Texas Legislature

Senators typically sit on three or four committees each and the senate typically has approximately ___ standing committees

10

How long does the governor have to sign a bill, veto it, or allow it to become law without a signature?

10 days

When was the governor's term extended from 4 years to 2 years?

1972

The Texas House of Representatives has how many standing committees?

30

What is a resolution?

A legislative document used to express the collective will of the members of the legislature or of either house.

What is a single member district?

A system in which a public official is elected from a specific, geographic sub unit of a larger geographic area.

What positions were later added to the executive branch?

Agriculture Commissioner, the three member Railroad Commission, and the fifteen-member State Board of Education.

The speaker of the Texas House of Representatives can vote on?

Any issue when in a tie or when he perceives it politically advantageous to send a party message to colleagues.

All ______ are submitted to standing committees and must go through these committees before being approved by the full house or senate.

Bills

What is the dominant occupation for the Texas Legislature members?

Business

How are judges appoint in Texas?

By voters

The actual work of the Texas Legislature is done in?

Committees

The significance of ________ ________ are the fact that all bills must bass both houses in exactly the same language to be reported to the president for approval or veto

Conference committees

_______ _______ are created whenever a bill is passed in different versions by the House and Senate

Conference committees

Who is The Lieutenant Governor of Texas?

David Dewhurst

Legislators' staff assist in the?

Decision-making process, evaluating merits of bills, and by assessing political implications of lawmakers decisions.

Texas Politics and the Texas Legislature were dominated by the __________ _____ from Reconstruction until the latter part of the twentieth century.

Democratic Party

What is the 15 member State board of Education?

Elected statewide officials that set education policy and oversees Texas Education Agency and local school districts

What is a committee report?

Expressing the committee's recommendations regarding house or senate action on a bill, includes a record of the committee's vote on the report, the text of the bill as reported by the committee, a detailed bill analysis, a fiscal note or other impact statement, and other attachments as necessary.

The governor appoints hundreds of board and commission members, the governor often has no direct power to?

Fire them

How does the Texas legislature allocate seats?

Geographically based in single member districts

What positions does the Texas Executive Branch include?

Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Comptroller of Public Accounts, Treasurer, Commissioner of the General Land Office, and the Attorney General.

Who is the Attorney General of Texas?

Greg Abbott, serves as the stat' chief civil legal officer, defending state agencies and suing when necessary on behalf of the state in civil courts. Enforces antitrust and consumer protection laws and the office collects child support funds on behalf of Texans.

The Senate State Affairs Committee

Handles a variety of legislation of major statewide importance

The Senate Finance Committee

Handles both the budget and tax bills.

How does the Texas governor get anything done?

He must rely on personality, political adroitness, staff appointments, and ability to define and sell an agenda to informally influence the policy of Texas institutions.

Only the _____ may initiate revenue bills.

House

Only the ______ may bring articles of impeachment against state officers for actions which the _____ may deem misconduct

House

Measures that are local are defined by the?

House of Represenatives

To introduce a bill in the ______ __ _________, a state representative must first submit the required number of copies of the bill for filing to the chief clerk of the house, who sequentially numbers each document

House of Represenatives

_____ ______ are standing committees or commissions charged by the speaker and lieutenant governor to study issues during the interim period between regular sessions.

Interim committees

What is the Sharpstown stock fraud scandal?

It took place in 1971 and was associated with some illegal bank activities carried out through the cooperation of some members of the legislature and the lobby.

When does the first real floor consideration of a bill occur?

Its second reading

Who is The Commissioner of the Texas General Land Office?

Jerry Patterson is responsible for managing the approximately 22 million acres of public lands on behalf of the best financial interests of the state' citizens.

Who is the current Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives?

Joe Stratuss

Who is Texas Secretary of State?

John Steen is the only constitution officer appointed by the governor to the plural executive and administers state election laws.

____ _______ have members from both the House and the Senate to serve unique, particular function

Joint Committeees

While state law designates the governor as the state's chief budget officer, the legislature virtually ignores the budge prepared by the governor's office in favor of the budge developed by its own _______

Legislative Budget Board

When are district lines drawn?

