Essay On Texas Legislature

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The legislature of Texas is the state’s lawmaking body. Its primary function is to enact laws to provide for the general well-being of its citizens. It also establishes public policy through the passage of bills and resolutions and proposes amendments to the state constitution.
The Texas legislature is considered the most powerful branch of government because of its aggressive use of the power of the purse to control and direct the activities of state government. The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of Texas and meets in the state capitol of
Austin in January on every odd numbered year. There are several people who are the most powerful in the Texas legislature. A few of them are the speaker of the house and the lieutenant governor. …show more content…

The lieutenant governor serves as the president of the senate. The senate has given the lieutenant governor similar powers of the speaker of the house. The lieutenant governor has the power to appoint senate committees, committee chairs, refer legislation, maintain order during floor debate, and recognize speakers who wish to speak. The power to recognize those who wish to speak takes on additional importance as it determines the order in which bills will be considered. One key difference in the powers of the speaker and lieutenant governor powers is voting on a question. The speaker may vote on all questions, whereas the lieutenant governor may vote to break ties. The lieutenant governor of Texas is unique because he is part of both the legislative and executive branch. The lieutenant governor will fill in for the governor when the governor is absent or unable to serve. The Constitution also gives the Senate the authority to write its own rules and that's where the Lieutenant Governor derives most of his power. The lieutenant governor also serves on some boards. Some of the boards he servers on are chairman of the Legislative Budget Board and the Legislative Council, and is vice-chairman of the Legislative Audit Committee and the Legislative Education Board. The lieutenant governor has many powers and can be considered a powerful person with too much power. He can do most of what the speaker can do as well as duties of the governor. The lieutenant governor also serves on a few boards. The senate can write rules as necessary which can add more power to the lieutenant

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