Texas Legislative Branch Essay

Texas is one of the largest states in the nation, holding many traditions dearly. In particular the Texas legislative branch, which has remain the same since the ratification of the 1876 state constitution. This legislative branch is the "most important representative institution in the state", which means that is should function correctly in a way that it completely addresses the needs of the population properly. When the constitution was ratified times where different and now have drastically changed however this legislature tradition has stayed with Texas bringing in question if its still as functioning structure. To a great extent the differences between the 19th century and the 21st century should lead to a remodeling of the Texas legislative branch, but that does not mean that it should be completely changed as parts of it seem to still function.

Today Texas is no longer a rural state but a modern state where the populations, jobs, and economy have grown but the biennial tradition remains. In a normal session thousands of bills are introduced "and the 140-day limitation places a considerable restriction on the legislature's ability to deal with this workload". This part-time legislature puts restrains on how well the legislature functions letting a lot of bills "die in the end-of-session crush of business because there isn't time to consider them". Governing a large urban state is difficult, and its even more difficult trying to prepare a budget for a two-year period, it leaves room for errors and leads to deficiencies. Arguably an annual budget would be more fitting for today's large state, as the two-year budget is an apparent outdated