Legislative district lines are redrawn every ten years during the legislative session following the report of population growth and shifts by the U.S. census

A large percentage of all _________ is never reported out of committee; thus, committee action is the first crucial step in the process by which a bill becomes law.

Legislature

What kind of bill deals with matters affecting only one unit local government in Texas?

Local Bill

A bill may be introduced by any?

Member of the legislature in the member's own chamber

What are the qualifications for becoming a Texas Senator?

Must at least 26 years old to be elected, a resident of Texas for five years preceding the election and a resident of the district for at least one year.

Is their a limit on the number of terms a governor may serve?

No

After considering a bill, a committee may choose to take two options.

No action or to issue a report on the bill to the House or the Senate

Has their always been equality in drawing district lines?

No not until 1962, when the Supreme Court made an initial ruling about equalization of voting rights from population counts in districts in the case of Baker v. Carr.

How are the major heads of the executive departments in the State of Texas appointed?

Not appointed by the governor but directly voted on by the voters of Texas

What constitution powers does the governor have?

Outline the legislative and budgetary priorities

What are the characteristics of the Texas legislature?

Overwhelmingly white, male, Protestant and wealthy. In 1971 there was one woman in the house and the Senate. The number rose to 31 in the House and four in the Senate. Average ages from 49 to 54. They recieve a generous retirement package after ten years of service.

Unlike the U.S. Congress, the Texas legislature is not formally organized along ______ _____

Party lines

What is the Three member Texas Railroad Commission?

Primary regulates oil and gas industry in the state.

What is the Federal Voting Rights Act?

Prohibits the dilution of minority voting strength and the failure to pre-clear redistricting plans with the U.S. Department of Justice.

No bill may be considered on the floor of a chamber by its members unless the bill first has been?

Referred to by a committee and the committee has issued its report on the bill

What are the qualifications for becoming a Texas Representative?

Representatives must be at least 21 years old to be elected, a Texas resident for two years, and a resident of their district for one year.

Who is the Texas Lieutenant Governor?

Republican David Dewhurst is serving in his second term as lieutenant governor

The leadership and the majority in both the Texas House and Senate are?

Republicans

What is used to handle specific activities of the legislature and is commonly used to propose amendments to the Texas Constitution?

Resolutions

What case extended the decision to equalize the ruling to apply no only to congress but to state districts, legislatures, cities, etc., as well?

Reynolds v. Sims, 1964

An amendment may be made to a bill on the?

Second reading

Only the ______ has the advise and consent power over gubernatorial appointments

Senate

To introduce a bill in the ______,a senator must first submit the required number of copies of the bill for filing to the secretary of state, who sequentially numbers each document

Senate

What does the Texas Lieutenant Governor do?

Serves as president of the Texas Senate, unlike the Vice President of the U.S., who serves as the President of the U.S. Senate but is given by that body no power over its operations, the lieutenant governor in Texas actually has the power by the state Senate to lead that body.

The house and senate rules both provide for _______ _______ for the consideration of local and noncontroversial bills.

Special calendars

________ ______ are created for special reasons to investigate some current issue or problem that would not be handled by the regular standing committees

Special committees

The bulk of the work of the legislature is done in _______ ______ which are functionally organized in ways similar to the organization of the executive departments.

Standing committees

There are four type of committees?

Standing, Special, joint, and conference committees

Who is The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts?

Susan Combs, is the state' primary tax collector and administrator and accounting officer.

The House Appropriations Committee?

Takes the lead in drafting state budgets

The presiding officer of the Senate is?

Texas Lieutenant Governor who is elected state-wide by the voters of Texas every four year.

What is the term length for Texas Representative members?

Texas Representatives serve two year terms and the entire House is up for election every two years.

What is the salary for legislative members?

Texas legislators are among the lowest paid in the nation. Each member of the legislature receives a salary of $7,200 a year.

What is the term length for Texas Senate members?

Texas senators serve four year terms with approximately half the body up for election every two years.

Which committee has extensive power over legislation as it sets the order of debate on the House floor?

