Chapter 7 - The Texas Legislature Flashcards
Apportionment
Process by which congress determines how many congressmen will represent each state
Bicameral
Legislative system with two chambers
Senate and House of Representatives
Biennial
Occurs every other year
Texas legislature meets only in odd numbered years beginning on 2nd Tuesday in January, no more than 140 days
Bill
Draft of a proposed change to state law presented to the legislature
Chair appointments
The selection of committee chairs by the speaker of the House and the lieutenant governor
Citizen legislature
Legislative chamber composed primarily of citizens who have full-time occupations other than serving as a legislator
Concurrent resolution
Resolutions that reflect the will of both House and Senate
Cannot be used to propose a change to the state constitution.
Often used to express the official opinion of the legislature on a federal issue before congress
Conference comittee
Five (5) representatives
Five (5) senators
Appointed by presiding officer of the House and Senate
To resolve differences between House and Senate versions of the same bill
Constituent services
Non-legislative functions such as answering inquiries about policies, listening to the concerns of constituents, helping constituents obtain government services
Constituents
Residents in the district of an elected official
Committee of the whole
Temporary committee made up of all the members of the House/Senate
Filibuster
Strictly a procedural exercise a senate purposely continues speaking for an extended period of time in order to delay action and force and compromise
Floor recognition
The granting of permission to a member to offer a motion or to speak on any matter by the presiding officer
Gerrymandering
Any attempt to draw oddly shaped districts to favor a specific person/group
Impeachment
Process by which an elected official can be officially accused of misconduct, removed from office, and prohibited from future elected service
Interim committee
A group of House or Senate members appointed to study a specific issue between the legislature’s regular sessions
Joint committee
Committee made up of both senators and representatives appointed to study a specific policy issue
Joint resolution
Proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution
Required a vote of 2/3 of the entire membership in each house for adoption
Not sent to the governor for approval but are filed directly with secretary of state
A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Texas Constitution does not become effective until approved by a majority of Texas voters in a general election
Lieutenant governor
Second highest elected official in the state
President of state senate
Wields power through chair appointments for committees and floor recognition of members
Line-item veto
Enables the governor to veto individual components (or lines) of an appropriation bill
One-person, one-vote
Reynolds v. Sims (1964)
Districts must be roughly equivalent in population
Pigeonholing
Killing a legislative proposal at the committee level by declining to take action
Redistricting
The redrawing of boundaries of congressional districts by state legislatures in accordance with state and federal law
Regular session
Texas holds a regular session only in odd numbered years beginning on the 2nd Tuesday in January, no more tha 140 days
Simple resolution
Resolutions adopted by either House or Senate without participation by the other chamber and have no force of law
Used to recognize birthdays and anniversaries and victories by local high school sport teams, and as memorial resolutions to commemorate a deceased official or important constituent
Single-member district
Every state representative and senator represents one specific geographic area of the state
Speaker of the House
Elected state representative who House representatives elect to preside over the House of Representatives
Wields power through chair appointment and floor recognition of members
Special session
Legislative meeting called by the governor
Limited to thirty (30) days
Dealing with subjects specified in the governor’s proclamation to convene the special session or items the governor adds to this list during the session
Standing committee
Permanent committee in the House/Senate with jurisdiction over legislation on a particular subject area
Subcommittee
Subset of a regular committee appointed to work on a specific bill/issue within that committee’s jurisdiction
Supermajority
Fixed number greater than half, sometimes required to force greater consensus than a simple majority
Veto
Governor’s power to turn down legislation
Can be overridden by 2/3 vote of both House and Senate
Minimum age required to serve in the Texas Senate
26
Maximum number of terms that may be served by a state representative
No maximum
To bring a bill to the floor for debate in the Texas Senate, ____ is required
A supermajority
Each House of Representatives district has a population of approximately how many people
168,000
The Speaker of the House is elected by
The members of the House of Representatives
The presiding officer of the Senate is the
Lieutenant Governor
The Fiscal Note tells legislators and the public
How much the bill would cost (or raise in revenue) if passed
If a bill is passed by the House and Senate, but in different forms, the differences may be resolved by
A conference committe
Proposed amendments to the state constitution are proposed in the form of
A joint resolution
Special sessions of the legislature may be called by
The governor
