POLS Chapter 7 Lecture Notes 10 10 12 Legislative Process Majority rule 50 1 o Majority Democracy Committees Given framework and they do research o Ex Stop light Constituents and legislative districts Decisions are constrained by those who put them into office and who would reelect them o Ex Liberal from conservative district votes to please district not his own beliefs Legislative Tactics Long term Short term o Coalition building Group of people that come together to get something passed They need a simple majority o Logrolling or trading votes I ll vote for you if you vote for me o Filibusters senate in U S congressman keeps talking so no votes can be held Delay tactic or prevention tactic o Riders Any amendments on a bill that aren t related to the central topic of the bill There is a lot of unrelated riders in the federal government Sometimes these kill the bill Ex Bridge to nowhere Pork Barreling Bringing home the bacon for your district Lawmaking Representation Most important Constituent service Writing or asking your congressman Oversight Checking executive and judicial branch making sure laws are being implemented and o Compromise Legislative Functions o Ex flowing smoothly 77 republicans 73 democrats TX House of Representatives 150 Large cities minorities democrats Whites are no longer the majority o Speaker of the house Breaks ties leads processes o Majority leader Leader of majority party o Minority leader Leader of minority party Most powerful positions in the house Legislative Organization Structure bicameral v unicameral Leadership Committees Legislative Composition Rank and file members o Trustees Trusted to make best decisions Upper house o Delegates Constructed delegates Just need to vote a certain way for a district Lower house Elected based on district 2 year terms Senatorial districts in TX 31 House districts in TX 150 Apportionment Drawing of legislative boundaries o Republican form of government o By people from defined geographical districts o How well and how equitable does this representational process work o Article 1 o House of representatives 435 seats Capped amount o State legislature creates districts o Not equitable Gerrymandering Structuring legislative districts to ensure political success o Boston Gazette March 26 1812 Redrawing of MA state senate election districts under Governor Elbridge Gerry o When mapped one of contorted districts in Boston Two strategies o Packing Creating few forfeit seats for packed voters of one type while securing even greater representation voters of another type Wasted vote effect o Cracking Breaking up of districts Legal unless it s based on race 14th Amendment Equal protection Clause makes Gerrymandering illegal Effects of Gerrymandering o Reduces electoral competition and voter turnout o Increased incumbent advantage and campaign costs 80 90 reelected Franking privileges Free postage Name recognition Have a record to be based on Supported with money o Less descriptive representation Malapportionment Legislature does not draw district lines properly fails to adjust boundaries to keep pace with population shifts 1940 s Rural v Urban interests o Legislatures favor rural farmers Illegal through 14th amendment Why resistance to reapportionment Wesberry v Sanders At state level each district should roughly have the same population Majority Minority Districts Representational units where a majority of the residents are members of a particular minority group Meaningful way to ensure African Americans Latinos and other minorities fair share of legislative seats Support by Reagan and Bush 41 administrations League of United Latin American Citizens v Perry 2006 2003 redistricting in TX argued to be statewide partisan Gerrymander States can t redistrict more than once per census 7 2 both arguments rejected Only district 23 of plan State Legislators Professional background o 30 business owners Federal government can t regulate businesses in the state so business owners work in congress for the state for their own interests o 15 lawyers o Rest came from education health care real estate insurance agriculture Demographic diversity o 1970 7 female Present 25 female New Hampshire was 1st to elect a female South less likely to vote in females Professional v Citizen Legislatures Prefer citizens in state o Part time Prefer professional in federal o Full time
View Full Document
Unlocking...