Texas Government 2306

Legislature Facts

Biennial session lasts for 140 days, once every 2 years Salary is $7,200 Single member districting Reapportioned districts every 10 years, adjust districts to have the same population in each district WASP controlled, White Angelo Saxon Protestant High Incumbency Monthly staff allotments $13,250 House $37,500 Senate

Committee Powers and Functions

Bill Progression, a committee can change a bill however they would like. Pigeonhole, a non action in a committee where the committee receives a bill and does nothing with it, thereby killing the bill. Tagging, Senate only, each senator receives one tag per legislative session. A senator may tag any bill of their choosing, thereby freezing the bill for 48 hours. Real Legislative Work

Senate and House

Both houses of the legislature have both investigative and impeachment powers

Iron Triangles

Bureaucracy Legislators Interest Groups

Purpose to redistrict Texas districts

Gerrymandering, redrawing a district to make sure a certain official is elected. Pre-1960's problems, democrat party used certain strategies to keep certain groups from voting. Poll tax, citizens tax, has to be able to read

Policy Implementation

Government agencies begin the job of making the policy work by establishing procedures, writing guidance documents, or issuing grants-in-aid to other governments

Attorney General

Greg Abbot serves a 4-year term, no term limit, basically the head lawyer for the state of Texas. Over 500 lawyers work for him

Impeachment

It takes 50% of vote to impeach in the house, it then gets sent to the senate where it will be tried as a case. The senate will be the jury, and the house will be the prosecutors.

Commissioner for the General Land Office

Jerry Patterson 4-year term, no term limit, responsible for managing and collecting rents and leases for state owned lands, Oil, Gas, Sulphur, and other hard mineral leasing in the state.

The Current Speaker of the House

Joe Straus

Insurance Commissioner

Jose Montemayor, responsible for all insurance in the state of Texas

Bureaucratic Oversight

Legislative Calendar, the instrument for controlling the legislative flow of bills from the committee to the legislative floor. Senate Calendar, all bills originating in the senate must be placed on the calendar in the order they were introduced. Senate bill #1 is always a blocking bill. If 2/3rds of the senate votes for this bill, then the rule can be ignored. House Calendar, there is a house calendar committee for the house calendar. The order in which bills are placed on the calendar are decided by committee. The speaker appoints all of the members on this committee Calendar Tactics Supporters, may want it voted on quickly. Unless you do not have the support. Opponents, can push bill through that doesn't have enough support

LRB

Legislative Redistricting Board, who serves on the LRB? Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House, The Attorney General, Comp Troller of Public Accounts, and the Commissioner of the General Land Office

Formal Powers of Governor

Legislative Tools Veto, The governor's most valuable tool is his veto power. It takes a 2/3rds super majority to override a governors veto. Item Veto, Line Item Veto power applies to spending bills only. Appropriation. He can look through budget items and cross them out. Threat of Veto Bargaining Special Sessions, lasts for 30 days and congress may only address issues that the governor sets up. Message Power, will give a state of the state address once a year. Fact Finding Commissions, don't have the power of law, but does have special investigation powers.

President of the Texas Senate

Lieutenant Governor

Multiple levels of Bureaucracy

Local - Largest level, the most public sector employees, we are most familiar with local level County - Goes with local, unincorporated State - Has fewer employees in the public sector, is often state troopers, Texas ranger, Game Wardens Federal - Smallest level

Interim Committees

Meet when the legislature is not in session, and they address new legislation or problems for the next session.

Policy Evaluation

Policy analysts inside and outside government determine whether the policy is addressing the problem and whether implementation is proceeding well. They may recommend REVISIONS in the agenda, in the formulations of the policy or in its implementation

Policy Adoption

Policy makers formally adopt a policy solution, usually in the form of legislation or rules.

Policy Formation

Policy makers in the legislature and the bureaucracy take up the issue. They create legislative, regulatory, or programmatic strategies to address the problem.

Lieutenant Governor

President of the Senate - The Lieutenant Governor He us an Executive Department Official Elected to a state wide office Appoints committees Assign bills to committees Votes in case of a tie The Lieutenant Governor serves as chairman of the Legislative Budget Board and the Legislative Council (helps write bills), and is vice-chairman of the Legislative Audit Committee (makes sure money gets spent the right way) and the Legislative Education Board. Most powerful legislator - Is not legislative, he is part of the executive branch. He is elected to a state wide office.

