The Legislature of the state of Texas is the state legislature of Texas. The legislature is composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. Senators serve four-year terms and represent a relatively large number of constituents, whereas house members serve two-year terms and represent a smaller number of constituents. House members are therefore able to remain more closely in tune to the needs and concerns of their constituents. The Texas Senate is classified as the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. Elections are held in even numbered years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. Members are elected from …show more content…
During this period the legislature is permitted to pass laws only on subjects submitted by the governor. The legislature is bicameral, that means that the legislators are divided into two separate assemblies, chambers or houses. The legislature is a very important and powerful arm of the Texas Government. The duties of the legislature include consideration of proposed laws and resolutions, consideration of proposed constitutional amendments for submission to the voters, and appropriation of all fund for the operation of state government. The lieutenant governor is the second-highest executive office in the state of Texas. It is the second most powerful post in Texas government because he is the president of the Senate. He is elected by popular vote in a statewide election separately from the governor. The speaker of the House is elected from that body by its members. The speaker appoints the chairs and vice chairs of the committees that study legislation and decides which other representatives will serve on those committees, subject to seniority …show more content…
Most members serve on two or three different committees. Since the lieutenant governor and the Speaker of the House have wide latitude in choosing committee membership in their respective houses, they have a large impact on lawmaking in the state. Both houses of the Legislature are officially organized on a nonpartisan basis. It is supposed to be that members of both parties serve in leadership positions. But members are elected on partisan ballots and usually the majority of the members of each chamber are members of the Republican Party. How can people become members of the House of Representatives or the Senate? A member of the House of Representatives must be a citizen of the United States, must be a qualified elector of the state, and must be at least 21 years old. He or she must have been a resident of the state for two years immediately preceding election, and for one year immediately preceding election must have been a resident of the district from which he or she was chosen. A senator must be at least 26 years of age, a citizen of Texas five years prior to election and a resident of the district from which elected one year prior to
The government officials have a scope of duties that they are required deal. The governor may create the budget, appoint executive boards, and declare martial law, so the scope of the governor’s duties range from budget to martial law. I believe citizens will find the budget very important because that is where their tax money is and people typically want to know where that is going. The lieutenant governor is the president of the Senate, which according to the textbook by Benson, Clinkscale, and Giardino, “many political scientist believe…is the most powerful position in the state,” (218). The senate is a part of the Texas legislature, so making laws is very important to the public because the citizens are the ones who have to abide by the law. The attorney general is elected by the public and basically the state’s lawyer, so his issues are important to the people because he deals with making laws (Benson, Clinkscale, and Giardino 220). The comptroller is “the state’s chief accountant and financial officer,” so the public should be interested in the financial aspects of the state (Benson, Clinkscale, and Giardino 221). The land commissioner manages leases and the state’s public land, so the issues that are under the title may not be as important as the comptroller or lieutenant governor’s
The local governments in Texas are smaller units that form part of the larger state government. These local government extensions act as the administrative branch of the state government. The state of Texas relies mainly on its constitution of 1876 to establish the various local government jurisdictions. Currently, there are 254 counties, 50 cities, 1,100 education districts and 2,393 special districts in the state serving a population of 26 million people (Collier et al.). Each of these branches of the local government has specific roles, which they are supposed to play.
The people of Texas are diverse and carry their “big can-do attitudes and accents” (Pearson); making Texas a bigger than life state. The political culture of Texas is impacted by two different subgroups of individualistic and traditionalistic characteristics. The combination of traditionalism and individualism has had a huge impact on the state and Texas’ seven different constitutions. The shift in power between 1827 and 1876 has impacted the political diversity Texas has today. Looking at the specifics of these subcultures, the traditionalists believe government should benefit the wealthy and powerful, and that government services must be limited.
