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Chapter 9
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
Legislating Policy and Representing the People • Make statutory laws
• Amend state constitutions
• Constituent service
• Bring government funding to district

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REPRESENTATION LEGISLATIVE APPORTIONMENT

• GEOGRAPHIC
• Equal Population
• Heterogenous districts
• Homogenous districts • Reynolds v. Sims “legislators represent
• NON-GEOGRAPHIC people, not trees or acres.”
• ENTREPRENEURIAL • Equal number of people in the district
• RANDOM SELECTION • BASE=POPULATION
• RANGE=1%

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Redistricting ONE PERSON, ONE VOTE

• State legislatures create districts for themselves and U.S. House

• Race and ethnicity

– Voting Rights Act 1965
– Fracturing
– Packing or concentrating

• Partisan gerrymandering

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LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTING DISTRICTING CHOICES

1000 REGISTERED VOTERS

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DISTRICTING
COMPETITION?
REQUIREMENTS
• CONTIGUITY • UNOPPOSED
• POPULATION EQUALITY • APPOINTMENT
• VOTING RIGHTS ACT • INCUMBENT DEFEAT
• IMPACT • VOLUNTARY
RETIREMENT
• SHAPE
• PARTISAN GERRYMANDERING

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How a Bill Becomes a Law Affecting Us

AGENDA OF ACTIVE BILLS
TEXAS LEGISLATURE
3000

1500

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Texas Legislative Workload Legislative styles

• Citizen Legislatures
1985 1995 2005 short sessions
volunteers
Bills introduced 4021 4957 5484 serve one or two terms
• Professional Legislatures
Bills killed 2997 75% 3869 78% 4095 75% meet year round
Passed legislature 1024 25% 1088 22% 1389 25% well compensated
constituent service
Became law 980 24% 1064 21% 1370 25% • Hybrid Legislatures
elements of both
Legislative days 140 140 140

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Figure 9.5 Figure 9.6

Legislative Styles Legislative Styles and Legislative Activities

Citizen Hybrid Professional

Legislature Legislature Legislature
Average Average Average
Length of Regular Session 85 90 137
Number of Bills Introduced 1456 1901 4478
Number of Bills Enacted 341 459 356
Percent of Bills Enacted 27 32 11

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Figure 9.9
Occupations of State Legislators

STATE LEGISLATORS Attorney

Occupation

Full-Time Legislator
1976
22%
3%
1986
16%
12%
1993
17%
15%
1995
16%
14%
2007
15%
16%
2015
14%
11%
Business Owner 16% 14% 10% 12% 9% 14%
Agriculture 10% 10% 8% 8% 5% 5%
• 7800 legislators Business Other 13%
• EDUCATION—75% have some college Retired * 7% 7% 8% 12% 8%
• EMPLOYMENT--LEGISLATORS MORE PRESTIGE; PROFESSIONALS, Business: Executive/Manager 5% 6% 6% 5% 9%
MANAGERS, PROPRIETORS, NOT ESTABLISHED WEALTH BUT UPWARDLY Educator: K-12 8% 6% 6% 6% 4% 6%
MOBILE MIDDLE CLASS. FLEXIBLE WORK SCHEDULE, PUBLIC CONTACT Business: Non-manager 4% 5% 5% 4% 3%

ATTORNEYS, AGRICULTURE, EDUCATION OVERREPRESENTED, Consultant/Professional/Nonprofit 6% 3% 4% 5% 8% 12%

5% 4% 3% 4% 4%
LABOR AND GOVERNMENT UNDERREPRESENTED Real Estate

• SEX--MALE 80% to 90% Insurance 5% 3% 3% 3% 2%

3% 2% 2% 2% 2%
• MOBILITY--OVER 75% BORN IN DISTRICT Communications/Arts
• PSYCHOLOGICAL--MORE SELF-CONFIDENT, SELF-SUFFICIENT, Medical * 2% 2% 3% 4%

EXTROVERTED, DOMINANT, TOLERANT, LESS AUTHORITARIAN, MORE Government Employee: Local 3% 1% 2% 2% 1%

FAVORABLY DISPOSED TOWARD MINORITIES Educator: College * 2% 2% 2% 2%

Homemaker * 1% 1% 1% 1%

Engineer/Scientist/Architect * 1% 1% 1% 2%

Accountant * 1% 1% 1% 1%

Government Employee: State * 0% 0% 0% 1%

Clergy * 0% 0% 0% 1%

Labor Union 1% 0% 0% 0% 0%

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Figure 9.11
Figure 9.10 Accurate Representation Correlations With Policy 2015
Characteristics of Legislators and Constituents 2015 African Non
Age Women Latinos American White/Cau
casian
Per Capita State and Local Revenue -.18 .15 .17 -.10 -.26

Per Capita State and Local Expenditure -.23 .10 .18 -.11 -.23
Percent Public Percent Legislators
State and Local Tax Burden .32 -.03 .08 .24 .38
Women 51% 24%
Regressivity of State and Local Taxes .17 -.09 -.06 -.10 .06
Latinos 16% 5%
Percent Own Source Revenue from Personal Income Tax, 2013 .14 .08 .07 .21 .08
African Americans 13% 9%
Percent Own Source Revenue from Corporate income Tax, 2013 -.22 .13 -.06 .00 -.04
Attorneys 0.4% 14%
Median Age 47 56 Percent Own Source Revenue from Sales Tax, 2013 .21 -.14 -.07 .21 .08

Percent Own Source Revenue from Property Tax, 2013 .11 .41 .22 .31 .19

Per Capita State and Local Long Term Debt .12 .30 .31 .05 .17

TANF Monthly Family Benefit -.10 .43 .29 -.10 -.05

Percent of Medicaid Paid By State and Local Governments .02 .20 .07 .10 -.13

Education Spending Per Child K-12 -.02 .23 .26 .04 .03

Restrictiveness of Abortion Policies -.06 -.51 -.26 -.37 -.27

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Figure 9.14
Long Term Single Party Control of Legislature and State Policies 2015
Republican Democratic
Control Average Control Average
Per Capita State and Local Revenue $8,459 $9,974

Per Capita State and Local Expenditure $9,327 $10,798

State and Local Tax Burden 8.4% 10.1%
Regressivity of State and Local Taxes 5.8% 5.4%
Per Capita State and Local Long Term Debt $6,701 $11,185
Percent of VAP Registered to Vote, 2014 General Election 60% 58%
TANF Monthly Benefit Family of 3 $406 $579

Educational Spending Per Child in ADA $14,147 $13,308

Percent Medicaid Paid by State and Local Government 37% 42%

Poverty Rate 13.9% 12.9%

Violent Crime Rate 331 365

Property Crime Rate 2,589 2,446

Prisoners Per 100,000 Population 419 293

New Prisoners Per 100,000 Population 13,469 11,517

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