CHAPTER 23: THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE

Limited Session  Biennial Session –Legislature meets on the second Tuesday in odd- numbered years.  Meets for 140 days  Special Sessions –Governor may call a thirty day special session.

Informal qualifications for membership in the legislature  Informal Qualifications  Party  Race  Male Dominance  Attorneys -retainership  Financing

Formal qualifications for membership in the legislature  Texas Senate  A U. S. citizen  A registered voter  At least 26 years of age  Have lived in Texas for five years and the district for one year.  Texas House  A U.S. citizen  At least 21 years of age  Have lived in Texas for two years and the district for one year

Amateurism in the Texas Legislature  Short sessions of the legislature  Biennial sessions  Low pay for legislators

Terms and Turnover  Texas Senator serves four-year terms.  Texas House serves two-year terms.  The Texas Legislature has a high turnover because of low pay, short sessions, heavy workload, and inadequate staff.

Compensation  $7,200 annual salary  $125 per diem for regular and special sessions  Travel Allowance  Legislators usually have other jobs.

Geographic Districts in both houses of the legislature  There are 150 seats in the Texas House of Representatives and 31 single member districts in the state senate.  Each house and senate seat must contain equal populations within their respective houses.  Both houses of the legislature are redistricted every ten years based on census data and politics.

Geographic Districts  The legislative districts are reapportioned after every ten year census to maintain equal representation.  The case Reynolds v. Sims (1964) ruled “one person, one vote.” The Legislative Redistricting Board draws the lines if the legislature fails to redistrict.  Gerrymandering occurs if the lines are redrawn to give a certain party, faction or ethnic group an advantage.

Organization of the Texas Legislature  The Presiding Officers Speaker of the House Lt. Governor  Legislative Committees  Legislative Staff

Organization of the Legislature  Lieutenant Governor  Serves as President of the Senate  Elected to four-year term  One of the most powerful  Speaker of the House  Elected by a house majority from the house membership  Powerful

Legislative Committees  Standing committees  Subcommittees  Ad Hoc Committees  Conference Committees  Interim Committees

Legislative Staff  House members receive $7,500 monthly for office expenses  Senate members receive $22,000 for office expenses  Legislative staff members lack expertise when compared to the lobby staff.  House Research Organization

What the Texas legislature looks like: It is mostly  Male  White  Protestant  Lawyer/ businessman  Has personal wealth or financial support from interest groups.

Nonprocedural Powers of the Presiding Officers  Appoint the members and serve as chair(lieutenant governor) and vice-chair(speaker) of the –Legislative Budget Board, and the –Legislative Council.  Serve on and appoint the members of the Legislative Audit Committee.  Serve on and appoint the members of the Sunset Advisory Commission.

Procedural Powers of the Presiding Officers  Appoint most committee Members  Appoint committee chairs  Assigns bills to committee  Schedules legislation for floor action  Recognize members on the floor for amendments and points of order  Interpret the procedural rules when needed  Appoint the chairs and members of the conference committees

Procedural Tools of Leadership  Committee Membership –The presiding officers exercise influence by appointing committee membership.  Selection of Committee Chairs –The presiding officers appoint the committee chairs.  Committee Jurisdiction –The presiding officers assign bills to committees.

Presiding Officers May Oppose A Bill  A bill may be a threat to the officer’s backers and financial supporters.  The backers of a bill may have been uncooperative thus the officers may punish them.  The bill’s opponents may have more bargaining power.  The bill’s backers may feel the passage of the bill might financially cripple a favorite program.

Committee Powers and Functions  Committees are “little legislatures”.  Committees are extensions of the presiding officers.  In committee the bills may be –rewritten –pigeonholed –edited  Division of Labor –Bills are marked up in each committee.  Competency –The seniority system allows the chairs to become experts in a subject if returned to the same committee year after year.

Committee Powers and Functions (cont.)  Pigeonhole –Committees may also chose not to consider a bill. Discharge petition Tagging  Bureaucratic Oversight –Committees may also hold hearing to see that bureaucrats are carrying out public policy. –Several factors make bureaucratic oversight difficult: short legislative session movement of members from one committee to another short term for legislators when compared to top administrators.

Committee Powers and Functions (cont.)  The Calendar –Scheduling a bill is crucial to passage and success.  House Calendars –The speaker of the house does not have direct control over the calendar, but does control committee membership.  The Senate Calendar –The senate calendar is used only in theory. –Most bills are considered by a suspension of the rules, requires 2/3 vote as opposed to majority for passage. –The lieutenant governor must recognize a senator to make this motion –The presiding officer or eleven senators could prevent any bill from becoming law.

The Floor of the House  As bills reach the House floor, a loudspeaker system allows votes for or against.  Most legislators vote on who is supporting a bill and who is against it. –Floor leaders: representatives who are trying to get a bill passed.

The Floor of the Senate  The senate floor is similar to the house with one exception, the filibuster.  Senate rules allow a senator to speak unlimitedly to try to prevent a vote on a bill.  The presiding officer controls those who speak.

The Conference Committee  Conference committees are composed of five members of each house appointed by the respective presiding officers.  Today, conference committees iron out differences between each of the bills. –Conference committee reports

How a Bill Becomes Law  Introduction to the Senate  Assignment to committee  Senate Committee Action  Senate Calendar  Senate Floor  Introduction to the House  Assignment to a committee  House Committee action  House calendars  House floor

Institutional Leadership Tools  The Legislative Budget Board: Members and presiding officers influence the budgeting process.  The Legislative Council: The presiding officers appoint committee membership which oversees bill drafting and research.  The Legislative Audit Committee: The presiding officers, members of this committee, audit agency expenditures.  The Sunset Advisory Commission: This commission with the presiding officers as members reviews state agencies.

Restraints on the Powers of the Presiding Officers  Personality –leadership style  The Team –legislator coalitions  The Lobby and Bureaucracy –coalition of presiding officers, bureaucrats and lobby insures success  The Governor –the threat to veto and line-item veto give power  The Political Climate –scandal may limit the power of the presiding officers.  Political or Economic Ambition –political credits, interest group support, and presiding officer’s role may serve as a stepping stone to other offices.