Exam #2 Review
[Ch. 7] Texas Legislature
1. House/Senate seats, party breakdown etc.
2. Qualifications
3. Terms
4. Compensation (paid when out of vs. in session impact on who can become legislator)
5. Legislative calendar
6. Current office holders (know Names for offices mentioned in class i.e., Speaker etc.)
7. Types of bills (local, special, general)
8. Resolutions (concurrent, joint, simple)
9. How a bill becomes a law
10. Committee system
11. Calendar Committee, Appropriations Committee (know the committees that are important in
the process of how a bill becomes a law)
12. Powers of Speaker of the House and Lt. Governor
[Ch. 8] Texas Executive
1. Plural executive (know the Names of current office holders mentioned in class)
2. Power compared to other executives
3. Qualifications, terms, off-year elections (why: did not want to coincide with national elections;
previously benefitted Democrats, but now benefits Republicans)
4. Campaigns
5. Impeachment process
6. Succession (Lt. Gov. succeeds Gov., don’t need to know beyond that)
7. Compensation
8. Powers (appointment, budgetary, police, legislative, judicial)
9. Messaging
10. Veto, line-item veto
11. Special sessions
12. Lt. Gov. powers
[Ch. 9] Texas Judiciary
1. Court Structure vs. judicial politics (differences)
2. Relationship to democracy
3. Texas Supreme Court (civil)
4. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (criminal)
5. Qualifications
6. Final jurisdiction
7. Jurisdiction over death penalty cases (which parts of court system have jurisdiction)
8. Court Structure (TSC, TCCA, Court of Appeals, district courts etc.)
9. Civil vs. criminal law
10. Selection mechanism (partisan election, appointment, non-partisan elections, merit, appoint
retain-elect)
11. Partisan election (role of elections, party ID, name recog., interest groups, businesses, etc.)
12. Appointment vs. election (strengths & weaknesses of having either)
13. Issues (minority representation, tort reform, judicial districts, role of lawyers, barratry,
discipline of judges)
, CHAPTER 7
Texas Legislature
[1 – 4] TX Legislature (House & Senate)
House: 150 seats; 2-year terms; salary of $7,200/year + $150/day when in sessions
Qualifications: 21 years old, US citizen, qualified voter, resident TX 2 years, District 1 year
Senate: 31 seats; 4-year terms; same salary & payment as House member (see above)
Qualifications: 26 years old, US citizens, qualified voter, resident TX 5 years, District 1 year
*minimal compensation (see above) limits legislators to those who earn enough $ elsewhere
Pensions: $125,000 x # years service x 2.3% = $_____/year after retirement
Party breakdown: Republicans control both houses of TX legislature
House: 98 Rep. & 52 Dem. Senate: 20 Rep. & 11 Dem. (as of 2015)
Typical Legislator: white, male, Protestant, college-educated, affluent, legal/business occupation
[5] Legislative Calendar
Regular Sessions: 140 days, held in odd-numbered years (belief that legislator = part-time job)
Special Sessions: called by TX Governor, maximum 30 days, Governor sets agenda
(if regular session agenda not completed, or if problems arise in between regular sessions)
[6] Current TX Legislature Office Holders
Speaker of House: Joe Straus
Lieutenant Governor: Dan Patrick
[7] Bills
Bill: a proposed law that has been sponsored by a member of the legislature & submitted to the
clerk of either the House or Senate
Local bills: only affect units of local government (e.g., city, county, special district)
Special bills: give an individual or corporation special legal exemptions (e.g., tax exemption)
General bills: apply to entire state (i.e., all people or all property in TX)
[8] Resolutions
Resolution: express the opinion of the legislature on a specific issue
Concurrent resolution: of interest to both bodies, must pass in both & be signed by governor
Joint resolution: commonly proposed amendment or ratification of amendment to constitution,
must pass in both bodies, but does not require governor’s signature
Simple resolution: concern only 1 of the bodies, does not require governor’s signature,
