chapter 7 Flashcards
Edmund Burke
trustee, and delegates
votes according to his/her conscience
Trustee
votes according to the constituency
delegate
originally selected by the state legislatures, but not subject to direct election pursuant to the 17th Amendment
the Senate
Texas’s bicameral legislature has two chambers that meet in regular session for how many days?
140 days in every odd-numbered year
how many members does the Texas House of Rep have? Senate?
150 (two year terms); 31 (4 year terms)
the governor may call a special session of no more than how many days?
30 days
a meeting of a group, such as a government or organization, that is called for a specific purpose or issue
special session
the idea that elected bodies should accurately represent not only constituent’s political views but also the ethnic and social characteristics that affect their political perspectives
descriptive representation
districts in which one official is elected for each legislative chamber
single-member districts
rules in cases where there is no agreement
The Legislative Redistricting Board
a gerrymandering in which concentrated political party voters in one geographical area are split into several districts so that their voting power in any one district is negligible
Cracking
gerrymandering in which members of a party are concentrated into one district, thereby ensuring that the group will influence only one election rather than several
Packing
placing two incumbent officeholders and parts of their political bases in the same elective district through redistricting
Pairing
drawn by the state legislatures following reapportionment
Electoral Districts
what kind of gerrymandering was declared to be unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court?
racial gerrymandering
who is the presiding officer of the Texas House of Rep? Senate?
Speaker of the house (elected by the members of the house); Lt Governor (elected by Texas citizens)
a permanent joint committee of the Texas Legislature and is co-chaired by the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House
Legislative Budget Board (LBB)
composed of the lieutenant governor, speaker of the house, attorney general, comptroller, and commissioner of the general land office, was created by constitutional amendment in 1951
Legislative Redistricting Board (LRB)
Lt Governor is elected by who?
citizens
can appoint all members of a committee, rather than 1/2
Lt Governor
to enforce the Texas Sunset Act, Texas created the 12-member Sunset Advisory Commission, which recommends keeping, abolishing, reorganizing, or giving scope and authority to state agencies
The Sunset Advisory Committee
a permanent committee established to handle legislation in a certain field
standing committee
studies particular policy issue between legislative sessions, such as higher education or public school finance
Interim Committee
established for a limited period of time to address a specific problem
Select or Special Committee
negotiate difference on similar pieces of legislation passed by the House and Senate
Conference Committee
a resolution that is of interest to both chambers of the legislature and must pass both the House and Senate and generally be signed by the governor
concurrent resolution
a step in the legislative process in which a bill is killed by the chair of the standing committee to which it was referred, as a result of his or her setting the bill aside and not bringing it before the committee
Pigeonholing
they keep talking about it, but not taking any action on it
chubbing
the first bill placed on the senate calendar in each session, which is usually a bill that will never be considered by the full senate
blocking bill
once a bill passes the legislature it goes to who?
the governor
what 3 options does a governor have once a bill is sent to him/her?
take no action (bill becomes law after 10 days), approve (sign bill into law), veto (override the bill)
veto that happens only on appropriation bills
Line-item Veto
one or more members debate bills at length to slow down the legislative process. Like the filibuster, this is a particularly effective active as the legislative session draws to a close
Chubbing
a joint committee created to work out a compromise on House and Senate versions of a piece of legislation
conference committee
occurs after the legislature adjourns, thus preventing an override
Post-adjournment veto
who has the power of the line item veto?
the governor
the governor influences legislation through speeches and visits with legislators
legislative persuasion
who is the most important party and House leader?
Speaker of the House
In the Texas legislator, power has become centralized in what 2 leadership positions?
Speaker of the House and Lt Gov
case that said districts must be based on population and not geographical size
Westbury v Sanders
case that said that districts must be contiguous (have to be one)
Shaw v Reno
case that said you cannot draw districts to benefit one race over another
Miller v Johnson
who can appoint 100% members to the standing committee?
Lt Governor
similar to chubbing where legislators keep on talking, but a majority votes ends it
filibuster
