The Organization of Legislative Bodies Decentralization 1: Committee Assignment

Decentralization Diffusion of power across an entire legislative body Sometimes called the ‘democratic’ tendency Focus on committees and subcommittees

Why Divide into Committees? Consider this: In the USHR there are 435 voting members Each member represents a constituency Representatives receive proposals from constituents > 1 per day in session? Sessions generally last about 200 days The Math (if only 1 per day): 435 X 200= 87000 proposals could find their way into the USHR

The Floor In Congress Members of each chamber (HR and Senate) split into Majority and Minority Congressional caucuses Majority- Party with the most members Minority- Party with the Second-most members Third party and independents typically must choose one or the other to secure committee appointments Roles of Majority and Minority caucuses Choose principal officers Speaker candidate Floor leader Principal whip Establish party legislative agenda for the session Assign members to steering committees Committees that assign members to committees Follows seniority system Committees in proportion to representation In the Texas Legislature History of single-party dominance Members of the House do not formally split into caucuses The Speaker’s “Team”: committee chairs and close allies on the Floor The Lieutenant Governor’s “Team”: LtGov assigns every TX Senate member to their committees

Steering Committees Committees chosen by congressional caucus Majority Minority US HR Committees chosen by congressional caucus Distinguished by partisanship and by Chamber Democratic Caucuses House Steering and Policy Committee Senate Steering Committee (A separate Policy Committee advises on policy) Republican Caucuses (Conferences) House Steering Committee House Policy Committee Senate Committee on Committees (A separate Policy Committee advises on policy) Responsible for assigning members to standing committees Every member generally must sit on two standing committees Exceptions in the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee Ways and Means Committee Rules Committee US HR 231 (232) 194 (201) 1 D. Obey Sits as Dem. 1 R. Paul (RINO) 6 Sit as GOP US Senate US Senate 49 49 2 Sanders & Lieberman