency and race

Partisan gerrymandering

when state legislators draw districts that guarantee a certain political party will win seats in congress (ex: oklahoma)

Incumbent gerrymandering

when state legislators draw district lines that guarantees current officeholders will win reelection (ex: California)

Majority-minority Districts

congressional districts in which POC make up majority of population. Voting Rights Act of 1965 prevents the dilution of minority groups’ voting strength

Allen v. Milligan

(5-4 ruling) Alabama violates VRA. Alabama required to create 1 min-maj. district out of 7 to reflect black voters. 2020 census showed increased in Black voters, decrease in White voters but AL chose to keep ONE min-maj. (underrep. Black voters) RESULT: AL creates another maj-min district

Moore v. Harper

states that Elections Clause does not grant all power to state legislatures over federal elections, including redistricting. COURT CAN review election laws AND overturn them IF NECESSARY

PACKING (gerrymandering)

concentrating one party or group into a specific district

CRACKING (gerrymandering)

voters of one political party or group are divided up into multiple voting districts

How does gerrymandering affect electoral competitiveness

lowers competitiveness

Filibuster

a tactic used to delay or prevent action on a bill by extending the debate on it

Cloture

requires 60 votes in senate, is used to end a filibuster

Congressional Committee

a group of members of Congress assigned to consider proposed legislation in a given jurisdiction and make recommendations to the full chamber

Subcommittee

this is where the bill goes after committee chair has already viewed the bill, the smaller part of the committee focused on specific issues

What does it mean when a bill is tabled

it dies kaboom

After passed by full committee, goes through Rule Committee where the bill is given

a rule/parameters before the Speaker schedules it to be debated on House floor

Conference Committee

committee’s job is to reconcile any differences between the House version and Senate version of the bill

How can Congress override a president’s veto

via 2/3rd vote in favor of legislation

Pocket Veto

if president has not signed bill before congress adjourns, it does not become a law and is veto-ed

Structure of House Leadership

Speaker (leader) of the House, followed by majority and minority leaders and whips

President Pro Tempore

a high-ranking member of Senate who presides over the Senate when the vice president is absent

Structure in the Senate

Vice president/president pro tempore, majority and minority whips and leaders

Unified government

when the president is aligned with the majority parties in Congress, legislative process can be staggeringly fast

Divided government

when one party controls the White House and another party controls the House of Representatives, the Senate, or both

Standing committees

committees that persist from one session of Congress to the next (it’s permanent basically)

Conference committees

temporary committee, only form at the end of the legislative process to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions of a bill

Joint Committee

committee composed of members from both the House and the Senate with jurisdiction over specific issues of mutual interest. Serve to oversee and evaluate issues of mutual interest pertaining to congressional administration and policy development

Special committee/ select or AD HOC

a temporary committee organized around a specific purposed, usually investigative in nature and lacks the authority to review legislation

Not all committees are created equal [6.13]

preference to certain committee because of its prestige and reputational opportunity, more opportunities to work on policy issues of importance

Expressed powers

powers that are specifically outlined in the Constitution

Implied powers

general powers suggested by the Constitution rather than specifically enumerated within it

Delegated powers

powers that are delegated by Congress in order to implement legislation

How to eligible to become president

natural born citizen of US, 35yrs old, must have lived in the US for at least 14 years.

President Roleplay

chief executive, legislative leader, chief diplomat, political party, public opinion leader and military commander

Executive Power Clause

of the Constitution that grants the president the authority to carry out all laws passed by Congress.

Executive orders

declarations issued by a president that relate to the organization of federal bureaucracy, the execution of federal legislation, and the enforcement of federal court decisions that do not require the approval of Congress

Executive privilege

act of withholding information from congressional, judicial or public scrutiny

Veto Power

to reject legislation, most frequent in times of divided government, often used as just a threat, expressed in the Constitution

State of the Union address

power of the president used to set policy agenda by describing to Congress what types of legislation they would be willing to sign in the coming year

Clemency

A process by which an executive in government can grant a pardon or reduce a criminal sentence

Pardons

the exoneration of a person from both a crime and its associated penalty

Reprieves

the exoneration of a person from the penalty associated with a crime but not the crime itself

Amnesty

a pardon that is issued to a group of people who are not in compliance with the law

Executive Agreements

international agreement established by the president without congressional approval

Constitution gives president ability to enter into treaties but must

must obtain consent of 2/3rds voting senators

Presidents have interpreted diplomatic powers to negotiate without congressional approval

Executive Agreement

Congress has expressed power to declare war but president

president serves as commander in chief of the military and communicates with department of defense

War Powers Resolution

attempt to limit the power of presidents to enter into military engagements without congressional approval, listed circumstances under which the military can be deployed w/o dec. of war.

