Chapter 3 The Texas Legislature

Demonstrate knowledge of the legislative branch of Texas government. Upon completing this chapter, you will be able to… Demonstrate knowledge of the legislative branch of Texas government.

“The Pink Dome” Texas State Capitol Building, Austin, TX

The Structure and Size of the Texas Legislature Texas Senate 31 members with four-year terms Texas House of Representatives 150 members with two-year terms Small size of the legislature Key term: bicameral

General Characteristics of the Legislature Sessions and Session Length 140 days every two years Salary $28,200 Staff and Facilities Key terms: biennial session sine die extraordinary session special sessions

Qualifications for Legislators and Member Demographics Formal qualifications Informal qualifications “Birthright” characteristics Percentage of women and minorities Percentage of attorneys

Single-Member District Method of Election Single-member districts One member for each legislative district Geographical representation Multimember districts Two or three members per district Key terms: single-member districts multimember districts

Reapportionment and Redistricting Issues Equity of Representation Minority Representation Key terms: reapportionment redistricting gerrymandering Legislative Redistricting Board (LRB) Baker v. Carr Reynolds v. Sims

Baker v Carr (1962) Established thehe right of federal courts to review redistricting issues, which had previously been termed "political questions" outside the courts' jurisdiction. The Court’s willingness to address legislative reapportionment in this Tennessee case paved the way for the “one man, one vote” standard of American representative democracy.

Reynolds v Sims (1964) The Supreme Court ruled that the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment requires that the legislative districts across states be equal in population. "legislators represent people, not trees or acres" and "legislators are elected by voters, not farms or cities or economic interests." In short, the Court ruled that population must always be the "controlling consideration" in state redistricting. Alabama was thus ordered to reapportion its legislative districts using this calculus, making them "as nearly equal of population as is practicable."  ------Chief Justice Earl Warren

Reapportionment and Redistricting Issues Political and Racial Gerrymandering Key terms: political gerrymandering racial gerrymandering Hunt v. Cromartie

The original Gerrymander in Massachusetts, 1812

Hunt v. Cromartie (2001) In Shaw v. Hunt, the U.S Supreme Court found that North Carolina's legislature violated the Constitution by using race as the predominant factor in drawing its Twelfth Congressional District's 1992 boundaries. The Court found that the evidence was insufficient to show an unconstitutional race-based objective. The court newly found that the legislature had drawn the boundaries to collect precincts with a high racial, rather than political, identification. (Argued and decided with 99-1865, Smallwood v. Cromartie.)

Reapportionment and Redistricting Issues Redistricting in 2001 and 2003 Redistricting in 2011 and Beyond

Getting Elected Competition for House and Senate Seats Term Limits Turnover in State Legislatures Key terms: noncompetitive districts term limits turnover

Leadership Positions in the Texas Legislature Speaker of the House Lieutenant Governor Key terms: speaker of the house lieutenant governor extra legislative powers

Committees in the House and Senate Standing committees established by house and senate rules Conference committees: subcommittees of standing committees; work out differences in bills Temporary committees Interim committees Key terms: standing committees conference committees interim committees

Functions Lawmaking Budget and Taxation Oversight

Procedures Formal Rules: How a Bill Becomes a Law Major and Minor Calendars and Bills Key terms: rider closed rider calendars Local and Consent Calendars Committee Calendars Committee

Procedures Legislative Workload and Logjams Informal Rules Key term: informal rules

Legislative Roles Representational Roles Partisan Roles delegate Key terms: delegate trustee politico

Legislative Professionalism versus Citizen Legislatures: Where Does Texas Stand? Legislative professionalism: pay, session length, staff resources Texas fifteenth among states in legislative professionalism Key terms: legislative professionalism citizen legislatures