Chapter 23

The Legislature

Texas Legislature in Context (P. 732)

31 member Senate representing 31 senatorial districts 150 member House of Representatives representing 150 legislative districts Has the eleventh largest state legislature while ranking second in population Ranks 49th in the nation in its ratio of representation to population One of only nine legislatures that does not meet for a yearly regular session (P. 736)

Texas Legislature in Context

Citizen legislature - Keeping the job of legislator as a part-time function that many citizens can perform Members of the Texas Legislature receive just $7,200 base pay per year and $139 per day of Legislative Session (P. 734) Professional legislatures & hybrid legislatures Because of the total compensation and retirement benefits provided Texas legislators, we define Texass legislature as a hybrid legislature.

Qualifications for Office (P. 734)

TX House U.S. Citizen Qualified Voter 2 year in State 1 year in District 21 yrs old TX Senate U.S. Citizen Qualified Voter 5 year in State 1 year in District 26 yrs old

Length of Terms (P. 733)

Party affiliation: Candidates for the Texas House and Senate must run for their political partys nomination in a party primary and win the seat in the general election. The election of independent candidates is quite rare.
Terms: House - 2 years Senate - 4 years in staggered elections There are no term limits in the Texas legislature.

Theories of Representation

Delegate Theory Trustee Theory The Politico Approach Microcosm Theory

Asserts that the legislature should reflect the broader society. Evaluating the legislature based on microcosm theory suggests that the legislature is unrepresentative, particularly in terms of gender.

Elections & Redistricting (P. 736)

Texas uses a Single-Member District Plurality system (SMDP) for general elections to the state legislature. Texass primary elections for state and local offices and primary elections for U.S. Senate & U.S. House of Representatives use the Single-Member District Majority system (SMDM). Redistricting Between 1921 and 1951, the Texas Legislature never redistricted nor added new seats, despite periods of rapid population growth in some parts of the state and population decline in other areas.

Redistricting Cont. (P. 737)

RULES OF THE GAME: The Voting Rights Act and similar legislation ensure the representation of minorities who had previously faced discrimination. Majority-minority districts - election districts in which the majority of the population comes from a racial or ethnic minority district Hunt v. Cromartie (1999) - District lines drawn for partisan advantage as long as the principle of one person-one vote is followed

The Texas Constitution and Redistricting

1. 2.
3.

Districts must be contiguous. Districts must respect county boundaries as much as possible. The state must use the Single Member District Plurality method (SMDP). states like Iowa create nonpartisan or bipartisan independent commissions to draw the district lines.

Redistricting Games
Legislative Redistricting Board (P. 737) created in 1948 steps in if the legislature is unable to pass a redistricting plan for the legislative seats or when state or federal courts have invalidated a redistricting plan (Members: Lt. Gov; SofH; AG; GLO; CPA) In 2000, there was a divided legislature with the Democrats as the majority party in the House and the Republicans the majority party in the Senate. The LRB was dominated by Republicans and drew districts to their partisan advantage for the 2002 elections.

Redistricting Games (P. 738)

The GOP gained control of the legislature as the majority party in both chambers following the 2002 elections. Under the influence of then U.S. House majority floor leader Tom Delay of Texas, the Republicans sought to increase the number of Republican seats in the U.S. House from Texas. A mid-decade redistricting of the U.S. House of Representatives seats by the Texas Legislature, without being ordered to do so by a court, was unprecedented in recent history.

The Redistricting Plan and the Court (P. 738)

After one regular session and three called special sessions, the partisan gerrymandered plan was complete. It was immediately challenged in the courts. Did mid-decade redistricting violate the constitution? Did the new districts disenfranchise minority voters by violating the Voting Rights Act (VRA)? Were the district lines drawn in such a partisan manner as to violate earlier U.S. Supreme Court rulings?

Three issues for the U.S. Supreme Court:

1. 2. 3.

LULAC v. Perry (2006)

In 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in LULAC v. Perry which stated that mid-decade redistricting was permissible and held that the Texas districts were not drawn in an excessively partisan manner so as to completely dilute Democratic voters. However, the high court did rule that some of the district lines violated the VRA by reducing the strength of Hispanic voters in one congressional district. The lines were redrawn to satisfy the court.

Legislative Organization (P. 744)

Leadership:
Lieutenant Governor is the presiding officer of the Texas Senate Elected in a statewide election to serve a four-year term, thus presiding over two legislative sessions Powers include assigning members to standing committees, appointing committee chairs, and serving on the Legislative Budget Board (LBB).

Legislative Organization
Leadership: At the beginning of each legislative session, the members of the Texas House of Representatives select the Speaker of the House from its membership to be its presiding officer. Although the election is by secret ballot, candidates for the position of Speaker campaign for weeks before the vote is taken. Representatives sign pledge cards of support.

Parties & Caucuses

Parties provide the basis of organization in the Texas Legislature. Parties play a key role in the selection of committee chairs and committee members. At their most basic level, parties function as a party caucus - simply the members of a political party in the legislature. During several decades of Texas history, the majority party in the Texas Legislature was the Democratic Party.