commonly used to adopt rules or appoint employees to office in House or Senate
[Ch. 7] Texas Legislature
1. House/Senate seats, party breakdown etc.
2. Qualifications
3. Terms
4. Compensation (paid when out of vs. in session impact on who can become legislator)
5. Legislative calendar
6. Current office holders (know Names for offices mentioned in class i.e., Speaker etc.)
7. Types of bills (local, special, general)
8. Resolutions (concurrent, joint, simple)
9. How a bill becomes a law
10. Committee system
11. Calendar Committee, Appropriations Committee (know the committees that are important in
the process of how a bill becomes a law)
12. Powers of Speaker of the House and Lt. Governor
[Ch. 8] Texas Executive
1. Plural executive (know the Names of current office holders mentioned in class)
2. Power compared to other executives
3. Qualifications, terms, off-year elections (why: did not want to coincide with national elections;
previously benefitted Democrats, but now benefits Republicans)
4. Campaigns
5. Impeachment process
6. Succession (Lt. Gov. succeeds Gov., don’t need to know beyond that)
7. Compensation
8. Powers (appointment, budgetary, police, legislative, judicial)
9. Messaging
10. Veto, line-item veto
11. Special sessions
12. Lt. Gov. powers
[Ch. 9] Texas Judiciary
1. Court Structure vs. judicial politics (differences)
2. Relationship to democracy
3. Texas Supreme Court (civil)
4. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (criminal)
5. Qualifications
6. Final jurisdiction
7. Jurisdiction over death penalty cases (which parts of court system have jurisdiction)
8. Court Structure (TSC, TCCA, Court of Appeals, district courts etc.)
9. Civil vs. criminal law
10. Selection mechanism (partisan election, appointment, non-partisan elections, merit, appoint
retain-elect)
11. Partisan election (role of elections, party ID, name recog., interest groups, businesses, etc.)
12. Appointment vs. election (strengths & weaknesses of having either)
13. Issues (minority representation, tort reform, judicial districts, role of lawyers, barratry,
discipline of judges)
, CHAPTER 7
Texas Legislature
[1 – 4] TX Legislature (House & Senate)
House: 150 seats; 2-year terms; salary of $7,200/year + $150/day when in sessions
Qualifications: 21 years old, US citizen, qualified voter, resident TX 2 years, District 1 year
Senate: 31 seats; 4-year terms; same salary & payment as House member (see above)
Qualifications: 26 years old, US citizens, qualified voter, resident TX 5 years, District 1 year
*minimal compensation (see above) limits legislators to those who earn enough $ elsewhere
Pensions: $125,000 x # years service x 2.3% = $_____/year after retirement
Party breakdown: Republicans control both houses of TX legislature
House: 98 Rep. & 52 Dem. Senate: 20 Rep. & 11 Dem. (as of 2015)
Typical Legislator: white, male, Protestant, college-educated, affluent, legal/business occupation
[5] Legislative Calendar
Regular Sessions: 140 days, held in odd-numbered years (belief that legislator = part-time job)
Special Sessions: called by TX Governor, maximum 30 days, Governor sets agenda
(if regular session agenda not completed, or if problems arise in between regular sessions)
[6] Current TX Legislature Office Holders
Speaker of House: Joe Straus
Lieutenant Governor: Dan Patrick
[7] Bills
Bill: a proposed law that has been sponsored by a member of the legislature & submitted to the
clerk of either the House or Senate
Local bills: only affect units of local government (e.g., city, county, special district)
Special bills: give an individual or corporation special legal exemptions (e.g., tax exemption)
General bills: apply to entire state (i.e., all people or all property in TX)
[8] Resolutions
Resolution: express the opinion of the legislature on a specific issue
Concurrent resolution: of interest to both bodies, must pass in both & be signed by governor
Joint resolution: commonly proposed amendment or ratification of amendment to constitution,
must pass in both bodies, but does not require governor’s signature
Simple resolution: concern only 1 of the bodies, does not require governor’s signature,
commonly used to adopt rules or appoint employees to office in House or Senate
