Chapter 23

The Texas Legislature

Pearson Education, Inc. © 2008

American Government9th Editionto accompany Comprehensive, Alternate, Texas, and Essentials Editions

O’Connor and Sabato

The Texas Legislature Serves the following functions:

To represent the people in government To legislate To budget and tax To perform constituent casework To consider constitutional amendments for the

Texas and U.S. constitutions To confirm the governor’s appointees To redistrict itself and the U.S. congressional

districts in Congress To impeach and remove from office corrupt

officials

The Origins of the Legislative Branch Predecessors were:

Mexican legislatures A series of elected conventions Congress of the Republic of Texas

Bicameral Congress Convened in 1836 with 30 representatives and 14

senators Senators served three-year terms; House members

elected for one-year terms Nine Congresses for the Republic of Texas, one year

each in length Anglos dominated legislature Dissolved in 1846

Legislature of State of Texas convened in 1846

The State Constitution and the Legislative Branch of Government

Today the bicameral Texas legislature consists of a Senate of 31 members and a House of 150 members.

Senate ranks 40th in size among the states House ranks 8th in size among the states 1876 Texas Constitution set the size of the

Senate but allowed the House to grow to max of 150 in 1921

Both must pass a bill for it to become a law. Differing duties as well

Constitutional Provisions Affecting Legislators Length of Terms

Representatives elected for two-year terms Senators for four-year terms

Senate elections are staggered: 15 seats up and then 16 seats two years later

After redistricting, all senators must run, draw lots to see who serves a two-year term versus a four-year term

Temporary Acting Legislators Appointed if a representative or senator goes into military

service Compensation

Among the lowest paid in the nation Last raise was in 1974 Ethics Commission in 1991 raised per diems

Sessions of the Legislature Biennial legislature

Meets in regular session every two years Were common in the 19th and 20th century Concept of the citizen legislature

Regular session The biennial 140-day session of the Texas

legislature, beginning in January of odd-numbered years

Special (called) session A legislative session of up to 30 days, called by

the governor, during an interim between regular sessions

Legislative Membership: Representing the Public

Variables that affect members’ elections include Their districts and any redistricting that

occurs No term limits

Redistricting Single-member district

An election system for legislative bodies in which each legislator runs from and represents a single district, rather than the entire geographic area encompassed by the government

Controversies in Texas over redistricting 2001 legislature and

governor could not reach an accommodation

Legislative Redistricting Board (4 Republicans and 1 Democrat) approved plans that favored Republicans

Lawsuits resulted but plan was approved with modifications

In 2004 the U.S. Supreme court upheld Pennsylvania redistricting plans but suggested that partisan issues in redistricting could be so extreme as to render plans unconstitutional.

Sent the Texas plan to the lower courts for reconsideration given their 2004 decision

Upheld and sent back to the Court Most of the plan was

approved.

Reelection Rates and Turnover Membership

Early on, few legislators sought a second term.

Now most incumbents seek reelection and most are successful.

Nationally, state legislative turnover is about 21% in House and 17 percent in the Senate. Texas rate is lower on average although it varies by election year

Election after redistricting most volatile

Personal and Political Characteristics of Members Occupation

Many lawyers, businesspeople and professionals, but number of teachers, preachers, public organizers and former legislative aides is increasing.

The pay is low and the job is part-time. Education

Generally a very educated group Religion

Baptists dominated, but by the 1990s Catholics were the largest group, followed by Baptists, Methodists, and Episcopalians.

Personal and Political Characteristics of Members Gender

Anglo males have dominated; recently women and minority members have increased in number. (2005= 22.5% women)

Race 2007 – More racial diversity found among

Democratic members of Texas House and Senate Age

Most Texas legislators are in their forties or fifties in age.

House members tend to be younger relative to Senate members.

Personal and Political Characteristics of Members Political Party

Historically, Democrats have won far more seats in the Texas legislature than have Republicans.

Republicans have grown in power.They won majority in Texas Senate in 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2002. They won a majority in the House in 2002 and 2004.

In 2005, Democrats controlled 24 state senate seats, Republicans controlled 24. One equally divided

Ideology Democrats tend to be liberals and populists;

Republicans tend to be libertarians and conservatives.

Ideological Voting Patterns in the Texas House of Representatives

How the Texas Legislature is Organized Leaders

President of the Texas Senate Pro-Tempore Speaker of the Texas House

Committees Legislative Party Caucuses

An organization of legislators who are all of the same party, and which is formally allied with a political party

Leadership and Opposition in the House Texas Constitution requires that

members of the House choose a leader (called the Speaker). 20th-century norm is for the Speaker to

serve two terms 1973 Dirty Thirty Reforms

Speaker voting is open and public. Some fear of retaliation

2003 First Republican speaker in more than 130 years

The Speaker’s Race The campaign to determine who shall be the speaker

of the Texas House for a given biennium Vast amounts of money raised Much of this money used to to help elect legislators

who will be pledged to the speaker candidate Pledge cards

Delay scandal in 2003 Sharpstown scandal Speaker has a team

The leadership team in the House, consisting of the speaker and his/her most trusted allies among the members, most of whom the speaker appoints to chair House committees

Speaker’s lieutenants and team

House Leadership and the Political Parties

Until 2003, Republicans controlled the House during only one session, in1870.

