Presiding Officers in Texas State Legislature

The Texas legislature is the dominant branch of state government within the state constitutional framework of separation of powers. “Under the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the legislature, as representative of the people of Texas, exercises plenary powers, limited only by the Texas and United States constitutions and valid federal laws” (Texas Legislature). In the 1845-1879 Texas statehood constitution, which laid out the basic legislative framework established the bicameral legislature, which contains the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives is formed by forty-five to ninety members, which are elected form counties, cities, or towns for two-year terms. The House of Reps. originated from the British House of Commons, which has the exclusive right to create taxes and spend that revenue, which is considered the ultimate check on royal authority. Therefore, “All bills for revenue shall be originated in the House of Representatives…” (U.S. Constitution), in reference to the fiscal policy. A fiscal policy is the means by which a government adjusts its spending levels and tax rates to

The majority leader and the assistant floor leader are chosen by the majority party as well. The speaker of the House is important in the organization of the House, because they choose committee chairmanships and committee assignments. The president of the Senate is chosen by the majority party. Like the House, they appoint committee chairmanships and committee assignments. The minority party is not left out. They also have a caucus, and a minority leader and assistant floor leader are selected for both houses. The minority caucus also makes committee assignments for member of its’ party. The staffs of both houses are chosen by the majority party leadership and include the Senate secretary, assistant secretary, chief clerk, assistant chief clerk, chaplains, sergeant at arms, pages, and secretaries. Each house has a set of rules and procedures that are adopted at the beginning of each session. There also has to be a certain amount of members present, or quorum, in order to do business.

There are special sessions that are called by the governor. The legislative process in Texas is a hybrid system with a combination of both the full time legislature and the part time legislature. The 140 day sessions is a short period to conduct all the business of the state and the constitution gives the governor the power to call as many special sessions needed in order to complete important state business. These special sessions are short and do not exceed 30 days. Reducing the duration of these sessions is important to ensure that the government does not govern too much. At the end of a legislative session any bills that have not been approved by both houses die on the last day of the session. The governor can use the threat of a special session to motivate legislators to focus on issues that are of concern to the governor. The compromises that are possible between Texas 140 day sessions and a full time approach include a reduction of costs and the availability of adequate time to discuss and debate legislations. The sessions are limited to 140 days, but if there are issues that need legislative attention, then the governor can convene special sessions to address these issues (Tucker,

In Texas, the state legislature is the most important representative institution in the state. Like the US Congress, the Texas Legislature is bicameral. This means that the legislature in split into two separate assemblies; the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate. There are 150 House members and 31 senators, and they meet for 140 days every odd-numbered year. The Texas Legislature is the state's lawmaking branch. Its main 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.

The Texas Legislature has powers either by non-legislative power or legislative power. The legislative power includes power that can be passed by bills and resolutions, and non-legislative powers by functions falling outside the lawmaking function. In general the Texas Legislatures responsibilities are to set public policy by passing bills and resolutions. It supervises the state bureaucracy through the budgetary process and the Sunset Act, this act provides review and termination of state agencies. The Texas Constitution sets Legislative power in two houses, a Senate of 31 members and a House of Representatives of no more than 150 members. The Texas Constitution stipulates the terms of the office and qualifications, for example House members

Texas governors are not as powerful as some people think. Their personality and appearance matter the most when being considered for a vote. The governor is seen the most rather the other officials, which is why their personality and appearance is so important. Governors used to be able to serve a 2 year term but that changed in 1974. The service term increased by 2 years. Rick Perry was elected in 2000 and is Texas’ longest serving governor. To be an eligible candidate the aspiring governor should be at least 30 years of age. Usually, the governor is a white, mid-age, male. Over time things changed when Miriam Ferguson and Ann Richards were elected. To be a candidate you must also be a U.S. citizen and at least lived in the state 5

The Speaker of the House has a variety of responsibilities and duties, which include ruling on procedural matters, recognizing members during debates, sending bills in favor of the committee review, and appointing members to numerous committees. Moreover, in opposition to other state legislatures, The Texas House of Representatives, does not properly recognize the majority nor the minority leaders. The Democratic House Leader and the Republican Chairman, who are elected by their corresponding caucuses are the unofficial leaders.

