Chapter 7
The Texas
Legislature
Functions of Texas Legislature
• Serves the following functions:
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To represent the people in government.
To legislate.
To budget and tax.
To perform constituent casework.
To consider constitutional amendments for the Texas and
U.S. constitutions.
– To confirm the governor’s appointees.
– To redistrict itself and the U.S. congressional districts in
Congress.
– To impeach and remove from office corrupt officials.
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Structure of Texas Legislature
• Today the bicameral Texas legislature consists of a
Senate of 31 members and a House of 150
members.
– Nonprofessional legislature: not full-time job for members
– Small Senate but large House
– 1876 Texas Constitution set the size of the Senate but
allowed the House to grow
– Both must pass a bill for it to become a law
– Differing duties as well
Constitutional Provisions
• Texas legislature – bicameral (Senate has 31 members
and House of Representatives has 150)
• Constitution sets
– Term length (originally everyone served 2 year terms; now
House is 2 and Senate 4 year terms on a staggered basis)
– No term limits
– Compensation: $7,200 annually plus per diems when the
legislature is in session ($28,080 with per diem of $150/day)
with the total pay of a 2 year term of $35,400
– Requirements for office
• House: 21 years old, U.S. citizen and a qualified voter, TX resident
2 years, 1 year in district
• Senate: 26 years old, U.S. citizen and a qualified voter, TX resident
5 years, 1 year in district
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Legislative Sessions
• Biennial legislature
– Meets regularly every two years in Austin
– Were common in the 19th and 20th century
– Concept of the citizen legislature
• Regular session
– The biennial 140-day session of the Texas legislature, beginning
in January of odd-numbered years (Meet Jan-May)
• Special (called) session
– A legislative session of up to 30 days, called by the governor,
during an interim between regular sessions; governor sets
agenda
– Recent examples are Robin Hood and Redistricting
Redistricting
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Especially important in Texas
– Gained seats in nine of last 10 reapportionments
– 2010, Texas picked up four seats (36 total US Reps)
Districts must have equal number of voters.
– Redistricting takes place after each census.
– Legislature draws new maps.
– Legislative Redistricting Board if no agreement
– Courts get involved if no consensus
Single-member district
– An election system for legislative bodies in which each legislator runs
from and represents a single district, rather than the entire geographic
area encompassed by the government
– Federal preclearance required in Texas
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Redistricting
• Early on, few legislators sought a second term.
• Now most incumbents seek reelection and most are
successful.
• Nationally, state legislative turnover is about 27%.
Texas rate is lower.
• Election after redistricting most volatile.
Membership in the Legislature
• Like U.S. Congress, most Texas legislators:
– White, male, and Protestant
• Texas legislature more diverse, though:
– 25% Latino (U.S. Congress 5%)
– 9% African American (U.S. Congress 7%)
– 20% women (compared to U.S. Congress 17%)
– 31% attorneys (compared to U.S. Congress 45%)
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Who Are The Members
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Occupation
– Many lawyers, businesspeople and professionals, but number of
teachers, preachers, public organizers and former legislative aides is
increasing.
– The pay is low and the job is part-time.
Religion
– Baptists dominated, but by the 1990s Catholics were the largest group,
followed by Baptists, Methodists, and Episcopalians.
Gender
– Anglo males have dominated; recently women and minority members
have increased in number.
Age
– Most Texas legislators are in their forties or fifties in age.
– House members tend to be younger relative to Senate members.
Leaders in the Legislature
• The Lieutenant Governor (President of the Senate)
– The lieutenant governor, elected independently for a term of four
years, is not a member of the Senate and does not run on a
ticket with the gubernatorial candidate.
– Votes only in case of a tie
– In 27 other states the lieutenant governor is the presiding officer
of the upper house, but in most cases the position has little
power vested in it and is similar to that of the vice president of
the United States.
– In Texas the lieutenant governor is regarded as a major force in
state politics and the dominant figure during legislative sessions.
• Has power to appoint committee chairs
– Republican David Dewhurst (R) was elected as lieutenant
governor in 2002.
