Texas Politics Today – ch 7 – Flashcards

legally mandated restrictions on the number of times that a politician can be reelected to an office or the number of years that a person may hod a particular office

those residents of the state who are directly affected by the lawmaking choices of a particular elected official, usually residents and businesses in the home district of the elected official

the legislative function of reviewing state bureaucratic agencies and closing them down (called "sunsetting") if they are no longer viable for the state

a 30-day session of the legislature that can only be called by the governor, which takes place after a regular session to complete work or to consider the agenda set by the governor

a formal recognition by the state legislature to provide support or non-support of events, people or law changes, or a way for the legislative body to make an agreement to support or not support upcoming changes in federal law or laws adopted by other states

the amount paid each day that a legislator is working, both in regular and special sessions, and when committees meet during the interim between sessions

fees charged by lawyer-legislators for services to clients, including those who have business with state agencies or may have lawsuits against state agencies

fees charged by legislators who may contract with business clients to consult on matters pending in the legislature, thereby helping clients to benefit from legislation currently active in the legislature

the idea that elected bodies should accurately represent not only constituents' political views but also the ethnic and social characteristics that affect their political perspectives

districts that are represented by one representative that should be equal in population

the process of the unequal distribution of population during the districting process that would make one district substantially larger or smaller than another

the redistricting or redrawing district lines after every census to reflect the population changes over the previous decade

persons who hold a position automatically because they also hold some other office

the practice of drawing district lines in such a way as to give candidates from a certain party, ethnic group, or faction an advantage

a gerrymandering technique in which concentrated political party voters in one geographical area are split into several districts so that their voting power in any one district is negligible

gerrymandering technique in which members of a party are concentrated into one district, thereby ensuring that the group will influence only one election rather than several

placing two incumbent officeholders and parts of their political bases in the same elective district through redistricting

the currently elected official

another way of referring to committees - refers to the amount of work and decision-making power of the committees

permanent committees that function throughout the legislative session, there are two types; substantive and procedural

rewriting or changing a bill by adding or deleting portions of it before it is considered for passage

to set a bill aside and not take any action on in throughout the entire legislative session, most bills are pigeonholed

subdivisions of standing committees that consider specialized areas and categories of proposed legislation

committee that includes both senators and representatives

a committee designed to address on specific issue in the legislative process, its function is temporary and is disbanded when the function is complete

temporary committees that are created for one specific purpose and are usually in the advisory capacity

an ad-hoc committee that meets to resolve differences between senate and house versions of the same legislation, each piece of legislation has its own conference committee

committee that meets between legislative sessions

the setting aside of the rule of chronologically ordering bills so that other bills can be considered

the first bill placed on the senate calendar which is usually a bill that will never be considered by the full sendate

refers to action by the entire house or the entire senate to debate, amend, and vote on legislation

to take official action, both houses require 2/3 of the total membership to be present

a prolonged debate by a senator to delay passing of a bill

the entire 31 member senate acting as a committee

the legislators who are responsible for getting legislation passed or defeated

a formal collection that rules of procedure are not being followed on the house floor

includes debating earlier bills for the maximum allotted time, asking the bill's sponsor trivial questions, and proposing so many amendments and raising so many points of order that the house does not get around to the bill to which they ultimately object

to cast an oral vote that is not recorded in the official record

on final bill passage, votes and the names of those who cast the vote are recorded in each house's journal

a compromise between the house and senate versions of a bill reached by a conference committee and then delivered to each house

a ten-member board responsible for creating the state's initial budget and providing planning, analysis, and impact of the budgeting process

provides research support, information, and bill-drafting assistance to legislators

appoints and supervises the state auditor who, with the consent of the senate, heads the State Auditor's Office

recommends keeping, abolishing, reorganizing, or giving a new scope and authority to an agency

* senate - 4 year staggered terms * house - 2 year terms

increasing frustration with government, expecially the legislative branch which seems to be more responsive to organized special interests than the residents and businesses located within the home district of the elected official

* non-partisan institution to provide information to legislators * provides bill analyses, floor reports, issue focus reports, and interim news to legislators and the public

21%

71%

House: Hispanics - 22% female - 21% Asian - 2% Senate: Hispanics - 23% female - 19% Asian - ?

women are far more underrepresented than major ethnic groups in the TX legislature, although slightly more than 1/2 of the state's population is female, in 2013-14, only 21% of the House and 19% of the Senate were women

* US citizen * qualified voter of the state * 21 years old or older * lived in TX 2 years prior * in the district for one year prior to being elected

* US citizen * qualified voter of the state * 26 years old or older * lived in TX 5 years prior * in the district for one year prior to being elected

* single-member districts * House districts are smaller

* white, male * business owner or executive, lawyer * having an occupation that allows significant independence to attend session and needs of constituents * educational attainment * wealthy

Law & business

* ex officio board members * lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house, the attorney general, the comptroller, and the commissioner of the General Land Office

* named after MA legislature & Governor Eldbridge Gerry redrew district lines to preserve the Federalist party * drawn in convoluted shapes * political cartoon portrayed shape as a salamander - the "Gerrymander"

* TX has a history of discrimination * Voting Rights Act - 1965

* court struck down the provision requiring TX and the other 8 states to report their district lines before they go into effect * made it possible for the Republican dominated legislature to keep maps drawn by the federal district court in San Antonio

combining two or more incumbent legislators' residences and parts of their political bases into the same elective district

governor & presiding officers

the majority party's incumbent

* House - speaker of the house - Joe Straus (R) * Senate - lieutenant governor - Dan Patrick

* procedural power to appoint most committee members and committee chairpersons * assign bills to committees * schedule legislation for floor action * recognize members on the floor for amendments and points of order * interpret the procedural rules when conflict arises * appoint the chairpersons and members of joint and conference committees * nonprocedural, institutional power to appoint the members to serve as joint chairs of the LBB & Legislative Council * determine the members of the Legislative Audit Committee and the Sunset Advisory Commission

1) cracking 2) packing 3) pairing

by the presiding officer

can appoint members of joint and conference committees

* Speaker of the House * Lieutenant Governor

?

chosen from among the membership of the representatives, usually from the majority party

favorable committee assignments

* permanent committees that function throughout the legislative session * may be substantive or procedural * most common * do most of the legislative work

refers the the amount of work and decision-making power of each committee

simple majority

subdivisions of standing committees

* first bill on the Senate calendar * usually a bill that will never be considered by the full senate * purpose is to stop floor consideration of any other bills except by the 3/5 vote to suspend the rule requiring chronological consideration of bills

* reviews bills requiring appropriations from state treasury * bills diverting or preventing deposit of funds

* place bills on any one of the calendars - emergency calendar - major state calendar - constitutional amendments calendar - general state calendar - local and consent calendar - resolutions calendar - congratulatory and memorial resolutions calendar

* general budget oversight * revenue oversight

* when opposed to a scheduled action * deliberately absent themselves to deny quorum necessary to proceed on legislation

10 minutes for each member

Intro to TX Senate assignment to a committee Senate committee action Senate calendar Senate floor Intro to the House assignment to committee House committee action House calendar House floor Conference committee Final passage the governor

veto can be overridden with 2/3 vote in each house