Parties & Caucuses

Democratic Party discipline emerged once the Republicans began to increase their numbers. Today, both parties maintain party caucuses. The Republican Party caucus also has floor whips, party members who try to encourage party discipline among Republican members of the legislature. Compared to other states, party cohesion is relatively weak in Texas.

The Committee System in the Legislature (P. 745)

Standing committees - permanent, House & Senate exclusive formal work groups that typically exist across sessions and across elections House Appropriations Committee - every bill that involves spending the states tax revenues must pass through this committee, regardless of the subject matter of the bill House Ways & Means Committee - handles every bill involving changes in the states tax laws, tax rates, and types of taxes levied

The Committee System in the Legislature

82nd Legislative Session (P. 746) 36 standing committees in the House 19 standing committees in the Senate In the House, the Speaker retains the power to make committee assignments. To reward supporters, the Speaker may appoint chairs from the minority party. In the Senate, the Lieutenant Governor retains the power to make committee assignments. To reward supporters, the Lt. Governor may appoint chairs from the minority party.

The Committee System in the Legislature (P. 745)

Presiding over each standing committee is a committee chair. Committee chairs are quite powerful.

Standing committee functions:

Make formal changes to a bill referred to the committee in the form of amendments May make formal line-by-line revision through a bill without formal amendments called markup Legislative oversight - committee review of policies and decisions in the executive branch to ensure legislative intent has been followed

The Committee System in the Legislature

Joint committees - temporary work groups created by the presiding officers of each chamber for a special purpose; also called select committees Interim committees - legislative work groups created in between sessions to address specific problems and to research specific issues Conference committees - as part of the legislative process, empanelled to reconcile House and Senate versions of a bill

The Legislative Process in Texas (P. 752 - 755)

Bills are introduced by their sponsor. Bills may be prefiled following the general election before the legislative session begins and may be introduced up to 60 days after the legislative session convenes. Budget bills must be introduced by the thirtieth day after the session opens. Impact statements are required on the equalized public education funding formula and on criminal justice policy--a feature unique to Texas. There are also four types of resolutions (P. 752) All bills and resolutions are assigned a number by the secretary of the Senate and chief clerk of the House. The number represents the order in which a resolution or bill was introduced.

The Committee System in the Legislature

In the House, the Speaker formally assigns bills to the appropriate standing committee. A few subcommittees exist in each chamber, made up of committee members to provide a detailed examination of a bill and report the bill back to the standing committee. After a series of public meetings, debates, mark-up sessions, and amendments, the standing committee takes a final vote on a bill. Bills that pass a majority vote in the standing committee receive a favorable report and are ready to be sent to the floor of the House for consideration.

Calendar Committees & Debate (P. 755)

The 150 member House of Representatives uses a device called calendars to organize and prioritize bills, determining when a bill should be considered and how much time will be allowed for debate. A distinct difference between the Texas House & Senate is the use of the House Calendar. The whole chamber engages in floor debate. Supporters and opponents may speak for or against the bill. The trick in both cases is gaining recognition from the presiding officer of the chamber for the purposes of addressing the chamber. Killer amendments - language added to a bill on an unrelated or controversial topic in an attempt to kill the bill

The Senate Process

The 31 member Texas Senate goes through the legislative process in much the same way. Bills are introduced by their sponsors and referred to the appropriate standing committee; those bills receiving a favorable report are ready for consideration. In both the House and Senate, a bill must receive three readings in order to receive final consideration. Blocking bill - a bill regularly introduced in the Senate in first position, to serve as a placeholder at the top of the legislative calendar. Since bills must be considered in order, the blocking bill is traditionally used as a mechanism for consideration of all bills by the Senates requirement of a two-thirds vote to hear bills out of order.

The Senate Process

The two-thirds vote requirement to consider a bill out of order requires 21 members of the Senate voting in favor. Thus, 11 members can block consideration. Therefore, it takes at least 16 members to pass a bill, but 21 to agree to consider a bill on the floor of the Senate. This situation enables the minority party potentially to threaten any bill because the minority party usually holds at least eleven seats in the Texas Senate.

The Lieutenant Governor wields tremendous influence over consideration of legislation in the Texas Senate.

The Final Process

A bill must pass each chamber in identical form. If legislation differs between the House and Senate, the presiding officers select members from their respective chambers to serve on a conference committee. The conference committee report is sent to each chamber for consideration. If the conference report receives a majority vote in each chamber, the bill is sent to the governor for his/her consideration. A gubernatorial veto is overridden by a two-thirds vote in each chamber.

Winners and Losers

The relatively weak position of parties, coupled with the dominance of the Democratic Party, produced a system that concentrated power in the hands of the presiding officer. Members of the legislature have acted as independent brokers, swapping votes and cutting deals to influence legislation. Informal networking and acting in the interest of constituents rather than the party are what matter. Whether the emergence of the Republican majority the last few years will produce a party-centered approach to the legislature, similar to the U.S. Congress, remains to be seen.