Structure Of The Texas Government And The Basic Powers Of This Structure Essay

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 state bureaucracy administers/implements the laws of Texas. It is run by executives whose job is to see that the laws of the state are implemented according to the will and intent of the Legislature. Ideally, these executive branch officials or bureaucrats are to administer their duties and implement the laws in a neutral manner, uninfluenced by politics. In reality, state bureaucrats are important players in not just implementation, but also policy making. In Texas, there is no overall central governing or controlling authority. Government authority in Texas is very decentralized, and rests within many independent state agencies.

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,

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

This branch holds a bicameral body that composes of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The whole purpose of this branch is to produce the laws for the Texas government and to represent the Texans as a whole. For example, in the textbook Government and Politics in the Lone Star State by L. Tucker Gibson, Jr. and Clay Robison, the general ideas discussed about the laws goes from "local legislation that affects one city or county to general statewide policies and proposals for constitutional amendments." In order to make sure this is accomplished, the branch meets every 2 years to discuss and regulate the laws of Texas on a 140 day period between January and the end of May. The person who conducts these sessions is the lieutenant government. This government body is made up of 150 members in the House of Representatives and 31 members from the

The Texas Legislature members cannot hold another official government office. In addition, the members must meet specific criteria such as voter status, citizenship, and district residence. Although all the large criteria required in order to become a member, millions of Texas residents occupy these legal qualifications. Biographical data, however, has advised that numerous individuals recent to Texas Legislatures have informal qualifications which are restricting opportunities for election.

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 first Texas Legislature met in 1846 and has only had a few changes. It is a bicameral legislature that has two chambers which include the Texas Senate, with 31 senators and the House of Representatives, with 151 House members. The responsibility of the legislators includes promoting their constituent’s concerns and issues by addressing them during the sessions.

The government of the state of Texas is a difficult and complicated institution that is composed of many different levels. The question comes in to everyone's mind at one time or another whether or not to trust the government. It could be that people believe that the officials will take advantage of their power, or simply people don't like the idea of being controlled by someone who is not a family member or friend. To avoid this centralized power, the government is divided into stages and this is a reasonable ground for trusting the government. Government runs this state and it does deserve to be trusted.

Currently members of our legislative branch are only paid $7,200 per year with an additional personal allowance of $128.00 a day that they are in session. Many feel that his low pay opens the door to dependence on special interests who will entice a member to support a bill that they would normally not support. Others feel that the biggest criticism is how short the legislature session is. Currently when the members are in session it is only for 140 days every odd year unless they are called back in a special session. This limited time causes bills to get passed without properly being reviewed.

There are numerous varieties of election races in Texas. The state Constitution and the political society in Texas together have made a framework of our legal system that welcomes Texans to pick applicants for a great numerous public offices in all levels of the government inside the state. The Constitution needs direct election for different state offices inside the executive branch and inside the legal system of the judicial branch, likewise with respect to various county level offices. A few legislative activities oblige changing the Constitution, that also needs special established constitutional amendment elections. Numerous metropolitan and other local offices are filled

The fourth power is the power to appoint reps to conference committee. The fifth power is the power to recognize points of orders/amendments. The sixth and last power is the power to interpret procedural rules. However, all the power is concentrated with the leaders of the House and Senate respectively. All the other power is held when the individual legislators get to vote or act in defiance. Within the Texas House of Representatives and the Senate there are power restraints. The presiding officers may have all the power, however, their power is balanced and checked. This is similar to the Judicial, Executive and Legislative branches of our federal government because they all balance the power within each other. Presiding officers can have their power checked by the governor threatening to veto, not support, or simply gut the bill taking away its teeth. Another way a presiding officer can get his power limited is by group efforts to solve issues of getting bills passed or even block them in the house or senate.The political/economical ambition of the Texas Governor, those beneath him, or of those found in the legislative bodies, is another way of power

The government of the state of Texas is a difficult and complicated institution that is composed of many different levels. The question comes in to everyone's mind at one time or another whether or not to trust the government. It could be that people believe that the officials will take advantage of their power, or simply people don't like the idea of being controlled by someone who is not a family member or friend. To avoid this centralized power, the government is divided into stages and this is a reasonable ground for trusting the government. Government runs this state and it does deserve to be trusted.

Let’s start by going through the basics of the procedure. The state government is made up of three branches. (The “Executive”, headed by the governor, the “Judicial”, consisting of Texas supreme the court along with state courts, and the “Legislative”, which includes 150 members in the House of Representatives and 31 in the state senate) Of these three, the Legislative branch is responsible for creating laws such as “S.B. 11”. The speaker of the House and Lieutenant Governor of the Senate both discuss rules that must be followed during the discussion of the bill. A Representative or Senator gets the idea for a new law by listening to the people that they represent. Once heard, a “Bill” is written. Many of the new bills are presented in the chamber, in which they arose from, in the “First Reading”. In the House, they are considered by each committee in three different meeting settings. After consideration, a committee may take no action or issue a report on it. In the Senate, testimony may be heard.

The legislative branch is considered the most powerful branch of the rest because of the amount of power and control it has on the government, it consists of the Texas State Senate and the House of Representatives. Even though this branch is considered the post dominant it has restrictions. These are 5 restrictions and limits that this branch has. 1) The Texas Legislative Branch does not meet every year, it meets every 2 years and only for 140 days. However, the governor of Texas has the authority to call other meeting in between their regular scheduled time. 2) Article III section 58 of the Texas Constitution says “the Legislature shall hold its sessions at the city of Austin, which is hereby declared to be the Seat of Government.” 3) Article III section 57 of the Texas constitution says that “no local or special law shall be passed, unless notice of the intention to apply therefor shall have been published in the