Personal and factional groupings have dominated the selection process, with the conservative Democratic faction normally winning.

The Speaker’s Influence Over Committees

Speakers have the ability to stack important committees with legislators from the faction that controls the House.

Reforms in the 1970s

House Opposition and Political Parties

Opposition to the Speaker and the Speaker’s team was traditionally NOT organized along party lines. This is changing now But coalitional approach still used Ex: Craddick in 2003

Organizing in the House Through Nonparty Caucuses

Nonparty legislative caucus An organization of legislators that is

based on some attribute other than party affiliation

House Study Group House Research Organization Texas Conservative Coalition Texas Conservative Coalition Research

Institute Legislative Study Group

Leadership and Opposition in the Senate

Role of the Lieutenant Governor Political stepping stone One of the most powerful lieutenant governors in

the United States

Coalition Building in the Senate Small body, with weak political parties Leadership and opposition are typically

organized on an ad hoc basis Heavily influenced by personal relationships Conservative faction dominated

Leadership and Opposition in the Senate Senate Two-Thirds Rule

The rule in the Texas Senate requiring that every bill win a vote of two-thirds of the senators present to suspend the Senate’s regular order of business, so that the bill may be considered

Tends to protect the opposition Makes leadership-opposition blocs more fluid in

the Senate Greater protection of minority rights than in the

Texas House

The Law-Making and Budgeting Function of the Legislature Bill: a proposed law Joint resolution

A legislative document that either proposes an amendment to the Texas Constitution or ratifies an amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Simple resolution A legislative document proposing an action that

affects only the one chamber in which it is being considered, such as a resolution to adopt House rules or to commend a citizen

Concurrent resolution A legislative document intended to express the will of

both chambers of the legislature, even though it does not possess the authority of law

How a Bill Becomes a Law Bill must be read on three separate days in each chamber Must pass both chambers in the exact form Legislator files a bill or resolution and clerk assigns it a

number No requirement that a bill be introduced in both chambers

Bill then goes to committee Committee holds hearings, most of them public hearings

Open to all and votes must be taken in open meetings If it goes to subcommittee, the subcommittee chair decides

to have a public hearing or a formal meeting. At this point the House and Senate diverge in the

legislative process.

How a Bill Becomes a Law House

House Calendars Committee

1993 Reforms

Senate Intent Calendar Notice of Intent Bottleneck Bill Killer Bees 2/3s Rule

The Bill Reaches the Floor Quorum

The minimum number required to conduct business First Reading

Texas Constitution requires three readings of a bill by the legislature; first reading is when the bill is introduced, its caption is read aloud, and it is referred to committee

Second Reading Occurs when debate and consideration of amendments occur

before the whole chamber Third Reading

The final reading in a chamber unless the bill returns from the other chamber with amendments

Filibuster is a formal way of halting action on a bill by means of long speeches or unlimited debate in the Senate.

The Bill Reaches the Floor An amendment must be germane to the bill (related

to the topic), but this is a matter of interpretation by the speaker of the House or Senate president.

In the chamber in which the bill originated, when the final vote on a bill on third reading is favorable, the bill is considered engrossed. An engrossed bill is then sent to the other chamber

by a staff messenger. It then goes through the referral and committee

process and may or may not make it to the floor of the second chamber.

Two Bills into One: The Final Stages Many bills are amended in the second

chamber, so an additional step is needed to get both bills into one form. The original chamber could simply vote to

concur with the amendments placed on the bill or,

It may vote to NOT concur and request a conference committee to adjust the differences

If approved, it is an enrolled bill and goes to the governor

He may sign it, ignore it (and it goes into effect anyway) or veto it

The Budgeting Process Biennial legislative sessions necessitate biennial

budgets 1931 the Texas legislature designated the governor

as the state’s chief budget officer, but the same law gave the State Board of Control responsibility for preparing the budget

1951 the budget function went to the governor’s office and stayed there Legislative Budget Board was also created

Both prepare budgets for the legislature to consider.

The Budgeting Process Balanced budget required by the Texas constitution

Deficit spending: government spending in the current budget cycle that exceeds government revenue.

Debt: the total outstanding amount the government owes as a result of borrowing in the past

Budget execution authority: The authority to move money from one program to another program or from one agency to another agency.

How Legislators Make Decisions Growth of legislative staff Efforts to increase information

Technical assistance/staffing Specialized information

Legislative Council A joint legislative committee that provides legal advice, bill

drafting, copyediting and printing, policy research, and program evaluation services for members of the legislature

Legislative Budget Board Joint legislative committee that prepares the state budget

and conducts evaluations of agencies’ programs Political assistance

Lobbyists Ethics of Lobbying

The Legislator and the Governor Strong players in the legislative

process Have things that legislators want:

Emergency declaration for their bills Adding their bills to a call for a special

session Signing their bills

Special Sessions Party loyalty Veto power