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GOVT 2305

GOVT 2305. The Legislature Definition and Historical Background. This set of slides is intended to introduce you to the legislative branch and discuss its historical evolution prior to the ratification of the U.S. and Texas Constitutions.

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GOVT 2305

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  1. GOVT 2305 The LegislatureDefinition and Historical Background

  2. This set of slides is intended to introduce you to the legislative branch and discuss its historical evolution prior to the ratification of the U.S. and Texas Constitutions.

  3. Here are a few basic facts about the legislative branch first. This is intended to clarify what the legislature is and what they look like in the US and Texas. We will provide detail for each of these in subsequent sections.

  4. A legislature is, simply put, an assembly of lawmakers.They meet in very large buildings to introduce, debate and pass legislation.

  5. These are the basic functions of the legislature:1 - Law Making2 - Representation3 – Checking the Executive and Judicial Branches

  6. In our federal system, legislatures exist on every level of government.U.S. CongressState LegislaturesCity CouncilsLocal Elected Boards

  7. Here are some pretty pictures of the buildings legislators meet in.

  8. The U.S. Capitol

  9. Another nice photo

  10. Click here for architectural detail of the building itself.Here’s the Wikipedia entry on the building.

  11. The Texas Legislature

  12. Click here for detail.

  13. In the American governing system, the legislature is designed to be the democratic branch of government. It is the one designed to be the most closely connected to the general population and pass laws supported by the people. It is also the institution most subject to the shifting preferences of the public.

  14. It is expected to be volatile. Compare this to the executive, which has an autocratic design and the judiciary which is oligarchic in nature. The executive is expected to be able to efficiently implement the law while the judiciary is expected to be able to knowledgably adjudicate disputes associated with the application of the law.

  15. Recall that the advantage of democracy of legitimacy, but the disadvantage is mob rule.This tells us something about the pros and cons of the legislature. It is intended to represent the diverse interests that exist across the nation, but doing so ensures that it is often in conflict. The House of Representatives especially is notoriously combative.

  16. The legislature is intended to provide legitimacy to the governing system. It embodies the principle of self-government. We are more likely, presumably, to think laws are fair – and worth following voluntarily - if we participated in their creation.

  17. When the House of Representatives was first designed, it was the only institution on the national level whose members were directly elected by the people.

  18. Danger: The legislature can be prone to both mob rule and to tyranny of the majority. These tendencies are checked by the executive and judicial branches through the power of the veto and judicial review.

  19. Here’s some irony: Despite its connection to the general population – and the assumption that this would make the legislature legitimate - the U.S. Congress tends to be the least respected branch of government.See these figures from 2008.Gallup commentary.Congress Ranks Last in Confidence in Institutions.Record 64% Rate Honesty, Ethics of Members of Congress Low.

  20. The Gallup Poll found 11% approval for Congress in December 2011.

  21. Notice that the further removed from popular control the institution is, the more people are likely to approve of it. People like the appointed judiciary more than the other institutions. It’s worth discussing why this might be the case.

  22. Let’s be self critical; is our criticism misplaced?Congress Bashing for Beginners

  23. Most legislature in the United States are bicameral.Bicameral legislatures contain a lower chamber and an upper chamber. One chamber is designed to be closely connected to the general population one is designed to be further removed from it.

  24. The U.S. Congress originally represented the people and the states equally.The House represented the people of the nation, it still does.The Senate – the represented the states

  25. The lower chamber is usually called the House of Representatives

  26. The Lower Branch tends to be closely connected to small districts. Its members serve for short terms of office, but can be reelected, sometimes indefinitely. As a consequence, lower chambers tend to be large and are often subject to heated arguments.

  27. They are designed – on the national and state levels - to act as delegates and directly and quickly act on the immediate preferences of the public.

  28. All members are elected by the general population for two year terms. This allows for the potential for rapid turnover in response to shifts in public aproval.

  29. In reality, as we will discuss soon, this is rarely the case. Factors exist which secure the reelection of office holders (incumbents).

  30. The United States House of Representatives has 435 members who represent one of 435 separate districts of approximately 600,000 people for 2 years terms.

  31. Each state is apportioned a number of representatives that roughly proportional to its percentage of the US population. Texas will have 36 representatives following the 2012 election. Each state’s representatives are called that state’s delegation. Here’s a graphical representation of the history of the Texas Delegation to the US Congress.

  32. For related information from the House website: The House Explained

  33. The Texas House of Representatives has 150 members who represent one of 150 separate districts of approximately 150,000 people for two year terms.

  34. Upper chambers are usually called a Senate.

  35. The term comes from the Roman Senate.It was the institutions that represented the interests of the elites. It is considered to be more prestigious than the House.

  36. The United StatesSenate is composed of 100 Senators, two from each state. Each state is represented equally despite the fact that the populations of states vary from a half million to almost 40 million. They serve for six year overlapping terms.

  37. The Texas Senate is composed of 31 members who represent each of 31 separate senatorial districts. Each district has about 600,000 members and they serve for 4 year overlapping terms.

  38. Upper chambers are further removed from the direct preferences of the population either by how they are elected to office or by a large terms length

  39. They are designed to act as trustees and slowly, deliberately address the long terms needs of the republic.

  40. It is also traditionally referred to as the worlds greatest deliberative body. It is designed to allow for open an almost unlimited debate. Some question if that is still the case.

  41. George Washington called the Senate the “saucer the cools the tea.” It is designed to temper the more “fickle and passionate” House.

  42. "In England, at this day, if elections were open to all classes of people, the property of landed proprietors would be insecure. An agrarian law would soon take place. If these observations be just, our government ought to secure the permanent interests of the country against innovation. Landholders ought to have a share in the government, to support these invaluable interests, and to balance and check the other. They ought to be so constituted as to protect the minority of the opulent against the majority. The senate, therefore, ought to be this body; and to answer these purposes, they ought to have permanency and stability.“--James Madison, quoted in Notes of the Secret Debates of the Federal Convention of 1787 by Robert Yates.

  43. This is established by having senators serve for six year overlapping terms. The public has no ability to instantaneously change the composition of the Senate, as they can in the House. Originally, until the 17th Amendment, senators were elected by state legislatures, not the public.

  44. This touches on a key question concerning legislatures is how in fact it is able to turn the preferences of the general public into policy: should it be done quickly or slowly?

  45. How close should the connection be between the general public and the law?This is also a way to ask: How capable is the general public of supporting good public policy?

  46. Conflict between the House and Senate is common. They tend to check each other. Each has to approve the bills passed by the other in order for it to be presented to the President for a signature. Often they do not.

  47. Legislatures on the national and state levels are dominated by two large political parties (Democrats and Republicans) which organize each institution internally and help recruit and run candidate for office.Here’s a history of party control of Congress.

  48. The party system, as we know from 2301, originally developed within the United States Congress as a way to organize support or opposition to Washington’s policies.

  49. Control of the US Congress tends to be evenly split between the two Parties. Texas tends to be a one party state. Until the late 1970s, its was solidly Democrat, since 1994 it has been dominated by the Republican Party.

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