Exam 2 - History powerpoints

Why does the Texas legislature affect the daily lives of everyone in Texas?

All Right - Texas legislators began the 2023 legislative session with much anticipation

The Role and Structure of the Texas Legislature

All right - The Texas state legislature is the most important representative institution in the state.

Texas’s bicameral legislature has two chambers that meet in regular session for

140 days in every odd-numbered year.

Bicameralism is meant to ensure that

no one chamber takes complete control of the lawmaking process

The Texas legislature consists of the

The Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate

The Texas House of Representatives:

150 House members (two-year terms)

The Texas Senate

31 senators (four-year terms)

Before a law is passed, it must be voted on by both deliberative bodies. Who are those bodies?

Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate

Sessions of the Legislature

Not all state legislatures meet for the same time periods.

Some meet

every year, like the U.S. Congress.

Texas’s legislature generally meets _______ unless the governor calls it to meet _______ .

every other year ; between regular sessions

The Texas Constitution specifies that regular sessions of the legislature be held for

140 days biennially in odd-numbered years

During the regular sessions

All right - Thousands of bills and resolutions are introduced

The governor may call a special session of no more than

30 days.

The ability to call a special session provides the governor with control over which issues are

discussed and what bills are passed.

In 2023, Governor Abbott called ______ special sessions to address reducing property taxes. This was a key issue for Abbott. One of his most prominent campaign promises was to implement the largest ______ ___ ___ in the state’s history.

two ; property tax cut

The legislature would not be able to function without legislative staff.

All right - Texas employed 2,175 staff members in 2021, a slight decrease from 2015.

How Much Do Legislators Get Paid? ; Legislators cannot expect to live on their legislative salaries.

All right - $7,200 per year

Legislative pensions are quite generous, especially for long-term legislators.

10 years - 32K per year ; 20 years - 64k

Structure of the Texas Legislature: Constitutional Requirements

A Texas senator must be a U.S. citizen of at least ___ years of age, a qualified voter, and a resident of Texas for at least ___ years, and the district for at least ____ year.

26;5;1

Structure of the Texas Legislature: Constitutional Requirements

A member of the House must be a U.S. citizen of at least _____ years of age, a qualified voter, and a resident of the state for ___ years and the district for ___ year

21;2;1

The typical legislator is

white, male, Protestant, college educated, and affluent and has a professional or business occupation

Both House and Senate districts are single-member districts, what does this mean?

• Legislators work on behalf of constituents by engaging in - Legislative activities and Nonlegislative activities

republicans control both houses of the Texas Legislature

All right

- Legislative activities: introducing bills, voting, and so on

________ is especially important in Texas, as the makeup of the population in each district has a profound impact on the results.

Redistricting

Representation in Texas is by single-member districts.

Districts must have roughly equal populations: the one-person, one-vote principle

All right - Redistricting takes place after each census.

Who votes in a district strongly influences who gets elected from that district; politics inevitably plays a key role in redistricting.

• Gerrymandering -

• is the practice of state legislatures manipulating the boundaries of district maps to favor one party or group

The term originated from the strangely shaped districts established under Elbridge Gerry, the governor of Massachusetts, in 1812.

One contentious area in redistricting is the use of race in the drawing of political boundaries.

• Racial gerrymandering -

refers to drawing district lines to advantage one racial group of voters over another.

Cracking

A gerrymandering technique in which concentrated political party voters in one geographical area are split into several districts so that their voting power in any one district are negligible.

Packing

Gerrymandering technique in which members of a party are concentrated into one district, thereby ensuring that the group will influence only one election rather than several.

Pairing

Placing two incumbent officeholders and parts of their political bases in the same elective district through redistricting.

Redistricting is highly controversial and partisan,

as one can draw district lines to provide an advantage to specific candidates or parties

in 2021, Governor Abbott had to call a special session to address redistricting.

All right - As expected, the Republican-held legislature created maps that favored Republicans.

The Texas legislature sets

public policy by passing bills.

