Explain redistricting and its impact on the composition of the Texas legislature. -

Government and Politics in the Lone Star State

Tenth Edition

Chapter 5

The Texas Legislature

Learning Objectives

5.1 List five functions of the Texas legislature.

5.2 Explain the organizational structure of the Texas legislature and the characteristics of its members.

5.3 Explain redistricting and its impact on the composition of the Texas legislature.

5.4 Contrast the leadership and committee structure of the Texas House with that of the Texas Senate.

5.5 Outline how a bill becomes a law and the obstacles in the lawmaking process in Texas.

5.6 Outline the changes in partisanship in the Texas legislature.

5.7 Assess the influences on the decision making of Texas lawmakers.

Legislative Functions (1 of 5)

Enacting Laws

Every two years, the legislature makes laws and proposals for constitutional amendments.

Requires compromise and accommodation of competing ideas and interests

Figure 5-1 Professionalism in the Legislature

SOURCE: National Conference of State Legislatures, “Full- and Part-Time Legislatures,” June 1, 2014, http://www.ncsl.org/research/about-state-legislatures/full-and-part-time-legislatures.aspx; and National Conference of State Legislatures, “The Term-Limited States,” February 11, 2013, http://www.ncsl.org/research/about-state-legislatures/chart-of-term-limits-states.aspx.

State lawmaking bodies around the country have significant differences in salaries, lengths of sessions, and how often they meet.

Legislative Functions (2 of 5)

Budgeting and Taxes

The legislature establishes programs providing a variety of public services and sets the budget for state government.

It decides whether state taxes should be increased, how much they should be increased, and how the tax burden should be distributed.

Legislative Functions (3 of 5)

Overseeing State Agencies

The legislature assigns state agencies the task of carrying out the laws on a day-to-day basis.

Review or oversight is achieved through legislative budget hearings, other committee investigations, and program audits.

The Senate influences policy by confirming or rejecting the governor’s appointees.

Legislative Functions (4 of 5)

Educating the Public

Lawmakers try to inform the public about their own actions and the actions of the legislature.

They use speeches, letters to constituents, news releases, and the Internet.

Legislative Functions (5 of 5)

Representing the Public

Lawmakers must demonstrate concern for the attitudes and demands of their constituents.

They use public opinion polls, questionnaires, and town hall meetings to learn how their constituents feel.

Organization of the Texas Legislature and Characteristics of Members (1 of 7)

Legislative Sessions

The constitution limits the legislature to a regular session of 140 days every two years.

The governor calls special sessions which are limited to 30 days each and to those issues included in the call.

Organization of the Texas Legislature and Characteristics of Members (2 of 7)

Terms of Office and Qualifications

Representatives serve two-year terms and senators four-year staggered terms.

A representative must be at least twenty-one years old and a qualified voter residing in Texas for two years.

A senator must be at least twenty-six years old and a qualified voter living in Texas for five years.

Legislators must live in their districts for one year.

The Texas State Capitol

Completed in 1888 and now surrounded by state office buildings, this historic building is a prominent landmark in downtown Austin. The part-time, bicameral legislature meets here in odd-numbered years.

Organization of the Texas Legislature and Characteristics of Members (3 of 7)

Pay and Compensation

Members of House and Senate have base pay of $7,200 a year.

Last increased in 1975 by constitutional amendment

By 2011, only Alabama, Texas, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island had limits on legislative pay that could only be changed by constitutional amendment.

Organization of the Texas Legislature and Characteristics of Members (4 of 7)

House chamber and representatives’ offices are traditionally located in the west wing of the Texas state capitol, and Senate chamber and senators’ offices are in the east wing.

Figure 5-2 The Important Second Floor of the Texas Capitol

The second floor of the Texas Capitol, shown here, houses the Senate and House chambers, the Legislative Reference Library, and the Governor’s Reception Room.

Organization of the Texas Legislature and Characteristics of Members (5 of 7)

Membership

In 2015, the Senate had a 20-11 Republican majority.

The Senate included 2 African Americans, 7 Hispanics, and 7 women.

In 2015, the House had a 98–52 Republican majority.

The 150 House members included 29 women, 35 Hispanics, 17 African Americans, and 3 Asian Americans.

Table 5-1 Comparative Profile of Texas Legislators, 1971–2015

	House 1971	House 1981	House 2001	House 2015	Senate 1971	Senate 1981	Senate 2001	Senate 2015
Democrats	140	112	78	52	29	24	15	11
Republicans	10	38	72	98	2	7	16	20
Males	149	139	120	121	30	30	27	24
Females	1	11	30	29	1	1	4	7
Hispanics	11	17	28	35	1	4	7	7
African Americans	2	13	14	17	1	0	2	2
Asian Americans	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0
Anglos	137	120	108	95	29	27	22	22

SOURCE: Texas House and Senate rosters, 1971, 1981, 2001, 2015

Organization of the Texas Legislature and Characteristics of Members (6 of 7)

Legislative Careers

Former legislative aides, former prosecutors, and former city council and school board members

Almost half of the thirty-one senators in 2015 had previously served in the House.

