The Organization of Legislative Bodies

1. The Organization of Legislative Bodies Centralization 2: Leadership in the Texas Legislature

2. The Tension Two Organizing Principles of Legislative Bodies • Centralization • Concentration of power into a few hands • Sometimes called the ‘oligarchic’ tendency • Focus on principal officers and leadership • Decentralization • Diffusion of power across the entire body • Sometimes called the ‘democratic’ tendency • Focus on committees and subcommittees

3. Speaker of the Texas House • Mode of appointment • Chosen by an election in the House • Pledge card system • Election officially blind to party • Roles & Powers • Presides over House Proceedings • Recognizes speakers on the House floor • Determines points of order • Maintains House schedule • Formally schedules floor action • Refers all bills to committees • Appointment power • House members to ½ of all House committees • House members to special committees • House members to joint committees • All House committee chairmen • The Texas Speaker enjoys more power relative to his House than the US Speaker

4. The Floor • In the US Congress • Members of the House split into Congressional caucuses • Roles of Caucuses • Choose principal officers • Establish party legislative agenda for the session • Assign members to steering committees • In the Texas Legislature • History of single-party dominance • Members of the House do not formally split into caucuses • The Speaker’s “Team”: committee chairs and close allies on the Floor

5. House Floor Leaders • In the Texas Legislature • Analogous to Floor leaders in the US House • Principal voice of their respective parties in the House • Develops legislative strategy • Communicates strategy with their party through House whips • Less significant because of stronger roles of the TX Speaker • Majority Leader typically a member of the Speaker’s “Team”

6. Whips • Both Congress and the Texas House of Representatives • Encourages party unity • Communicates legislative agenda to party members • Communicates legislative strategy to party members • Manages legislative strategy • Encourages party members to • attend or not attend floor debate • speak or not speak • yield their allotted speaking time to other house members • support bills consistent with the legislative agenda • oppose bills inconsistent with the legislative agenda • Coordinates efforts by deputy whips on specific bills and resolutions

7. The Texas Senate • Dominated by the Presiding Officer • President of the Senate: The Lieutenant Governor • Formal presidential powers • Appointment • All Senate committees • Standing and special • Senate members of joint committees • All Senate committee chairmen • Legislative Jurisdiction • Refers all bills to Senate committees • Scheduling • Texas constitution requires all Senate bills to be heard in order of appearance on presiding officer’s desk from the first day of regular session • What happens before the first day? • Senators attempts to control schedule with blocking bills • Recognition • Senators may not speak on record on the Senate Floor unless formally recognized by the Presiding Officer • Ex officio roles • Chairman of Legislative Budget Board • Standing Joint Committee in the Texas Legislature • Primary source of the State’s Biennial Budget • Appoints Sunset Advisory Commission • Recommends termination of state programs • Member of the Texas Legislative Council • Successor to Texas Governor