GOVT 2306 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Supermajority
26 Nov 2016
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Document Summary
Structure of the texas legislature and lack for formal gubernatorial authority are important for centralizing power in the speaker and lieut. governor. They have the power of recognition - the power to control floor debate by recognizing who can speak before the house and senate: senate rule of unlimited debate decreases the lieutenant governor"s power. Lieutenant governor can control at least 1/3 of votes the membership, he can prevent the bill from being taken out of order especially if he introduced it. In the house, the speaker controls legislative debate, who speaks and for how long - can affect the outcome of legislation. Have the committee assignment power: committees on which legislators serve, assignment to powerful committees increase their prestige in the legislature. Committees affect how well constituents are represented. They assign bills to committees, sometimes multiple: they can use bill assignment power to influence the fate of the bill.