Many first-term legislators arrive in Austin with relatively little political experience.

Organization of the Texas Legislature and Characteristics of Members (7 of 7)

Legislative Turnover

Low compared to other states

Average length of service in the House is 8 years and 14.7 years in the Senate.

Key reasons for turnover are

Legislative redistricting

Take other government positions

Voluntary retirement

Journal 5.2

Why do young adults, as Representative Howard pointed out, vote in smaller numbers than older Texans?

Representation and Redistricting (1 of 3)

Legislature Uses Single-Member Districts

Redistricting done every ten years following the national census

Legislature controls redistricting.

Legislative Redistricting Board

Supreme Court orders equality in redistricting.

Baker v. Carr (1962)

Reynolds v. Sims (1964)

Kilgarlin v. Martin (1964)

Representation and Redistricting (2 of 3)

1975 Amendments to the Voting Rights Act Placed Texas under the Law.

Changes have increased minority and Republican representation.

Issues of racial and partisan gerrymandering remain.

Representation and Redistricting (3 of 3)

Partisan battles erupted over redistricting efforts in 2001, 2003, and 2011.

In 2013, acting in an unrelated case, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling that could have the effect of weakening the Voting Rights Act as a tool for minority plaintiffs in redistricting cases.

U.S. Supreme Court upheld the apportionment of legislative districts by total population in 2016.

Legislative Leaders and Committees (1 of 7)

Legislative Leadership

House leadership

Speaker of the House

Elected from the House membership

Serves as presiding officer

Controls committee assignments

Names a speaker pro-tempore

Legislative Leaders and Committees (2 of 7)

Legislative Leadership

Senate leadership

Lieutenant governor is president of the Senate

Elected statewide to a four-year term

Greater control over the Senate agenda and committee assignments than speaker of the House

Vacancy filled by one of the thirty-one senators who has been picked to be the president pro-tempore of the Senate

Chosen or rotated based on seniority

Third in line of succession to the governor

Wielding the Gavel

Republican Dan Patrick presides over the Senate during his first session as lieutenant governor in 2015. The former state senator from Houston used his new position to win Senate approval of several conservative priorities.

Legislative Leaders and Committees (3 of 7)

Control over the Legislative Process

Speaker and lieutenant governor

Make committee appointments

Determine committee jurisdiction over bills

Floor debate and voting

Presiding officers use rules upon advice of House and Senate parliamentarians.

Lieutenant governor votes only in case of a tie.

Speaker may vote to give direction to members.

The leadership team

Committee chairs act as unofficial floor leaders.

Legislative Leaders and Committees (4 of 7)

The Committee System

Standing committees

Consist of seven to fifteen members in the Senate

Consist of seven to twenty-seven members in the House

Substantive committees

Focus on specific types of legislation

Hold public hearings and evaluate bills

Procedural committees

Rules and Resolutions Committee

House Calendars Committee

Figure 5-4 Passage Rate of Legislation

Source: Texas Legislative Reference Library, “Session: Bill Statistics.”

The number of bills and constitutional amendments proposed by Texas legislators during each regular session has increased significantly over the past half-century. But the percentage of bills passed during recent sessions has leveled off at about 24 percent, noticeably lower than the percentage in 1963. The success rate was even lower in 2015. The 140-day limit and other restrictions on regular sessions serve to put a practical, as well as political, limit on how many laws can be passed.

Legislative Leaders and Committees (5 of 7)

The Committee System

Conference committees

Composed of five House representatives and five senators

Resolve differences between bills passed by the House and Senate

Conference bills require House and Senate approval.

Legislative Leaders and Committees (6 of 7)

The Committee System

Select committees

Also called special committees; appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor, or speaker

Study major policy issues

May include private citizens

Can recommend legislation

Legislative Leaders and Committees (7 of 7)

Legislative Staff

Staff provides legislators with information on administrative agencies and supports efforts to review the performance of state agencies.

Staff includes the personal staff, committee staff, budget staff (LBB), staff of the Sunset Advisory Commission, and the research staff.

Rules and the Lawmaking Process (1 of 4)

The Lawmaking Process

Bill introduction (first reading)

Committee action (consideration of bill)

Public hearings, studies, and amendments

Floor action (second and third readings)

Bill debated, amendments offered, and votes taken

Conference committee (compromise bill)

Action by the governor

Signs a bill into law or lets it pass without signing it

Uses veto or line-item veto

Figure 5-5 How a Bill Becomes a Law

To become a law, a bill has to pass these basic steps in the legislative process and survive other procedural obstacles.

Meg (M) – this chart capitalizes office titles, whereas text elsewhere does not

Rules and the Lawmaking Process (2 of 4)

Procedural Obstacles to Legislation

Determines if a bill will be debated

House Calendars Committee

Senate two-thirds rule and daily intent calendar

Explain redistricting and its impact on the composition of the Texas legislature.

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