Our Legislative Branch has two chambers or as some will call it bicameral. The chambers consist of the Senate and the House of Representatives just like the National Legislative Branch. In our Senate we currently have a total of 31 members and there are 150 members in the House of Representatives. Senators hold their seat for 4 years and their election years are spread out while the House of Representatives are elected for two-year terms. In our Texas Legislature we have a few authority figures. “The Texas Constitution provides that the lieutenant governor shall serve as president of the senate, the presiding officer of that body. The lieutenant governor is elected statewide by voters of Texas and is the second-highest ranking officer of the executive branch of government”. (Texas Medical Associaton) In the House of Representatives we have a Speaker of the House who is chosen in each time a new legislature starts by its own members. “The speaker maintains order during floor debate, recognizing legislators who wish to speak and ruling on procedural matters.” (Joe Straus Speaker) There are also many committees who act as important gatekeepers and shape the proposed legislation. (University of Texas at Austin). The main pu...
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.
The legislative process in Texas utilizes an introduction, a committee action, a floor action, and an enrollment in it's lawmaking process. This process can be complicated, however, it is a system that has been used for many years. Thousands of bills go through this organized process every other year and keep Texas modern and running
Texas politics is an interesting ecosystem of power, rules and regulations. Of course, in typical Texas fashion, most of the politics we engage in we do our own way. From governors who stay in office for a decade to our extremely diverse demographics, Texas is extremely unique. This uniqueness of course comes with its critics, benefits, and downsides. This is particularly true with the Texas Court system compared to both the federal courts and many other states.
The constitution establish major governing institutions, assign institution’s power, place explicit and implicit control on power granted. All this gives the political legitimacy. The U.S constitution gives the base model for state constitution for Texas.
The role of an executive branch is to carry out the law. Many states switched to the plural executive form of government because state governors were known for abusing their power when appointing friends to political positions or handing out favors when they requested. A plural executive system which means the power of a governor is limited and distributed among other government officials. Which means, that there is not an government official in Texas that has the solely responsible for the Texas Executive Branch. Some of the members of the Texas Plural Executive and their roles are Lieutenant Governor serves as the presiding officer is first in line of succession for governor, is elected to 4 years terms by the public with no terms limits. Attorney General serves as the lawyer for the state also represents the state on civil matters and is responsible for the interpretation of the
Typically, when making Texas laws, government officials discount the political beliefs of its constituents; partly due to time constraints. Stretches in committee debates will allow the voice of Texans, that are currently being overlooked, the adequate attention that is necessary to introduce bills. Therefore, I support an increase in Texas Legislature’s regular sessions; it gives leaders more time to fully represent their constituents.
12 April 1844 was the Treaty of Texas’ Annexation into the United States of America. We take note that Texas was accepted into the “Union States” as an anti-slave state, as were all the territories annexed from the Mexican War. So finally, on 29 December 1846, the 29th Congress met and concluded in the Joint Resolution of Congress that the Republic of Texas was to be accepted as a new state in the United States under a republican government, equal to all of the original states before it and in every respect. Texas was entitled to two representatives in the House of Representatives until the government did a census of Texas’s people.
The Texas Revolution is one of the biggest events that contributed to the founding of this country. Texas’s fight for independence from the Mexican government was very beneficial to the young and growing United States. The effects of this war play a crucial role in how this country came to be
Our government here in Texas has three major parts that play a significant part in our decision making process. These levels have been deigned to decentralize power and make it more affective for the public's needs. The primary level is the Texas legislature. It is almost a given to say that everyone has at least heard of the legislature. Some variables that the legislature contains are the Lt. Governor, the Speaker of the house of Representatives and Committee Chairs. The Speaker acts as the presiding officer over the house and has two levels of power. These two levels are institutional powers which allow the officer to preside over the Legislative Audit Committee and Sunset Advisory Committee.
The Legislative Department’s primary function is to enact laws to provide for the health, welfare, education, environment, and economic and general well-being of the citizens of Texas. It also establishes public policy through the passage of bills and resolutions and proposes amendments to the state constitution, which are then submitted to the voters for approval or disapproval. This amount of power does not appear on the surface to be tremendous, however, with the ability to put into place all laws and public policy’s it makes it the strongest of the three
First there is the House of Representatives. The House is the lowest level of what makes up the United States Congress. Members of the House are made up of state officials. The number of House representatives that each state gets is directly affected by the state’s current population, and so the number changes with each state. There are many duties formed by the House some of which include; introducing bills, bringing up resolutions, offering amendments, and serving on committees. Members of the House are voted for directly by the people of state from which they come. Each representative must be at least