Bicameral Legislature February 18, 2016

Definition What is a bicameral legislature? A legislature with two houses or two chambers. Does Texas have a bicameral legislature? Yes. Are all state legislatures bicameral? No. Nebraska is unicameral.

The Nebraska Legislature Nebraska adopted a state constitutional amendment in 1937 to create a unicameral legislature whose members would be chosen in nonpartisan elections. These are contests in which the names of the candidates but not their party affiliations appear on the ballot. The 49 members of the Nebraska legislature serve four-year overlapping terms. Where is Nebraska relative to Texas?

Pros and Cons—Unicameral v. Bicameral More efficient because legislation need only pass one chamber. Less expensive because it avoids duplication and only one set of legislators, staff members, aides, etc. need to be paid. Produces better policies because one chamber can correct the errors of the other chamber. Different chambers with different lengths of term and different district sizes can represent both local interests and regional interests.

Gov. Ventura Proposes a Unicameral Legislature Independent Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura proposed changing his state’s legislature to a unicameral body in order to save money but his proposal got nowhere. Why else is Ventura well known? Jesse Ventura, governor of Minnesota, 1999-2003

Ventura’s Other Career He used to be a professional wrestler.

Texas House and Texas Senate 150 members Elected for two year terms Districts based on population 31 members Elected for four year overlapping terms except that every senator runs for reelection after redistricting Districts based on population Is it better to be a member of the House or the Senate? (The pay is the same.) The Senate because one of 31 is better than one of 150. Politicians also prefer four year terms.

Term Limits Texas legislators are not term limited. They may serve as long as they keep running for reelection and the voters keep re-electing them.

Term Limited State Legislatures Voters like term limits. Legislators hate them. States with term limits States with the initiative process

Term Limits Pro and Con Pro Con The legislature is in need of new ideas, procedures, and influence. Incumbents are difficult to defeat. Term-limited politicians are less likely to be focused on special interests. New officials are less likely to exploit the system for personal gain because they lack knowledge of how the system works. Term limited officials can do what’s right rather than what will get them reelected. Term limits may kick out good lawmakers who deserve to stay. Term limits kick out lawmakers at the time they begin to understand how the state operates. A term limited legislature lacks institutional memory because it has no veteran members. Legislators will spend their last term looking for their next political job.

Roles of the Texas House and Senate Responsibility House Senate Pass ordinary legislation X Ratify U.S. constitutional amendments Propose Texas constitutional amendments Confirm gubernatorial appointments X (2/3rds vote) Adopt a state budget Approve tax measures Override a veto Impeach an executive or judicial officials Try and remove an impeached official

Texas House Districts How many Texas House districts are there? How do you know? 150 districts because there are 150 members Who drew the districts? When were they last drawn? The legislature drew the districts in 2011, after the 2010 Census.

Does the area vote Democratic or Republican? River Oaks Montrose Heights West University Bellaire Museum District Republican Democrat

Texas House District 134—The Danburg Years From 1980 to 2002, liberal Democrat Debra Danburg represented Texas House District 134. The district, which included the Heights, parts of Montrose, and River Oaks, was a Democratic stronghold in the heart of Houston. (The Heights and Montrose outvoted River Oaks.) Danburg was socially liberal but business friendly. Democrat Debra Danburg Back in those days, Democrats controlled the redistricting process.

Redistricting Helps Martha Wong Defeat Danburg Republicans controlled the redistricting process for the first time after the 2000 Census. They took most of Montrose and the Heights out of District 134 as well as the Museum District, replacing them with West University and Bellaire. The district was consequently more Republican. In the 2002 election, Republican Martha Wong defeated Danburg 53-46 percent. Republican Martha Wong

Ellen Cohen Defeats Wong Wong, a conservative, was not a perfect fit for District 134 which is conservative on financial issues but fairly liberal on social issues. In 2006, Democrat Ellen Cohen used Wong’s votes on gay marriage and abortion against her, defeating Wong 55-44 percent. Democrat Ellen Cohen

Sarah Davis and Redistricting The 2010 election was very good for the Republicans. In District 134, Republican Sarah Davis defeated Cohen 51-49 percent. The legislature made the district more Republican after the 2010 census, helping Davis win reelection in 2012 and 2014. Davis was the only Republican member of the legislature to vote against the 2013 abortion bill.

Texas Senate Districts How many state senate districts are there? What is the basis of that number? Yes, because state senate districts are almost five times larger than state house districts. There are 31 districts because there are 31 senators. Is it possible for two people to be represented by the same state senator but different state representatives?

Does Size Matter? Each state House member represents approximately 177,000 people, whereas the population of each state Senate district is 839,000.

Who Represents You in the Leg? *Who represents you (or your address) in the Texas House? *Who represents you (or your address) in the Texas Senate? You can find the answers to those questions online at several locations, including the following: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/ 1 * This will be on the test! How many people represent you in the Texas House? How many people represent you in the Texas Senate? 1

Quiz Which of the following powers is in the hands of the Texas Senate but not the Texas House? Adopt a budget Propose constitutional amendments Confirm the governor’s appointments Pass a tax bill The answer is C.

What You Have Learned What is a bicameral legislature? What are the arguments for and against it? How are the Texas House and Senate organized in terms of number of members, length of terms, and basis of representation? What are term limits? What are the arguments for and against them? Who represents you or the place where you live in the Texas House and Texas Senate?