1 They have different platform of political parties as Democratic party and Republic party. 2 Texas Senate is the upper house of Texas state legislature whereas Texas house is the lower house of Texas state legislature. Texas State consists of 31 members and 150 members in Texas house of representatives. I am currently living in Irving, in which the district is 16 as senate districts where Don Huffines is the current senator of the district which is a part of Dallas county. 3 He is from Republican party. 1 So, I would prefer to run as Texas state senate. 4 In

One example of said positions is the Governor. Although one might assume that since the governor of Texas is the chief executive and symbol of our government, it is actually a weak, if not the weakest, position in Texas government. The powers of the governor are Chief of State, Commander in Chief of the State Militia, Chief Executive, Chief Budget Officer, Chief Law Enforcement and Judicial Officer, Party Chief, and the Chief Legislature. Although these positions sound very powerful in nature, the governor's duties are diminished by the other executives. One example of these executives is the Lieutenant Governor. The lieutenant governor is often considered the most powerful position in Texas government because he/she is charged with controlling the work of the Texas Senate and leading the Legislative Budget Board (LBB). By leading the LBB, the lieutenant governor controls the budget. These are just two examples of the myriad of political positions in

After introduction of the bill, the referral or assignment to house or senate then takes place. In other words, the bill is assigned to standing committee. The Speaker and Lieutenant Governor appoint committee members and chairs. This gives the presiding officers great power and these vital decisions can

There are many reforms that have been discussed one being to extend the term for members of the Texas Legislature. Many feel that if the Senate is extended to six years and the House of Representative to four years it will allow the members to obtain more experience in fields and be able to not have to worry about when the next election is as often. Many critics feel that the time members are in session are too short to make any real progress, reformers would like to increase the length of legislative sessions from the current 140 days. Others feel that increasing the sessions would allow for more laws and regulations. This will be an ongoing debate where there will always be two sides to the possibility of reform which will impact the possibility of it being passed.

First is the executive branch. The executive branch is often referred to as a “plural executive” because many of the offices in that branch of government are elected directly by Texas voters. The Executive Department of the State is composed of the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Comptroller of Public Accounts, the Commissioner of the General Land Office, the Attorney General and the Secretary of State, all of whom are elected except the Secretary of State (who is appointed by the Governor). The current governor of Texas (48th) is Republican Greg Abbott, a former lawyer and former Attorney General. In order to be the governor of Texas, one must be at least 30 years of age, a US citizen, a registered voter, and must be living in Texas for at least the last 5 years. Being Governor is a 4 year term with no term limits and is a full time job with a salary of $150,000 per year. The Governor has powers including some law enforcement powers, some military powers, the title of “Head of State” who gives the State of the State Address, can appoint department heads like the department head of Park and Wildlife and Department of Transportation, and he

Presiding Officers are the highest officers and leaders of an organized group such as a board committee, or deliberative assembly. For the Texas Senate, the presiding officer is Lieutenant Governor. As Lieutenant Governor, they are a Hybrid Official with a 4 year term. They are elected in a partisan statewide election and they get paid $7,200 annually. The current Lieutenant Governor of Texas, is Dan Patrick (42nd). Dan Patrick is a Republican and a Baptist. He is also a radio talk show host. For the Texas House of Representatives, the presiding officer is the Speaker of the House. The Speaker of the House serves a 2 year term, is an elected member of the TX House and is selected by members of the House. The current Speaker of the House is Joe Straus.

The two candidates running for the office of Texas Governor are Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott and Democrat State Senator Windy Davis. I will begin with the bio of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. Greg Abbott was born in 1957 in Wichita Falls, Texas. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin in 1981. He went on to earn his law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School in Nashville, Tennessee in 1984. Also, after graduating law school in 1984, Abbott was in an accident that made him a paraplegic. He was appointed to the Texas Supreme Court by then Texas Governor George W. Bush in 1996. Also in 1996 and again in 1998, Abbott was elected to Texas’ highest civil court where he served a two year and six year term. In 2001, Abbott went into a private practice and also was a professor at the University of Texas School of Law. Also in 2001, Greg Abbott resigned from the Texas Supreme Court to pursue the office of attorney general for the election year of 2002. Abbott won the election of 2002 and

It is important to study the policy making and government in Texas, because it gives you a better understanding of the policy cycle and how it works. Texas government is profoundly important to the lives of Texas residents, regardless of differences, ages, backgrounds, and careers. Politics is the process that determines who shall occupy each role of leadership in government and how the power of government should be exercised. This is why it is important to vote when you turn eight-teen. You should vote for the best candidate that you think will make the best decisions for our state. Although the policy making cycle that the government uses to solve an issue is not perfect, it is important to learn it, because their decisions can either benefit