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Leaders in the Legislature
• Speaker of the House
– The speaker is an elected member of the House chosen by
majority vote of the House membership at the beginning of
the legislative session.
– Unless the incumbent speaker is seeking reelection (in
which case no other candidates are likely to run),
candidates attempt to line up support from other House
members well in advance of the session so that, when the
vote for speaker actually occurs, the result is no surprise.
– The decision regarding which speaker candidate to support
is crucial for House members since a wrong choice can
mean legislative oblivion.
– Joes Straus (R) took this position in 2009. From San
Antonio.
Sources of the Leadership’
’s
Power
• Two-thirds rule
– A bill requires a two-thirds vote in Senate for a bill
to be voted on out of order
• Recognition
– Speaker determines how much floor time a bill
gets, and also controls who can speak
• Very powerful political tool allowing some
legislators to shine, while others are shut down
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Legislative Committees
• 5 Types of Legislative Committees in the legislature
• Standing committees are permanent committees that
deal with designated areas of public policy.
• Subcommittees consider specialized areas of their
standing committees' general jurisdiction.
• Conference committees are temporary bodies formed to
arrive at acceptable compromises on bills that have
passed both houses but in different forms.
• Ad hoc committees are temporary committees
appointed to consider specific issues or problems.
• Interim committees, which are frequently joint
committees, continue the legislature's work after the
session ends.
Sources of the Leadership’
’s
Power
• Speaker appoints half of all committee seats
and also designates the chair
• Lt. Gov. appoints 80 percent of all committee
seats and also designates the chair
– Remainder in both chambers is by seniority
• Very powerful mechanism for obtaining loyalty
of committee members and chairs
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Legislative Powers - Bills
• Legislative Powers include passing bills. A bill is a proposed
law that has been sponsored by a member of the legislature
and submitted to the clerk of the House or Senate.
– Revenue bills must originate in the House; all other bills may start in
either of the two chambers.
• Today, bills are often simultaneously introduced in both
houses to save time.
• There are three types of bills in the Texas legislature:
– Local Bills are bills affecting only units of local government,such as
city, county, or special district.
– Special Bills are bills that give an individual or a corporation a
– special exemption from state law.
– General Bills are bills that apply to all people and/or property in the
state.
Legislative Powers - Resolutions
• A resolution is a proposal made by a legislator that generally deals
with the internal workings of the government. A resolution is similar
to a bill, but it has a more limited scope and lacks the force of a
public law.
– There are three types of resolutions:
• Concurrent Resolution is a resolution of interest to both
legislative chambers that must pass both houses and be signed by
the governor.
• Joint Resolution is a resolution, commonly a proposed
amendment to the Texas Constitution or a ratification of an
amendment to the U.S. Constitution, that must pass in both
chambers but does not require the governor’s signature.
• Simple Resolution is a resolution that concerns only the Texas
House or Senate, such as the adoption of a rule or the appointment
of an employee, that does not require the governor’s signature.
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How A Bill Becomes a Law
• Bill must be read on three separate days in each chamber
• Must pass both chambers in the exact form
• Legislator files a bill or resolution and clerk assigns it a
number
– No requirement that a bill be introduced in both chambers
• Bill then goes to committee
• Committee holds hearings, most of them public hearings
– Open to all and votes must be taken in open meetings
– If it goes to subcommittee, the subcommittee chair decides
to have a public hearing or a formal meeting
– At this point the House and Senate diverge in the legislative
process
A Bill Reaches The Floor
• Quorum
– The minimum number required to conduct business
• First Reading
– Texas Constitution requires three readings of a bill by the
legislature; first reading is when the bill is introduced, its
caption is read aloud, and it is referred to committee
• Second Reading
– Occurs when debate and consideration of amendments
occur before the whole chamber
• Third Reading
– The final reading in a chamber unless the bill returns from the
other chamber with amendments
• Filibuster is a formal way of halting action on a bill by
means of long speeches or unlimited debate in the Senate
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A Bill Reaches The Floor
• An amendment must be germane to the bill (related to the
topic), but this is a matter of interpretation by the speaker
of the House or Senate president.