Agenda Setting

Public attention focuses on a public problem or issue Officials' words and actions help focus attention

The Governor of Texas

Rick Perry Most successful Governor of Texas Will have served for a total of 14 years Given residence in Austin

Secretary of State

Roger Williams keeper of the seal of Texas, administers election laws, certifies election results, and maintains voter registration records

Three Implementations of Public Policy

Rule Making, Legislative Rule Implementation, Executive Rule Adjudication, Judicial

Appointed Executives

Secretary of State Adjutant General Health and Human Services Commissioner Insurance Commissioner

Who the Presiding Officers are

Senate - the Lieutenant Governor, president of the Senate House - the Speaker of the House

Senate Pro Tempore position

Senate elects the Pro Tempore position Serves in the capacity of the President when the Lieutenant Governor cannot officiate his duties

The 140 Day Problem

Short Legislature Too many bills No expert opinion Low pay Small Staff Few resources Special session Status Total Bills Introduced 5592 Passed 1384 Vetoed 48

Committee Types

Substantive/Permanent Committee Conference Committee Procedural Committee, deal with issues of parliamentary procedure. Ad-Hoc Committee, Temporary committees formed to address a specific problem Interim Committee, Serves when legislature session is over. Sub Committee, Specialize in a particular area

Comptroller of Public Accounts

Susan Combs 4-year term, no term limits, responsible for all financial activities of the state, also the chief tax collector, and chief pre audit accounting officer

Ad Hoc Committee

Temporary committee formed to address a particular problem

Creation, abolition, and redefinition of state agencies

Texas Parks and wildlife agency. The sunset advisory committee, it is a committee of congressman and senators that must review state agencies once every 12 years

Budget approval over state agencies

Texas senate must come up with a 2-year budget. They determine how much each state agency receives. The legislature controls state agency budgets. State agencies are under the executive branch, the governor. DMV

Investigation and Impeachment

The House of Representatives impeaches The Senate tries the case and sentences Both Houses posses subpoena power

Succession to the Governor

The Lieutenant Governor The President Pro Tempore of the Senate The Speaker of the House

House Pro Tempore position

The Speaker appoints the Pro Tempore position Serves in the capacity of the Speaker when he cannot officiate his duties

Senate part of impeachment

The senate must vote with a 2/3rds super majority, they convict the person, they can remove the person from office, they can send a letter of reprimand.

Conference Committees

They are Ad Hoc committees, they are formed to address the passing of legislation between the House and Senate, must have members from House and Senate.

Permanent Committees

They carry over from 1 legislative session to the next. In the House there are 37 permanent committees. 19 permanent committees in the Senate. Corrections, Criminal Jurisprudence, Elections, Energy resources, public education

Commissioner of Agriculture

Todd Staples responsible for all laws, research, education and regulation in the state of Texas. 4-year term, no term limits

Informal Powers of Governor

Tools of Persuasion Bargaining Persuasion Support Public Venue

Qualifications for Texas Representative

US citizen 21 Years old Lived in Texas the previous 2 years Lived in district the previous year

Informal Qualifications

WASP, White Angelo Saxon Protestant, not catholic Male, only 2 female. Ma Furgason and Ann Richards Middle-aged Businessman of Lawyer Conservative to Moderate Politics Access to money/support

Legislative Budget Board

creates the budget for Texas. Responsible for determining how much money Texas will spend. The chair is the LT. Governor, the Vice Chair is the Speaker of the House. 4 Senators and 4 House members are also on the committee. The Senators are appointed by the LT. Governor. There are 4 Appropriations committee chairs

The Texas Railroad Commission

is made up of 3 people. They are elected to a 6-year term, no term limits. Regulation of gas utilities, oil and gas pipelines, oil and gas drilling, and pumping activities, and intrastate railroads

Require regular and special reporting from state agencies

legislative audit committee, they are mostly concerned about money. How money is spent.

Sunset Advisory Committee

responsible for reviewing every state agency once every 12 years. 4 Senators and 4 House members, the 9th member of the committee is a private citizen.

Legislative Audit Committee

reviews spending by state agencies and departments. LT. Governor and Speaker serve on this committee, but 4 others make up a panel of 6 people.

Legislative Council

serves as a legal advisor for legislators. They help draft bills, Chair LT. Governor, Vice Chair Speaker, 6 Senators and 5 Representatives

Ratification of gubernatorial appointments

whenever the governor makes an appointment, it is up to the senate to approve the appointment. It is approved with a 2/3rds vote. Senatorial courtesy, if the representing senator says yes to the appointee then the rest of the senate votes yes with him

The Legislative Floor

A bill sent out of committee goes to the floor to be voted on by the entire House or Senate. If the bill passes then the bill goes to other house, then it must be passed again by the house

4 Types of Administrative Powers

1. Ratification of Gubernatorial appointments 2. Creation, abolition, and redefinition of state agencies 3. Require regular and special reporting from state agencies 4. Budget approval over state agencies

Texas House of Representatives

150 Members 2-Year terms

Qualifications for Texas Senator

26 Years Old US Citizen Lived in Texas for the previous 5 years Lived in district for the previous year

Formal Qualifications of the Office of Texas Governor

30 years old An American Citizen A citizen of Texas for the previous 5 years Serves a 4 year term No term limits Compensation of $150,000 plus other benefits

