The Texas Legislature PPTX

The Texas Legislature TCC Chapter 7

NCTC Chapter 8

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Chapter Topics

• Structure

• Membership

• Organization

• The Legislative Process

• Legislative Policymaking3

The 82nd Legislature Session: The Highlight Reel

http://www.texastribune.org/texas-legislature/82nd-legislative-session/the-82nd-lege-session-the-highlights-reel/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FLnj2tGFDQ

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Legislative Framework

• Bicameral – two chamber legislative body

• Texas House of Representatives• 150 members

• Texas Senate• 31 members

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• Representation • House members represents approximately

140,000 individuals

• Senate members represents approximately 675,000 constituents.

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• US and Texas Constitution – districts must be redrawn after each decennial census

• Texas Legislative Redistricting Board – Created in 1948 and used if state maps are not made

during regular session

• Reynolds v. Sims (1964) – U.S. Supreme Court declared “one man (person), one

vote” for the state legislative districts

• Voting Rights Act 1965• Gerrymandering

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Legislative Elections and Terms of Office

• Texas House of Representatives– Election held every two years– Two-year unlimited terms

• Texas Senate– Election of approximately half the Texas Senate

held every two years– Four-year unlimited terms• unless after census

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Legislator Terms of Office

• Special Elections– Held for vacancies

• Expulsion from office– If two thirds of the involved chamber votes

member out of body

• Active duty military exception

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How Do We Compare?

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Texas Legislature: Formal Qualifications

• Texas House– United States citizen–Qualified Texas voter– Resident in district for one year immediately

preceding election– Texas resident for two years immediately

preceding election– At least 21 years old

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Texas Legislature: Formal Qualifications

• Texas Senate –United States citizen–Qualified Texas voter– Resident in district for one year immediately

preceding election– Texas resident for five years immediately

preceding election– At least 26 years old

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82nd Texas Legislature

• Senate – 25 men and 6 women – 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats – 29 incumbents and 2 new members – The mean age is 57.5 – The median age is 59 – The oldest senator is 70 – The youngest senator is 40

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82nd Texas Legislature

• House– 118 men and 32 women – 101 Republicans and 49 Democrats – incumbents and new members– Anglo 101– African American 17 – Latino 30– Asian American 2

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Texas Legislature: Informal Qualifications

• Education – Most current members of Texas Legislature have

bachelor’s degrees or higher• Occupation– Most business/professional and lawyers– Lawyers as state legislators• Take advantage of retainer fees• Have limitations on their practices

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• Gender–1922 first Woman• Edith Williams

–82nd Legislature of 2011• 38 women held seats

– 6 female Senators – 32 female Representatives

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• Race– 19th Century

• Limited number of racially/ethnically diverse males elected

– 1960s - 1970s • First concentrated number of racially/ethnically diverse members

elected

– 1971 - 2011 • African-Americans increased in the state legislature from 3

to 17

• Hispanics increased in the state legislature from 12 to 30

• Asian-Americans increased from 0 to 2 23


• Legislative Turnover– Elected members leaving the Texas Legislature

• House–17% turnover rate last 10 sessions• Senate–14% turnover rate last 10 sessions• Turnover greater after redistricting

• Legislative Tenure– Average length of service

• House and Senate, more than six years• Most Texas Senators serve in the House first• Incumbents often beat the challenger

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• Party – Following reconstruction, Democrats dominated the

Texas Legislature– Democrats controlled the Texas Senate until the

elections of 1996 when Republicans gained the majority– Republicans took the majority in the Texas House after

elections of 2002– Future demographic changes and increased

independent movement may change the party controls in the state legislature

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The Session

• The legislature meets in a regular session every other year (biennial) – in odd-calendar years with sessions beginning on the second

Tuesday in January.

• The Session is limited to a maximum of 140 calendar days.

• Pressure Sessions - Legislative activity in Texas thus tends to concentrate at certain times– the deadline for submitting bills – and the end of the session. 26

The Session

• Special Sessions - The Texas Constitution empowers the governor to call special sessions of the legislature, which may last for a maximum of 30 calendar days.

• Only items that the governor has stipulated for a special can be discussed. – Fiscal matters for HB1: including school district financing– Congressional redistricting– Texas Windstorm Insurance Association– Abolishment of sanctuary cities– Offense of official oppression on those seeking access to

public buildings and transportion 27

Texas Legislature: Compensation

• Salary - House and Senate is set by the Texas Constitution – $600 a month or $7,200 a year.– 1975 last raise

• Per diem – Set by Texas Ethics Commission before each new session – Pays for legislators’ meals and lodging– $ 150/day in 2011– $ 168/day in 2009

• Tax deductions allowed 28


• Expense Allowance– Each state representative and senator receives an

operating monthly account paid for by the state to operate their office, pay staff, travel, etc.

– Limited in its use– Can be supplemented with campaign contributions

• State law also allows legislators to deposit leftover or excess campaign funds into officeholder accounts that can be used to pay for whatever expenses the lawmaker wants to cover.

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Texas legislators have provided themselves with one of the most generous pension plans in the nation.