The House Calendars Committee

This committee is responsible for producing tax and revenue measures necessary to balance the budget?

The House Ways and Means Committee

What is the Legislative Redistricting Board compromised of?

The Lieutenant Governor, Comptroller of Public Accounts, Speaker of the House, Attorney General and Commissioner of the General Land Office.

The presiding officer of the House of Representatives is?

The Speaker of the House and elected by a vote of the full membership of the House at the start of a new regular session every two years.

What is a product of the Texas constitution?

The Texas Legislature

What is the structure of the Texas Legislature?

The Texas Legislature is bicameral with a 31 member Senate and a 150 member House of Representatives.

Who does the chief clerk forward the approved bills to?

The appropriate calendars committee for placement on a calendar.

What happens if the conference committee cannot reach an agreement?

The bill is killed.

What happens if the governor elects to veto the bill and the legislature is still in session?

The bill is returned to the house in which it originated with an explanation of the governor's objections and two thirds majority in each house can override the veto.

What is an enrolled bill?

The bill that has been passed in identical form from the Senate and House after the Conference Committee revised both their versions.

Where are committee reports referred to in the house?

The chief clerk

What is the backbone of the legislative process in Texas?

The committee structure

Who is considered the leader of the party statewide?

The governor

What are the requirements to run for governor of Texas?

The governor must be at least 30 years old, must be a citizen of the United States, and must be a resident of Texas for at least five years.

Removal powers over appointees are limited to only those specifically appointed by?

The governor which put them their and the approval of the Senate

Bill rarely reach the floor of the Senate without?

The lieutenant governor's approval.

What has a profound influence on Texas legislators?

The lobby

The governorship of Texas ranks?

The lowest in the nation

What happens if the legislatures is unable to agree on redistricting?

The process of redistricting is turned over to the Legislative Redistricting Board.

The Texas governor is in control of which military power?

The state's national guard

What happens when a conference committee is called?

The two presiding officers appoint five members each from their respective chambers to serve on the committee.

Since they serve as part-time legislators, members spend most of a two year period involved in?

Their personal business

When does the Texas Legislature meet?

They are in regular session once every two years for only 140 days starting in January of odd- numbered years. They may be called into special sessions by the governor for a 30 day period but may only consider the agenda called for by the governor.

What is districting?

To assign the geographic areas for Senate and House seats comprises a major political undertaking both logistically and politically.

Who is The Texas Commissioner of Agriculture?

Todd Staples has responsibility for carrying out laws regulating and benefiting the agricultural sector of the Texas economy. Provides consumer protection laws associated with weights and measures, packaging and labeling, and marketing.

A vote of _________ of the members present is additionally required before any of the measures brought up for consideration in the order listed on the intent calendar for a given day

Two-Thirds

The state's two legislative officers are also?

Unofficial floor leaders and committee chairs, though unofficially also aligned with presiding officers of each house of the legislature.

When can a governor appoint state judges?

Whenever a vacancy occurs due to death or resignation

What did the Texas constitution do?

Written in response to Texas Reconstruction experience, the Texas Constitution of 1876 weakened and retrenched Texas government, stripping the governor of many power and created a part time legislature.

Does the governor of Texas have the veto power including the line item veto?

Yes over appropriations bills, allowing his to veto certain portions of a spending bill while approving the rest of the measure.

Most Texans are unaware of the severe limitations on the formal powers of the governor and consider him the _____ figure in Texas government.

central

The basic business in both houses is conducted according to the ______ ______ whereby permanent, general, and special bodies, determined and formed by the rules of the respective chambers, are appointed to consider bills introduced and to advise on their disposition.

committee system

The speaker and lieutenant governor control the ___________ _______, not by votes but by informal and procedural influence.

legislative process

Press conferences by the governor ______ receive live coverage

never

A bill requiring extensive analysis is often assigned to a ___________ of the standing committee to which the bill has been referred.

subcommittee

The Senate and House rules of procedure permit ______ ______ of bills during the first 60 calendar days of each regular session.

unrestricted introduction