Powers of the Legislature

It also supervises the state bureaucracy through the budgetary process and the Sunset Act

• An act that provides for the review, and when deemed

  appropriate, the termination of state agencies

• This supervision is achieved using both legislative and nonlegislative powers

Legislative powers consist of _____________, while

nonlegislative powers are __________________

passing bills and resolutions ; those functions falling outside the lawmaking function.

Legislative Powers: Bills

• Bills are proposed laws introduced in the House and Senate

• it has become customary to introduce bills to the House and Senate at the same time.

• Bills may be classified into one of three categories. :

local

special

general

local bills

Only affect units of local government

special bills

Give an individual or entity special exemption from state law

general bills

Applies to all people and/or property within the state

Resolutions

are expressions of opinion on an issue by a legislative body

There are three types of resolutions

Concurrent

Issues both chambers have an interest in, pass both houses, requires Governor’s signature

Joint resolution

used to propose state constitutional amendments, ratify U.S. Constitutional amendments, or to call for a convention to amend the U.S. Constitution, pass both houses, no need for Governor’s signature

Simple resolutions

concern only the Texas House or the Senate and are used to adopt rules, request opinions, appoint employees, or honor outstanding achievements.

Other nonlegislative powers include

electoral powers, investigative powers, directive and supervisory powers, and judicial powers.

Judicial powers

include the ability of the House to impeach members of the executive and judicial branches of state government

How a Bill Becomes a Law in Texas

The House:

1. Introduction

2. Referral

3. Consideration by standing committee

4. Floor action

• Steps 1–4 repeated in the Senate

5. Action by a conference committee and approval by both houses

6. Action by the governor

Introduction

All right : the first step in the legislative process, during which a member of the legislature drafts a bill and files a copy of it with the clerk of the House or secretary of the Senate

Referral

the second step in the legislative process, during which a bill is assigned to the appropriate standing committee by the Speaker (for House bills) or the lieutenant governor (for Senate bills).

• committee to which a bill is assigned can determine

  whether the bill survives or dies in committee

Consideration by committee

All right - the third step in the legislative process, during which a bill is killed, amended, or heard by a standing committee.

floor action

All right - a bill is referred by the standing committee and

scheduled for floor debate.

conference committee

All right - is a joint committee created to work out a

compromise on House and Senate versions of a piece of legislation.

It is the governor’s responsibility to sign or veto legislation

The governor’s veto can be overridden by a two-thirds vote of both the House and Senate.

A post-adjournment veto :

occurs after the legislature adjourns, thus preventing an override.

The governor also influences legislation through speeches and visits with legislators

Early in each session, the governor delivers a ______

• The governor puts forth a vision for Texas and what legislation will accomplish that vision.

State of the State message that is similar to the president’s State of the Union message

The Comptroller of Public Accounts

All right - Issues revenue estimates to inform the legislature of how much money it can spend in the next two years.

The Media can determine issues of legislative importance by the selection of stories they cover

All right - If they cover more crime-related stories, criminal justice issues will likely move toward the top of the legislature’s agenda

The Courts

The scrutiny of federal and state courts influences the legislative agenda

• The ability to rule acts of the legislature and actions of state agencies unconstitutional gives courts significant power over issues the legislature addresses.

Recent subjects of the courts’ scrutiny include

the prison system, the treatment of patients in mental hospitals, the funding of public education, and equality of funding for universities in south Texas

During a regular session, roughly 1,800 individuals register as lobbyists and attempt to influence the legislature.

• A lobbyist’s job is to

convince legislators to support the interest the lobbyist represents.

Interest groups in Texas have been actively involved in supporting legislation as well as stopping legislation they do not support

All right - The Texas Association of Business lobbies lobbying legislators to support its agenda of lower taxes and fewer regulations

Individuals can influence legislators, who are evaluated at each election.

• If the people believe their elected officials are representing them well, legislators are re-elected.

• Legislators who fail to live up to expectations might not be re-elected

The public can serve as lobbyists by

sending letters, writing emails, and

making telephone calls urging representatives or senators to vote a

certain way.

