In changing the session times, legislators will be given a more equal opportunity and time to evaluate and better respond to issues. In the new change, legislators are now given more time than the regular 140-day sessions that used to be in place. When placed on the strict limitations of the regular sessions, there is much to get done which places a heavy workload on the legislators. During the nineteenth-century, being a legislator was considered a part time job, but with Texas population always steadily rising and modernization continuing to boom, a full-time commitment is needed to fulfill their duties correctly. Thousands of bills are introduced during the regular session all in the hopes of providing for a better Texas, yet 140-days is …show more content…
When a special session is called if the legislature does not complete their scheduled itinerary. When a special session is called, the governor takes over the control over the matter in question and sets the flow for the discussion. When special sessions are called, they require a more heinous time requirement from the legislators that average over 40 hours a week on top of other full-time commitments. They are needed to effectively as said before, handle the problems of the state and be able to respond accordingly. Costs are a big factor in the issues when a special session is concerned. The costs of a special session add up for covering the costs of lawmakers putting the price “a special session could cost more than $800,000” (Silver, What makes a special session so special). A special session may be rare, but the costs that it takes to have one in an orderly fashion leaving taxpayers to cover the costs for the expenses. In obtaining the full-time sessions will leave no room for error and avoid the detrimental costs that a special session gives taxpayers. Changing the session times leaves the legislators able to devote their time to the job at hand and not the extra hours and saves money from the lack of special
In both constitutions, this article spells out the powers and limitations of the legislature. One obvious difference was that “qualified electors” were restricted to “every free male excluding Indians not taxed, Africans, and descendants of Africans, excepted,” in the Constitution of 1845. In contrast, the Constitution of 1876 does not explicitly state restrictions for “qualified voters” (“Constitution of Texas,” n.d.; “Texas Constitution,”n.d.). The size of the Senate and the House of Representative is not mentioned in the Constitution of 1845 unlike the Constitution of 1876 which restricted the sizes to thirty-one members and 150 members, respectively. The term for a Senator has remained four years. However, the minimum age requirement to be a Senator changed from 30 years in the Constitution of 1945 to 26 years in the “Modern Day” Constitution. Although, the minimum requirement to be the resident of the state has gone up from three years to five years. The qualification for the Representatives has remained unchanged from the Constitution of 1845 to the “Modern Day.” The compensation for the legislature has not increased significantly. Legislature were paid three dollars a day when in session and three dollars travel compensation for twenty-five miles in 1845 and today legislature are paid $600 a month. A provision of Article
Most individuals with a general background knowledge of the United States Federal Government system are aware that in order for a bill to become a law, it must first pass a majority vote in Congress. There is, however, a very important step in the legislative process that sometimes goes unnoticed. The committee system of the legislation process ensures that the appropriate attention is given to each bill introduced to Congress. Each member of both chambers are assigned to committees and subcommittees, and are expected to become subject matter experts in their respective roles as committee members.
Congress is in session far more than that of the part-time Texas legislature. The Texas Legislators must create laws for the second most populated, second largest State, This is not a part time task. The Texas congress could easily be in session year-round. Many issues brought up while the Texas Legislature is not in session are left in limbo as they await the next legislative session. An ideal legislature is working around the calendar to ensure that they are serving as leaders.
Special rules and new floor procedures have been institutionalized. Although the external political environment of the House is as electrifying as that of the Senate, it is based on a very different body of basic rules. The individualist Senate, a body in which senators aggressively exploited the great Congressional privileges these rules gave them, as she argues, to further their own individual ends. In fact, nowadays, the process of lawmaking in a chamber with non-majoritarian rules and with members so accustomed to exploiting those rules fully is reasonably expected to drag on for months, if not
The Constitution gives powers to Congress in order to execute its many responsibilities. These responsibilities are necessary and proper for carrying out its policies such as, imposing taxes and regulating interstate commerce. The constitution has 435 members in the House and 100 more in Senate. Congress faces issues with action problems and the solution to correcting these collective problems are at the expense of the incentive members. The Cabinet, President, state and federal courts, political groups, media, etc. all have input when determining a political decision in the United States. Open arrangement is an objective arranged strategy that the legislature follows in managing an issue or issue in the nation. Open approaches are focused around law; however numerous individuals other than officials set them. People, gatherings, and even government organizations that don 't follow strategies can be punished. This confounded procedure has been concluded with an anticipated arrangement of steps.
