Molly Ivins

This research assignment goes through the idea of Texas seceding from the United States. The introduction goes through a thorough explanation of the history of Texas and the many difficult challenges the territory had to face in becoming a state. The first idea implemented is how many times Texas has seceded and the reasons for seceding. The next follows information on why Texas would be better off seceding from the United States and why it should have stayed as a Republic. In contrast, the similar idea develops advantages and disadvantages of having Texas seceded from the Union. As a result, it then transitions into another idea, is Texas better off with staying with the United States after all. In that slide it also talks about how the Texas

Texas Politics. The University of Texas at Austin, Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Services, 2009. Retrieved from http://texaspolitics.laits.utexas.edu/6_printable.html

The constant theme throughout Relic is that the ineffectiveness of the American governing system originates with the Constitution itself. From Howell and Moe’s perspective, the Constitution has failed to evolve with the expansions and the needs of the country, with the biggest issue resting with the Legislative Branch (Howell and Moe xii). As a result of the Framers' fear of an overly authoritative executive, Congress was imbued with the most power.

In my analysis of the Texas Constitution I will assess the three branches of our State Government, the Legislative Branch, Executive Branch and finally the Judicial Branch. Our State Government resembles our National Government in various ways but also in very different ways which we will review in this essay. I will identify a handful of criticisms and problems associated with the provisions in each of these branches of our State Government and identify suggested reforms that many feel are needed.

While researching the weaknesses of Texas legislature sessions, I notice the short amount of time given to make some major decisions along with the pay that the members of legislature receive. For me ,140 days of every odd year for members of legislature to meet with decisions regarding bills that will become laws maybe a little compressed. Another weakness that could be considered is how low the income for the members are. Typically, when a person is not paid well they do not take the initiative to achieve the overall goal, nor are they motivated due to other factors that may have their attention. However, I must admit that the process a bill must go through to become a law is a strenuous if not worthy one. The problem would be how many bills

All members of the Texas state legislature should have one common motive. That is, to represent the citizens of their state. Champagne et. al. states that “…members…are responsible for bringing the interests and concerns of their constituencies directly into the democratic political processes” (2017, p.211). In order to effectively do so, a member of the Texas House will represent roughly 168,000 citizens while a senator may represent more than 811,000 constituents (Champagne et al., 2017,

The 2003 redistricting exertion was amazingly disputable chiefly in view of the considerable number of individuals included in the redistricting. When they overcame with all the exceptional meeting and everybody consented to the term Texas was improved. To help all that attempt to keep running in the race. In 2011 the redistricting Texas increased four seats in the House of Representatives. Redistricting engages control of our races by allowing inhabitant administrators to offer partitioned some help with partnering, hurt political enemies and pick their voters before the voters pick them. A conclusive target of redistricting like most distinctive thoughts in American administrative issues is to keep everything sensible. In that it is to redraw

To Get A Better School System by Gene B. Preuss explores the journey of educational reform of Texas through one hundred years of inequality, threats, and disagreements. However, the Supreme Court decision regarding Morath vs. Texas Taxpayers has highlighted that even in 2016, additional reforms are needed. Funding for public education is not a new issue and has been a pressing matter since the creation of the Texas educational system. Throughout the process of educational reform, Texans have mainly fought over public education funding in regards to bridging the gap between the portion of funding spent on urban areas and the portion spent on rural areas as well as the small earnings that teachers make. Yet, another area of concern, as pointed out in the article “Texas Supreme Court Upholds School Funding System”, is the Texas Legislature which severely limits the number of available avenues that the state can take when addressing the issue of funding. Together, the past issues of how to fund education and the inequalities that arose in spending, combined with the current issue

Problems with the Texas judiciary are many – from lack of a coherent court structure to overlapping jurisdictions, the process of judicial selection, the lack of requirements to be a judge, partisan-based elections, and the resulting long ballots, straight-ticket voting or voting simply because of a familiar name. Many judges face no opposition in the elections and substantial campaign contributions earn the judges their place on the bench. There is no recusal policy to intervene in the courtroom when a judge is deciding the verdict for a contributor‟s case. Minorities and women are underrepresented. Texas has many problems with the current judicial system, but there are also unadopted solutions for each and everyone.

As the largest state by area in the continental U.S. as the second most populous, Texas has its significant share of public policy challenges with which to contend. And as the discussion hereafter will show, many of these challenges serve as a microcosm of the broader pubic policy issues facing the United States. The issues addressed here below help to provide a better understanding of the complexities of public policy maintenance in a large and diverse state.

Gaurav Sharma Professor Sherry Sharifian Texas Government 2306 SLO#3 April 24, 2017 Local Control in Texas In Texas, there are very many functional Interest groups and lobbyists that operate effectively influencing the policy-making processes. The Interest groups and lobbyists are in close association with policy-makers whereby they act as negotiators of democracy to the citizens who cannot reach the legislatures (Texas Vox: 1). This has impacted local control in Texas greatly. However, the nature of laws that have been passed recently in Texas shows that the policy-makers are diverging from interest from the citizens and favoring individual groups and companies. The following essay will address the impact depicted by Interest groups and lobbyists

In this essay I will compare and contrast the different legislative agendas of various interest groups involved with the Texas Government. An interest group (also called an advocacy group, lobbying group, pressure group, or special interest) is a collection of members that are determined to encourage or prevent changes in public policy without trying to be elected. The essay will discuss the four kinds of interest groups, trade, professional, single and public, as well as provide one detailed example of each type. It includes examples from the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, Texas AFT, MADD and TexPIRG interest groups, which are just a few of the many groups in existence out, but it provides an idea of what different types of

The core function of the Texas Legislature is to formulate and enact laws. Apart from the enactment of laws, the legislative body is also mandated with the functions of shaping the state’s political agenda, performing checks and balances on state of the state’s government, pass the state’s budget, as well as oversee the functions of the administration. Similarly, the body also sets the critical details or a court’s organizational procedures when it comes to matters that pertain to impeachment and court disputes regarding election petitions. It is equally important to mention that the body is also mandated with the function of informing and educating the electorate regarding the critical functions the body is required to deliver to the people as provided for by the laws of the State of Texas (Dautrich and Yalof 684).

The Congress of the 1950s, known as the “textbook Congress”, is quite different than the Congress of the today. Our Author notes six legislative folkways that were noted by political scientist

Texas has a reputation throughout history of differing views from the federal government in laws and politics pertaining to social, fiscal, and educational issues. On the whole, Texas operates as a largely conservative state. Because of this, policy-making is often right wing. With the institution of a Democratic, liberal president, the State’s dissent from the Federal government has only increased over certain issues. One hot topic of the 2012 Presidential election was immigration. With the major increase in immigration, it is no surprise that the issue was so emphasized. Between 2000 and 2011 there was a 30 percent