POLS 2306 Study Guide
EXAM 2 STUDY GUIDE
Material Covered:
Ch. 3, “The Texas Legislature”
Ch. 4, “The Executive Department and the Office of the Governor of Texas”
Ch. 5, “The Court System in Texas”
Structure of the Texas legislature- Bicameral legislature. SENATE- 31 members, 4-year terms, elect half every two years. HOUSE- 150 members, 2-year terms, elect all every two years
Pros/cons of large legislatures- PROS: local concerns, diverse interests across state, more democratic, closer to constituents, include more individuals in governing. CONS: ignore statewide interest, inefficient decision making, allow dominance of select interests, veto power.
Legislative sessions in Texas- biennial- 140 days every two years, extended by special sessions because not enough time.
Rule of sine die- legislature must adjourn at the end of the regular session
Extraordinary session- ability of legislature to call itself into a special session (Texas lacks this)
Special session- can only be called by the governor, limited to 30 days each, governor decides topic, enhances veto power of governor
“Birthright” characteristics- race, ethnicity, religion, national background. representatives tend to mirror districts
Elections (SMDs and multimember districts) - SINGLE MEMBER DISTRICT: each district one member in legislative body. Geographic representation. MULTIMEMBER DISTRICT: district represented by more than one member. Majority representation/ domination “Legislative Redistricting Board” 1970s- invalidated by federal courts
Reapportionment and redistricting- REAPPORTIONMENT- the process of allocating representatives to districts (distributing the seats). REDISTRICTING- the drawing of district lines (distributing the districts themselves)
Gerrymandering- drawing legislative districts in such a way as to give one political party a disproportionately large share of seats for the share of votes its candidates win. State legislature and governor’s mansion controlled by single party. partisan
Material Covered:
Ch. 3, “The Texas Legislature”
Ch. 4, “The Executive Department and the Office of the Governor of Texas”
Ch. 5, “The Court System in Texas”
Structure of the Texas legislature- Bicameral legislature. SENATE- 31 members, 4-year terms, elect half every two years. HOUSE- 150 members, 2-year terms, elect all every two years
Pros/cons of large legislatures- PROS: local concerns, diverse interests across state, more democratic, closer to constituents, include more individuals in governing. CONS: ignore statewide interest, inefficient decision making, allow dominance of select interests, veto power.
Legislative sessions in Texas- biennial- 140 days every two years, extended by special sessions because not enough time.
Rule of sine die- legislature must adjourn at the end of the regular session
Extraordinary session- ability of legislature to call itself into a special session (Texas lacks this)
Special session- can only be called by the governor, limited to 30 days each, governor decides topic, enhances veto power of governor
“Birthright” characteristics- race, ethnicity, religion, national background. representatives tend to mirror districts
Elections (SMDs and multimember districts) - SINGLE MEMBER DISTRICT: each district one member in legislative body. Geographic representation. MULTIMEMBER DISTRICT: district represented by more than one member. Majority representation/ domination “Legislative Redistricting Board” 1970s- invalidated by federal courts
Reapportionment and redistricting- REAPPORTIONMENT- the process of allocating representatives to districts (distributing the seats). REDISTRICTING- the drawing of district lines (distributing the districts themselves)
Gerrymandering- drawing legislative districts in such a way as to give one political party a disproportionately large share of seats for the share of votes its candidates win. State legislature and governor’s mansion controlled by single party. partisan