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Chapter 8

The Legislative Branch

Brown/Langenegger/Garcia/Biles/Rynbrandt/Reyna/Huerta, Practicing Texas Politics, 17th Edition. © 2020 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Texas Legislature - Election and Terms of Office

Bicameral – legislative body that consists of two houses/ chambers

Texas Senate

31 members with four-year, over-lapping terms

Texas House of Representatives

150 members with two-year terms

Texas Legislature – Sessions and Session Length

Regular session

Biennial – meets every two years

Begins second Tuesday in January, odd-numbered years

140 days maximum (by law, the session must adjourn)

Special session

Called by the governor and can only cover what the governor puts on the agenda

30 days maximum

Extraordinary sessions called by the legislature are not allowed in TX

This strengthens the governor’s veto power

Legislative Framework - Districting

Reapportionment – process of allocating representatives to districts

Redistricting – drawing of district boundary lines after the federal census

Texas LRB – Legislative Redistricting Board (1948)

Equity of Representation

Population shift from rural to urban

Court rulings

mandated districts contain similar numbers of people

apportionment to be on basis of population

Legislative Framework - Districts

Single-member districts – current TX method

One member for each legislative district

Promotes geographical representation

Multimember districts

Two or three members per district

Promote majority representation or domination

Used in the past in TX, struck down in federal court

Legislative Framework - Redistricting

Gerrymandering - the drawing of district boundary lines for political advantage

Political gerrymandering: to the advantage of one political party over another

Racial gerrymandering: creating minority districts

Court Rulings

In 1996, the U.S. Supreme Court found against using race as the predominant factor in drawing districts

In 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court found political gerrymandering was permissible

Shelby County v. Holder (2013)—U.S. Supreme Court holds that automatic U.S. Dept. of Justice preclearance requirements of the Voting Rights Act is no longer required.

Rucho v. Common Cause (2019)— U.S. Supreme Court holds the federal government lacks authority to block the election maps drawn up by state lawmakers, regardless how partisan the motivation behind the maps' composition might be.

Table 8.1 Constitutional Qualifications for Membership in the Texas Legislature

Qualification	House	Senate
Citizenship	U.S. citizen	U.S. citizen
Voter status	Qualified Texas voter	Qualified Texas voter
Residence in district	One year preceding election	One year preceding election
Texas residence	Two years preceding election	Five years preceding election
Age	21 years	26 years

Source: Constitution of Texas, Art. 3, Secs. 6 and 7.

Legislators – Qualifications to Hold Office

Formal qualifications are minimal

Informal qualifications more limiting

Income, education, occupation, gender, ethnicity

Ability to raise money

Percentage of women and minorities

Underrepresented, but numbers are increasing

Percentage of attorneys

33% in TX legislature vs. 14% nationwide in state legislatures

Political party affiliation

Anglo men dominate the legislature and almost all Anglo men in the legislature are Republican

Legislators - Characteristics

Religious affiliation – not a matter of record. Self-reported by legislators

Catholics most numerous

Followed by Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Episcopalians

Legislative experience

An incumbent is more likely to win an election than is an inexperienced challenger

Usually more effective with experience

No term limits

Legislators - Compensation

Pay and per diem allowance

$7,200 annually (since 19 75) plus $221 per diem (2019)

Expense allowances

The Texas legislature provides generous support to each member for staff assistance and expenses

House about $13,500 monthly; Senate about $41,000 monthly

Legislators can pay staff salaries (and other expenses) with money from campaign contributions

Legislative Organization – Lieutenant Governor

Lieutenant Governor: President of the Senate

Elected in statewide general election by citizen voters for four years

Not a member of the senate

Presides over the senate and interprets rules

Appoints all Senate committee chairs and some members

Refers bills to committee

Most powerful elected official

Legislative Organization – Speaker of the House

Speaker of the House

Serves as a representative

Elected by majority vote of house members to serve as presiding officer

Controls the passage of legislation

Appoints all committee chairs and some members

Refers bills to committee

Some believe this is the second most powerful position in TX

Table 8.3 Comparison of Powers of Presiding Officers

Lieutenant Governor (President of the Senate)	Speaker of the House
Issues interim charges to standing committees for subjects to be studied in the interim between regular sessions	Same as Lieutenant Governor
Creates and abolishes committees	Same as Lieutenant Governor
Appoints Senate committee and subcommittee chairs and vice chairs	Same as Lieutenant Governor
Appoints all members of Senate committees and subcommittees	Appoints most members of House committees and subcommittees (limited by seniority rules)
Determines the Senate committee to which a bill will be sent after introduction	Same as Lieutenant Governor
Recognizes senators who wish to speak on the Senate floor or make a motion	Same as Lieutenant Governor
Votes only to break a tie vote	Votes (rarely) on bills and resolutions
Serves as joint chair of the Legislative Council, the Legislative Budget Board, and the Legislative Audit Committee	Same as Lieutenant Governor

The Texas State Legislature Online (TLO)

http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/

Legislative Organization - Committees

Most of the work of the legislature occurs in committees

Substantive committee - House permanent committee considers bills and resolutions related to the subject identified by its name

Standing committee - Senate permanent committee considers proposed bills and resolutions before possible floor debate and voting by senators.