The Texas government is a complex system whose ultimate purpose is to serve its citizens. Oftentimes, its complexity in certain aspects causes problems in its efficiency in serving. The way the Texas Constitution is written, how local governments run, the judicial, legislative, and executive branches’ efficiency, as well as Texas public policy and fiscal policy result in a government that is not set up to best serve its citizens. By 1875 the need to rewrite the Texas Constitution had become very evident, and a Convention was held to rewrite the Constitution.
Every odd-numbered year, the legislature assembles to make new laws to fix modern issues occuring in the state. These meetings always begin on the second Tuesday of January and is called the regular session, which lasts up to 140 days. The Governor can direct the legislature on matters for no more than
Texas is big! From the size of the state, to our trucks, and to our pride, there are countless examples of why “everything is bigger in Texas”. Even our state constitution is bigger! With approximately 87,000 words and 474 amendments, the current Texas Constitution of 1876 is one of the longest state constitutions in the United States. Compared to the United States Constitution with only 4,400 words and 27 amendments, one wonders how the Texas state and local governments can operate efficiently with such an overwhelming document. The length and detail of the constitution stem from the specific policies written into the document, making it statutory in nature. This specificity has resulted in a restrictive document that requires frequent amending.
Congressional terms have no limits. Controversy exists between those who think the terms should be limited and those who believe that terms should remain unlimited. The group that wants to limit the terms argues that the change will promote fresh ideas and reduce the possibility of decisions being made for self-interest. Those who oppose term limits believe that we would sacrifice both the stability and experience held by veteran politicians. They also point out that our election process allows the voter to limit terms, at their discretion. While experience and stability are important considerations, congressional terms should be limited to a maximum of two.
Arletha Joseph, “Writing Assignment 3: Texas Legislative Sessions and Texas Governor Terms” Do you support or oppose the State of Texas increasing the Texas Legislature’s regular sessions from 140 days every two years? Why or why not?
Many people argue that the legislative branch is run by few big interest groups because of their massive contributions against very small contributions from individuals. In a democratic society, power must be shared equally among its citizens, but is that the case in the United States? The answer is simply no, and by limiting their overall spending on elections, policymakers will listen and pay more attention to the public interest over the special interest. Also, by revealing the freeloaders’ names, people will have more knowledge of who is representing them and who has tended to benefit those who made contributions to their campaigns. Finally, prohibiting the spending on food, entertainment and gifts to legislative branch employee will also reduce the corruption in the legislative
One of the many things that makes me happy or smile is being with my friends, but another thing that makes me really happy is doing robotics with my friends. Robotics is one of many activities that is involved in SECME. SECME is an acronym that stands for science, engineering, communication, mathematics, and enrichment. A few SECME activities that I enjoy doing that involve STEM or science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are seaperch, first lego league, vex, and vex IQ.
When the United States was founded, the theme behind the new government was to establish an efficient system without doling out too much power to any one person. The Founders intended to prevent a rebirth of tyranny, which they had just escaped by breaking away from England. However, when members of Congress such as Tom Foley, who served as a Representative from 1964 through 1995, and Jack Brooks, who served as a Representative from 1952 through 1994, remain in the legislative system for over forty years, it is evident that tyranny has not necessarily been eradicated from the United States (Vance, 1994, p. 429). Term limits are a necessity to uphold the Founders’ intentions, to prevent unfair advantages given to incumbents, and to allow a multitude of additional benefits.
When I first received the news that I was placed into an honors math class, I was frightened. I questioned my intelligence and my sense of self-worth. The first few weeks I often asked myself, “do I belong here.” However another part of me felt honored and motivated to prove that my teachers were correct in placing me into an honors course. Eventually my dedication and work ethic lead me to be placed in multiple honors and AP classes later in my academic career.
On the other hand, Grumm (1971) combined legislators’ pay, total session length, legislative operational expenditures, staff services, and the number of bills introduced. According to Mooney (1994), this approach is problematic because it combines theoretically reasonable measures of professionalism (e.g., session length) with a measure—number of bills—that is more clearly an output measure (Grissom and Harrington 2013). In response to this criticism, Morehouse (1983) replicated Grumm’s procedures almost exactly for the different period, the only difference being that she substituted the average population per house seat for Grumm’s