• In the chamber in which the bill originated, when the final
vote on a bill on third reading is favorable, the bill is
considered engrossed.
– An engrossed bill is then sent to the other chamber by a
staff messenger.
– It then goes through the referral and committee process and
may or may not make it to the floor of the second chamber.
Two Bills into One:
The Final Stages
• Many bills are amended in the second chamber, so
an additional step is needed to get both bills into
one form.
– The original chamber could simply vote to concur with
the amendments placed on the bill or,
– It may vote to NOT concur and request a conference
committee to adjust the differences.
– If approved, it is an enrolled bill and goes to the
governor.
– He may sign it, ignore it (and it goes into effect anyway)
or veto it.
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Governor’s Involvement In Bills
• Action by the Governor - The governor has several
options, depending on whether the legislature is still in
session.
– Legislature in Session - Governor may sign the bill or veto the bill
within ten working days. If after 10 working days the governor
does not veto the bill, the bill becomes law without his or her
signature. If the bill is vetoed, than each house has the opportunity
to override (assuming both houses are still in session).
– Legislature Not in Session - Governor has 20 calendar days to
veto a bill. If not vetoed, not veto the bill, the bill becomes law
(usually 90 days after the end of the session). The Governor can
also use line item veto to strike specific items or lines in an
appropriations bill).
How a Bill Becomes a Law
in Texas (if introduced in the House)
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Total Number of Vetoes by
Texas Governors
Influence in the
Legislative Environment
• Although in theory legislators are to be influenced mostly by
their constituents, in practice many citizens are uninterested,
and legislators’ actions may bear little relationship to the needs
of their constituents.
• Governor’s Influence - The threat of a gubernatorial veto plays
an influential role in legislative behavior. Legislators tend to
support gubernatorial measures because the governor is close
at hand and can reciprocate in kind.
• Influence of the Courts, the Attorney General, and the
Comptroller of Public Accounts - Legislators are not likely to
spend time on efforts that will be struck down by the courts or
by an opinion by the attorney general. The state comptroller
influences legislators by creating a ceiling for legislative
spending.
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Influence in the
Legislative Environment
• Legislative Staff – over 2,000 staff members
• Influence of Lobbyists - Laws that regulate lobbying activities
are relatively weak, and the influence of lobbyists is considered
to be very strong. Lobbyists carry the image of corruption but
also perform tasks necessary to the legislative process.
• Influence of Legislative Agencies - Three legislative agencies
assist members in drafting, studying, and passing bills.
– The Texas Legislative Council
– The House Research Organization
– The Senate Research Center
• Media Influence - Difficult to assess the importance of media
influence on the legislative process.
Powers and Immunities
• Other Powers - Legislators have powers that are not
directly related to lawmaking.
• Constitutional Amendment Power - Amendments are
proposed by a two-thirds majority vote of the total
membership of each house.
• Control over Administration
– Advice and Consent
– Legislative Reports
– Legislative Budget Board
– Sunset Advisory Commission
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Powers and Immunities
• Investigative Power - The legislature may investigate
almost any legislative area. Resulting reforms have
encompassed rural health care and the insurance
industry.
• Impeachment Power - Impeachment, by a simple majority
vote, is conducted in the House Determination of guilt is
by a two-thirds majority vote of the Senate.
• Immunities - The Texas Constitution confers on legislators
immunity from suit for slander for remarks made on the
floor and immunity from arrest while attending or traveling
to or from a legislative session. This immunity, however
does not protect a legislator who engages in conduct
otherwise punishable under much of the penal code.
Prospects for Legislative Reform
• The prospects for significant structural legislative reform
are not strong. In 1975 Texans rejected reform, and
there is no indication that sentiment has changed since
then.
• Citizens Conference on State Legislatures - The
legislature is burdened by the impact of Reconstruction
and other limitations that restrict the power of the
legislature.
• Proposed Reforms - Higher salaries, annual sessions,
more effective ethics legislation
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