Conference committee - joint committees that work out differences in bills passed by the two houses

Interim committees study issues between sessions

Chairs of committees have powers similar to those of the speaker and lieutenant governor

They decide the amount of time devoted to bills and which bills get the attention of the committee

Legislative Organization – Caucus System

Caucuses are on the rise in the Texas Legislature

Party caucuses (strengthening is an indication of the move to a two-party system in the state)

Racial/ethnic caucuses

Ideological caucuses

Bipartisan caucuses

Through the caucus system, legislators seek to maximize their influence over issues in which they have a special interest.

Legislative Operations – Making Public Policy

The legislature’s main duty and function is to create, alter, and enact laws

Making public policy

Simple resolution – action of one chamber; not acted on by the governor

Concurrent resolution – adopted by both House & Senate, then approved by the governor

Joint resolution – approval by both chambers but no action by the governor

Bills – a proposed law or statute

Special - an exception to general laws for the benefit of a specific individual, class, or corporation.

General - apply to all people or property in all parts of Texas. Must pass both chambers and be signed by the governor.

Local - creates or affects a single unit of local government

Budget and Taxation

Biennial budget is one of the most essential laws

Legislative Operations – Other Functions

Oversight

Limited use of committees to hear testimony

Oversight through financial control

Sunset Advisory Commission

Reviews agencies on a rotating basis for continuation

Impeachment and removal powers

House – simple majority brings charges

Senate – 2/3rds vote to remove from office after holding a proceeding to render judgement

Legislative Operations – Rules and Procedures

Each legislative chamber adopts its own rules

Procedural issues decided by presiding officer of each legislative body

Parliamentarian (expert on the rules and laws) provides advice to presiding officer in House and Senate about procedural questions

Formal Rules – result in difficulty passing a bill

Prevent bills from becoming law without careful review

Preserve the status quo (in TX, protects the ruling elite)

Legislative Operations – How a Bill Becomes Law Steps 1 - 8

How a Bill Becomes a Law

Introduction in the House

First Reading (House) and Referral to Committee

House Committee Consideration and Report

Second Reading, Debate, and Vote (House)

Third Reading and Final Passage (House)

First Reading and Referral to Committee (Senate)

Senate Committee Consideration and Report

Second Reading, Debate, and Vote (Senate)

Legislative Operations How a Bill Becomes Law Steps 9 - 16

How a Bill Becomes a Law (continued)

Third Reading and Final Passage (Senate)

Return to the House

Conference Committee

Conference Committee Report

Enrollment

Signatures of the Chief Clerk and Speaker

Signatures of Secretary of Senate and Lieutenant Governor

Action by the Governor

Figure 8.4 Route Followed by a House Bill from Texas Legislature to Governor

Influences Within the Legislative Environment

Constituents

Presiding officers

Governor

Attorney general and judges

State comptroller

Lobbyists (special interests)

Events

Research organizations

Media

Legislative Roles

Representational Roles

Delegate – represents the wishes of the voters

Trustee – makes decisions using his or her own judgement about what is best for voters

Politico – acts as a trustee or a delegate, depending on the issue

Which role representatives play is largely dependent on how the issues affect their district

Local issues can take the forefront as a result, leading long-term statewide or larger public interests to be neglected

Who Represents You?

Determine your voting districts by visiting “Who Represents Me?” https://fyi.capitol.texas.gov/Address.aspx

Make note of the district number and the name of the incumbent for each of the following offices:

U.S. Congressional District

Texas House District

Texas Senate District

State Board of Education District

Texas District Maps

Current District Maps

State House Districts

https://dvr.capitol.texas.gov/House/4/PLANH358

State Senate Districts

https://dvr.capitol.texas.gov/Senate/2/PLANS172

Federal House Districts

https://dvr.capitol.texas.gov/Congress/2/PLANC235

Information about 2020 Redistricting Planning –

https://redistricting.capitol.texas.gov/process

assignment

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