Ch7 - The TX Legislature Flashcards
Texas Legislature Structure
Bicameral: House and Senate
Regular session
the constitutionally scheduled, biennial session of the legislature limited to 140 days.
Texas House
150 members/ 2 year terms
Texas Senate
31 members/ 4 year terms
Special session
a legislative session, called by the governor, outside of the regular session
- 30 days
- governor sets the topics
Qualifications to become a representative
- US citizen
- Registered voter
- Resident of Texas for 2 years and live within district lines for a year
- 21 yo
Qualifications to become a senator
- US citizen
- Registered voter
- Resident of Texas for 5 years and of their district for a year
- 26 yo
Low salary for legislators
Texas Grange/ 1876 Constitution
Intent: more common folk
Reality: less common folk
How often do states redraw their district lines?
Every 10 years with US census
One person, one vote
expresses the principle of equal representation in voting.
Within electoral districts within a state must have roughly the same population.
Apportionment
dividing the population into districts for purposes of election and representation
Redistricting
The process of redrawing district lines to maintain the concept “one person, one vote”
Who conducts redistricting in Texas?
House draws the lines for the house. The senate draws lines for the senate, and they sign off each other’s plans.
Gerrymandering
the act of drawing representative districts in order to help or hinder a person, a political party from winning an election
EXTREMELY PARTISAN in Texas
Lieutenant Governor
- The most powerful office in the state
- Chosen in state-wide election
- Unlimited 4 year terms
- Appoints every committee member in the senate
- Assigns bills to committees
- Co-chair of the Legislative Budget Board
- Co-chair of the Legislative Council
- Must become governor if the governor doesn’t finish his term
Speaker of the House
- Chosen by fellow house members
- Unlimited 2 year terms
- Joint chair of the Legislative Budget Board and Legislative Council
- Names chairs and vice chair at his/her chamber
- Directs debate
- Does NOT have absolute power to appoint every committee position
Legislative Budget Board
A body made up of members of the house and senate, including the two presiding officers, which oversees staff responsible for preparing the basic working budget for the legislature’s consideration
Limited seniority system
a method of committee selection used in the house that limits the speaker to appointing half the members of most standing committees (including chairs); the other members gain seats by seniority.
The Committee System
The key to the legislative process
Decide the merit of the bills before they are sent to the house floor.
Standing Committees
Deliberate bodies formed each time a legislature meets that deal with topics of recurring interest
Special Committee
a temporary committee formed by the legislature for limited or non-routine purposes
Conference Committee
joint committee of house and senate members whose purpose is to iron out the differences between the house and senate versions of the bill
Interim Committee
A special committee formed to study a topic or problem between sessions of legislature
Two Types of Regular Committees
- Substantive: shape legislation
- Procedural: determine the process by which legislation reaches the floor
How Bill Becomes a Law
First Reading in the House
House Committee
Second Reading in the House
Third Reading in the House
First Reading in the Senate
Senate Committee
Second Reading in the Senate
Third Reading in the Senate
Conference Committee (if needed)
Governor
First Reading in the House and the Senate
The bills are assigned to committees by either speaker or lieuntenant governor
House Committee
Most bills die here
1. The chair has the sole discretion as to what the committee considers (pigeonhole)
2. Majority of the committee kills the bill
3. Committee votes to put aside the bill
Second Reading in the House
The bill must be scheduled for debate by the house’s calendar committee
Debate is directed by the speaker
Amendments - majority
Final vote - majority
Third Reading in the House
Final opportunity to amend - 2/3 majority
Passage - simple majority
Pigeonhole
the act of setting aside a bill in committee and refusing to consider it, thereby “killing it”
Senate Committee
- Majority kills the bill
- Majority decides to put aside
- Chair pigeonholes
- Tagging
Tagging
A Senate rule that allows a senator to postpone committee consideration of a bill for 48 hours in hopes of killing it
Second Reading in the Senate
2/3 majority to bring a bill to the floor
unlimited debate
bills flow in numerical order
filibustering
Filibustering
the practice of delaying or killing a bill by taking a great length; grows out of the senate rule allowing unlimited debate.
Third Reading in the Senate
2/3 to amend
simple majority to pass
Conference Committee
5 members from each chamber
Work out a compromise between the house and senate versions of the bill
How can legislature override governor’s veto
2/3 majority vote in each chamber, only when in session
Texas Legislative Council
the legislature’s research and bill-drafting service