Why do troops engage in military combat by order of the president

because presidents interpret their expressed power as commander in chief to mobilize troops without formal declaration of war from Congress if it is in the interest of protecting the Constitution

Contributions to the expansion of presidential power

growth in policies/programs administered by exe. branch

development of political parties/mass media = connection to the people

claims of implied constitutional powers/ delegation of greater authority by congress

Impeachment

process which a legislative body initiates charges against a government official for misconduct

What calls for suspicion and impeachment

treason, bribery, high crimes/misdeamnors

Process of Impeachment

Judiciary Committee drafts “articles of impeachment” that have the charges against the president, Senate has the power to convict president through a trial (2/3rd must vote)

Texas legislature structure overall

population determines seats in both chambers, House represents smaller districts than in the senate, senators represent larger districts and serve longer terms

Regular session

140 days every 2 years (odd # years)

Special session

30 days, called unlimited by the governor, can be called if the legislature fails to pass a budget in a regular session. Can force legislature to focus on policy areas of greatest concern

Texas has how many state legislators

181

____ members of House and __ members of Senate (TX legislator)

150, 31

Every TX resident lives in 3 distinct disticts

one for TX House, TX senate and US House of Reps

Office of president of senate

TX senate position taken by lieutenant governor chosen via statewide election

TX elections for seats in legislative branches are held in

even numbered years, no term limits

House of Reps elected every ___ years, TX

2 years

Senator terms TX

4 years, with staggered election where half get reelected every 2 years

Members of House TX qualifications

21+ yrs, residents of state for 2+ yrs, residents of district from where they are elected for at least 1 year, US citizen

Members of Senate TX qualifications

26+ yrs, residents of TX for 5 yrs, residents of district for 1 year, US citizen

Incumbency

status of currently holding an elective office, usually presents advantage in reelection contests due to the incumbent’s name recognition, clear record of public service, and greater access to financial/organizational resources.

Texas Legislature’s Powers

carrying out lawmaking duties, considering/debating bills that may become laws, passing commemorative and declarative resolutions, proposing amendments to the TX constitution

Bill

an item of proposed legislation that’s introduced into the house or senate for consideration and markup and goes to governor for approval

3 types of bills that are introduced

general bills, special bills, local bills

General Bills

bills that apply to all individuals and property throughout TX

Special bills

bills limited in scope that provide exceptions to general laws for specific individuals or types of property

Local bills

bills that pply only to a limited geographic area or local government

Resolution

formal statement of an opinion or specific decision

3 types of resolution

simple, joint, concurrent

Legislative Redistricting Board composed of

lieutenant governor, Speaker of the House, attorney general, comptroller of public accounts, the commissioner of General Land Office

Plural executive

form of state gov in which many/most top executive branch officials win office through popular election, creating officeholders with significant independence from the governor

Lieutenant Governor

a member of the executive branch and the president of the senate, serve as acting governor

Duties of lieutenant governor

appoint senate committees, assign bills to specific senate committees, cast the deciding vote if senate is in a tie, chair the Legislative Budget Board and Legislative Council, vice chair Legislative Audit Committee and the Legislative Education Board, serve as 1/5 members of Legislative Redistricting Board

Bully pulpit

term refers to unique position of increased visibility that can allow an official to persuade the public

Attorney General

state’s elected chief lawyer, responsible for defending the state in lawsuits and advising other state officials, 4yr terms

Attorney general often perform a role that is

primarily civil legal role or a role that handles non-criminal cases and disputes, also handles civil suit filed by or against the state

Comptroller of Public Accounts

state’s elected chief tax collector, accountant, estimator of revenues and treasurer, elected every 4yrs

TX operates under balanced budget requirement meaning

the state legislature can’t adopt a budget that exceeds its anticipated revenue