The most important party and House leader:

• Influences the legislative agenda, the fate of legislation, and House members’ positions

The speaker

is the presiding officer of the Senate:

• Has significant control over legislation in the state Senate

ieutenant governor

Dan Patrick

(R)

• 3 term Lt. Governor

• Former state senator

• Radio, TV, producer, businessman, author, music

• Wife and 2 kids

• BA in English U of Maryland

Dustin Burrows

(R)

• 1st term Speaker

• Native Texan

• Lawyer

• Wife and 3 kids

• 5 term Rep. Lubbock

• Texas Tech

• Shows pigs and Judges

Among the most powerful political figures in Texas are the:

They play a crucial role in several key legislative duties, such as:

• Structuring the committees of the legislature

• Setting the state’s political agenda

• Passing and/or defeating bills

leaders of the House and Senate.

In the Texas legislature, power has become centralized : ________

• The two-thirds rule: _________

in the Speaker and lieutenant governor. ; a bill must receive a two-thirds vote in the Senate to be voted on out of sequence.

in the House, the power of recognition allows the Speaker to

determine who speaks and how long debate will last

Appointment Power

The Speaker and the Lieutenant Governor have the power to assign members

to standing committees and to appoint the chairs of those committees.

• Legislators’ party affiliation and seniority are of only moderate importance

• Loyalty and personal relationships are more important.

Between 1876 and 1980, the ________ _____ controlled both houses of the Texas legislature.

Democratic Party

The last 30 years of the twentieth century saw the growth of the Republican Party, culminating in the Republican seizure of power.

It is harder to identify common ground and to produce a policy consensus, especially because _______

partisan polarization has significantly increased over the last several decades

Powers of the legislature and its leaders

Representing their constituents

• Delegate type representatives

• Trustee type representatives

Powers of the legislature and its leaders

Conducting bureaucratic oversight and investigations

• The Legislative Audit Committee

• The Sunset Advisory Committee

the Texas legislature is divided and polarized.

Significant ideological divisions exist even within the Republican party

The two-thirds rule has ended in the Texas Senate, which will lead to

more partisanship

is the only executive official appointed by the Governor.

The Secretary of State

Executive power in Texas is ________ and the governor has ______ formal power than most state governors

divided ; less

Texas ranks ______ among the states in the overall institutional powers of the governor.

41st

The governor has the ______-_____ ___ for the amounts in

appropriation bills

line-item veto

Powers the governor does have

To call special sessions of the legislature

To pardon criminals

To appoint people to governing boards and commissions

To declare martial law

To veto acts of the legislature

governor qualifications

Be at least 30 years of age

Be a U.S. citizen

Live in Texas for five years immediately before the election

Two women have served as the governor of Texas

Miriam Ferguson and Ann Richards

Governors serve _______ terms

four-year

Governor elections are held in

off-years

Campaigns, first to win the party’s primary and then to win the election in November, can last over a year

Successful candidates must win their party’s primary election in March

The only constitutional method of removal is via _______ and conviction

impeachment

An impeachment charge in the House leads to a

trial in the Senate and possible removal from office.

A _____-____ vote of the senators present and voting is required to convict

two-thirds

The only Texas governor to be impeached and convicted

James Ferguson

who becomes governor if the office is vacant.

The lieutenant governor

If the governor leaves the state

If the governor is impeached

Then the lieutenant governor becomes acting governor.

The governor’s salary is set by the legislature

it is $153,750 yearly.

In addition to salary, the governor receives

The governor also

an official mansion near the capitol grounds.

receives use of a vehicle and a state-owned aircraft and the services of a personal staff.

he governor’s staff of nearly 300 people includes a

chief of staff, a deputy chief of staff, a general counsel, and a press secretary

during a _______ term, the governor makes appointments to various state posts

\four-year

Texas has a board or agency form of government.

Over 400 state boards, commissions, and agencies make up the executive branch

The governor’s ________ _______ is the most significant executive power

appointment power

The power of_______ enables the governor to confer grants, licenses, favors, and political appointments to supporters

patronage

the effectiveness of a governor’s appointees will

determine the governor’s success in office.

Appointment Power

In some cases, the governor shares appointment power with others.

Other entities are both advisory and appointed by several different officers

When the governor appoints people to office, the Senate must also confirm them, but because the Senate may not meet for almost two years, the appointee takes office immediately