• Retirement – May retire at 50 with 12 years legislative experience

or at age 60 with eight years legislative experience– Must contribute 8% of salary to receive 2.3% of a

state-funded portion of a state district judges salary for each year of service• $125,000

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Legislative Presiding Officers

• President of Senate: Lieutenant Governor – elected for a four-year term– Appoints all Senate committee chairs and vice chairs– Appoints all Senate committee and subcommittee members– Determines to which committees bills are sent– Recognizes senators to speak on Senate floor or to make

motions– Votes to break ties in Senate– Joint-chairs the Legislative Council– Joint-chairs the Legislative Budget Board– Joint-chairs the Legislative Audit Board

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Legislative Presiding Officers• Speaker of the House – elected once a member of the Texas House for a two-year

term– Appoints all substantive and procedural committee chairs

and vice chairs in the House– Appoints all procedural committee members in the House– Appoints all substantive committee members in the

House, within limits of seniority rule– Determines to which committees bills and resolutions are

sent– Recognizes members to speak on House floor or to make

motions– Joint-chairs the Legislative Council– Joint-chairs the Legislative Budget Board– Joint-chairs the Legislative Audit Board

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Types of Legislation

• Bill– A proposed law

• Resolution– A legislative statement of opinion on a certain matter, i.e.,

congratulating a Texas sport’s team for winning a championship

• Simple Resolution• including House and Senate rules

• Joint Resolution– is a resolution that must be passed by a two-thirds vote of

each chamber.

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Committee System• Standing Committee

– A standing committee is a permanent committee established to handle legislation in a certain field

• Interim Committee– A committee established to study a particular policy issue

between legislative sessions, such as higher education or public school finance.

• Select or Special Committee– A committee established for a limited period of time to

address a specific problem.• Conference Committee

– A committee created to negotiate differences on similar pieces of legislation passed by the House and Senate. 35

Legislative Committees

• House Committees– Substantive• seniority must be considered

–Procedural– Select• House has limits on how many committees a member

can be on normally 3

• Senate Committees– Standing– Special Interim

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Legislative Caucuses

Legislative Caucus• Group of like-minded legislative members seeking to

increase their influence for certain public policies• Prohibited from receiving public money and using

state office space• Types

- Party- Race/Ethnic- Ideological- Regional

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How a Bill becomes a Law

• Process guided by the legislative rules and time constraints.

• Legislative session time line– First 30 days dedicated to bill introduction– Second 30 days dedicated to Committee meetings– Last 80 days dedicated to debate and bill

movement

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• Step #1 – Introduction– Bills can be introduced as early as the Monday

after the general election in November– Bills can be introduced in either the House, the

Senate, or both (with a companion bill)• For this simulation we will begin in the Texas House

• Step #2: First Reading (House) and Referral to committee– Referred to committees by the Speaker of the

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• Step #3 : House Committee consideration and report – Calendars

• Daily House: Supplemental House: Local, Consent, and Resolutions: Congratulatory and Memorial Calendars

• Step #4: Second Reading (House) – Debate and amendments

• Step #5: Third Reading (House)• Step #6: First Reading (Senate)• Step #7: Senate Committee consideration and report – Referred to committee by the Lt. Governor and “blocking bill”

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• Step #8: Second Reading (Senate)• Step #9: Third Reading (Senate)• Step #10 – Return to House (original chamber)

– If exactly the same bill, then no need to go to conference

• Step #11: Conference Committee – If differences between the two chamber bills

• Step #12: Conference Committee Report

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• Step #13: Enrollment• Step #14: Signatures of Chief Clerk and Speaker • Step #15: Signatures of the Secretary of the

Senate and the Lieutenant Governor • Step #16: Action by the Governor – Veto– Line item veto– Sign the bill

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Calendars Committee

• Those categories, listed in order of priority, are the: – (1) emergency calendar– (2) major state calendar– (3) constitutional amendments calendar– (4) general state calendar– (5) local, consent, and resolutions calendar– (6) resolutions calendar– (7) congratulatory and memorial resolutions calendar

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Voting

• Majority Vote - Ordinary legislation passes the Texas House and Texas Senate by majority vote of those members present and voting.

• Two-Thirds Majority - Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds vote of each chamber.

• House of Representatives - Members of the House vote electronically and a scoreboard displays each vote.

• Senate - Members of the Senate vote by roll call.

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Delaying tactics

• Committee power• Chubbing• Blocking Bill – Senate• Filibuster – Senate• Procedural Rules– House rules provide for consideration of measures in order of

priority set by the calendar system, but the House may vote by a two-thirds margin to consider a measure out of order.

– Standard Practice – However, it is a standard practice to consider legislation out of order by suspending the rules of priority with a two-thirds vote of the Senate.

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Constitutional Amendment Power

• Amendments to the Texas Constitution – Proposal requires a joint resolution in the Texas

Legislature– Passed through the Texas Legislature with a two-

thirds vote in both chambers– Sent for a public vote for ratification

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Administrative and Investigative Power

• Legislative Oversight– Legislative Audit Committee– Sunset Advisory Committee– Legislature can subpoena witnesses, administer

oaths, and compel submission of records• Administrative Power– Appointment approval– Senatorial Courtesy

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Constituents

• Traditional Model– is that candidates make promises during the election

campaign and then keep (or fail to keep) those promises once in office. In this approach, citizens hold legislators accountable for keeping their promises.

• Second Model – that lawmakers do what they think their constituents

will approve at the next election. This approach recognizes that legislators may sometimes address issues that were not discussed during the last election.

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Constituents

• Third Model– that legislators use their own common sense and

good judgment to do what is best for their constituents and the state as a whole.

• Fourth Model– that legislators sometimes represent constituents

outside their districts, such as campaign contributors. From this perspective, big money contributors may have as much or more influence over legislative decision-making as the voters.

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Documents

The Texas Legislature PPTX