Essay On Texas Legislature

The legislature of Texas is the state’s lawmaking body. Its primary function is to enact laws to provide for the general well-being of its citizens. It also establishes public policy through the passage of bills and resolutions and proposes amendments to the state constitution.

The Texas legislature is considered the most powerful branch of government because of its aggressive use of the power of the purse to control and direct the activities of state government. The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of Texas and meets in the state capitol of

Austin in January on every odd numbered year. There are several people who are the most powerful in the Texas legislature. A few of them are the speaker of the house and the lieutenant governor.

The speaker of the house is the presiding officer of the House of Representatives and the leader of the majority party. The speaker of the house also determines how much floor time a bill gets, and also controls who can speak which is a very powerful political tool in allowing some legislators to shine, while others are shut down. The constitution also requires the speaker to sign all bills and joint resolutions passed by the legislature. There are also numerous powers that the speaker of the house has that are determined by the members of the house in the House Rules of Procedure. Some other duties include appointing members to committees, appoint conference committees, create select committees, and direct committees to conduct interim studies when the legislature is not in session. The speaker may also vote in exceptional circumstances such as when their vote would be decisive or on matters of great importance such as constitutional amendments or war resolutions. The Speaker of the House follows the Vice President in the line of succession to the president. The speaker has less of a role when in the same party as the president. The speaker of the house does have too much power. If the speaker decides to elect a colleague that has high seniority it is easier for him to get legislation passed. The speaker is powerful because he or she regulates anything that happens in Congress and is the second in line for presidency after the vice president.
The lieutenant governor is also another powerful person in the Texas legislature.

The lieutenant governor serves as the president of the senate. The senate has given the lieutenant governor similar powers of the speaker of the house. The lieutenant governor has the power to appoint senate committees, committee chairs, refer legislation, maintain order during floor debate, and recognize speakers who wish to speak. The power to recognize those who wish to speak takes on additional importance as it determines the order in which bills will be considered. One key difference in the powers of the speaker and lieutenant governor powers is voting on a question. The speaker may vote on all questions, whereas the lieutenant governor may vote to break ties. The lieutenant governor of Texas is unique because he is part of both the legislative and executive branch. The lieutenant governor will fill in for the governor when the governor is absent or unable to serve. The Constitution also gives the Senate the authority to write its own rules and that's where the Lieutenant Governor derives most of his power. The lieutenant governor also serves on some boards. Some of the boards he servers on are chairman of the Legislative Budget Board and the Legislative Council, and is vice-chairman of the Legislative Audit Committee and the Legislative Education Board. The lieutenant governor has many powers and can be considered a powerful person with too much power. He can do most of what the speaker can do as well as duties of the governor. The lieutenant governor also serves on a few boards. The senate can write rules as necessary which can add more power to the lieutenant

governor.
Both the speaker and the lieutenant governor both have many powers that make them powerful in both the Senate and House of Representatives. The speaker and the lieutenant both have similar powers with a few differences. Maybe one reason they are powerful is because they are in line of succession. The speaker can become president in unforeseen circumstances and the lieutenant governor can replace the governor in place of absence or when he or she cannot serve. It can also be that one party is the dominating party which makes it easier to pass legislation.