HIST 3305 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Bicameralism, Gerrymandering, Joe Straus
Document Summary
Texas legislature: bicameral legislature, the texas senate (31 members, tx house of representatives (150 member, terms of service- house (2 years) senate (4 years) Begins on second tuesday in january, of odd-numbered years. Compensation: pay and per diem allowance. daily per diem: expense allowance. Incumbency: incumbents who seek reelection usually win their race, 2008: 85% house of representatives, 93. 5% texas senate, huge advantage in reelection, however, turnover rates in texas are high. Create and alter laws: budget and taxation. Most essential law to pass is budget. Lbb (legislative budget board) and governor"s budget. Establish sales tax and others: oversight. Apportionment and redistricting: most important key function in representation, based on geography (districts, 150 house districts and 31 senate districts redrawn every 10 years based on population change (census) Gerrymandering: drawing legislative districts for political advantage, majority party wants to keep advantage, dilute voter strength of opposite party, concentrate minority groups into one district.