The Texas Senate

31 Members 4-Year term

The State Board of Education

4-year elected terms, no term limits, 15 members, not statewide elected. Each member represents a district

The 5 Steps of The Policy Making Process

Agenda Setting Policy Formation Policy Adoption Policy Implementation Policy Evaluation

Health and Human Services Commissioner

Albert Hawkins

Procedural Powers of the Presiding Officers

Appoint Committee Membership, gets to determine chair, vice chair, and members of all permanent committees; Senate follows a rule of Seniority. If you wanna serve on a membership of a committee, Appoint Committee Chairs, appoint chair, vice chair, and members, Speaker gets to pick half of the members, the other half are appointed via a seniority system. Assign Bills to Committees, Schedule Legislation for floor action Recognize members on the floor Interpret the Procedural Rules, Appoint Chairs and Members of Conference Committees Institutional (Non-Procedural) Powers of the Presiding Officers Special appointment powers to Boards/Committees (Discussed later) Legislative Budget Board Legislative Council Legislative Audit Committee

Executive Tools, subject to senatorial courtesy

Appointive Powers, Senate has to approve Governor Appointments Planning Powers, Chief of State Law Enforcement Powers, appoints 6 member to the PSC. Public safety commission Military Powers, commander and chief of the Texas national guard. President can also call on the help of the Texas national guard. Texas State Guard can only be called to duty by the governor. Not really a fighting force, but more of a relief. Governor may declare Marshal Law. Clemency Powers, Board of pardons and Paroles. The Board of pardons can suggest parole or complete freedom, but the governor cannot suggest these

Sub Committees

Are part of permanent committees, sub committee on public education

The Texas Bureaucracy

Characteristics of Bureaucracy Definition of a Bureaucracy: the management or administration of a government through departments staffed by non-elected officials. The Bureaucracy represents the government to the people Size - local - state - federal State - 312,000 employees State, County, and Local combined - 1 little over 1.2 million Annual payroll for state employees for 2003 - $10.6 Billion, 17.6% of state spending

The Texas Administration

Characteristics of the Executive Department Decentralized/Plural Executive No real accountability Diffuse and Disorganized Bureaucracy Elected Officials not well known

Adjutant General

Charles Rodriguez 3-star general, appoint by Governor, head military official, in charge of Texas military

Committees

Committees are where the real legislative work is done.

The Current Lieutenant Governor

David Dewhurst

The Long Process

Introduction of the Bill, introduced into whichever house it is formed in. Minimum wage increase. In the HOUSE. Be given tag HB for house bill. Committee Assignment, the Speaker of the House will assign the bill to a committee. Assigned to business committee. Committee Action, committee can change the bill however they want. They then vote on it to get it out of the committee. Simple majority votes it out of committee. Legislative Calendar, once voted out of committee it comes to the whole house. Legislative Floor, given a date to vote on and waits until it is time for the house to vote. Usually people that speak on behalf of the bill or against it get 10 minutes to speak in the house. In the Senate, people have unlimited time to speak. 150 people in the house, passes 90-60. Introduction to other Legislative House, Bill passes house is then introduced into the senate. Lt. Governor (President for US Senate) assigns the bill to the committee of business and commerce. Committee Assignment Committee Action once committee of business and commerce looks over and makes changes or not, it is voted out of committee. Legislative Calendar, Bill gets its date and waits Legislative Floor, The bill is voted on, but is not the same Bill. Conference Committee, committee takes people from the senate and the house to come up with a bill, each side makes compromises. Once the bill is voted on, and is approved, it goes back and gets voted on by the House and by the Senate. If they both approve the Bill it can be sent to the Governor. Final Passage The Governor - 3 options Sign the Bill, which becomes law. Ignore the Bill, if he refuses to sign it, then it becomes law in ten days. The governor has twenty days if the bill was at the end of session. Veto the Bill, If the governor veto's the bill the bill is dead. The House and Senate both have to vote with a 2/3rds super majority to override the president's veto

Speaker of the House of Representatives

Is a Texas Representative Elected by the House to serve as speaker Appoints the members of all Standing Committees * Appoints legislation to committees Appoints Conference Committees The Speaker of the House serves on the Legislative Council and the Legislative Audit Committee, and serves as vice-chair on the Legislative Budget Board. He is also a member of the Legislative Redistricting Board

Problems of a Bureaucracy

Issues of Legitimacy, people using bureaucracies for their own political gains Concerns of Validity, people taking bribes, corruption, Too job focused, not my job to do this Red Tape, so many rules and regulations Employment focused rather than productivity focused, lunch time time to go Too large, too much bureaucracy, once in a government job can't fire