Texas Legislature: Analysis of Civil Rights, Legislative Process & Legislative Branch - Essay Sample

Introduction

This paper discusses the Texas government concerning civil rights, the legislative process, and its legislative branch. It has a systematic analysis of the areas of concern and a segment explaining their significance and why they are interesting. The legislation process in Texas is in accordance with the American government constitution.

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Legislative branch

The legislature in Texas regularly meets every second Tuesday of January every odd-numbered year. The constitution of the state limits the session regularity to 140 days. The Senate has the lieutenant governor, elected separately across the state, governing it. The house speaker is elected from the body by the members. It is the governor who may call the legislative branch into special organized sessions as opposed to other states where the legislative branch may plan a session by itself. In Texas, the governor has the right to call for many legislative sessions as they desire. The constitution of the state limits that period within which special sessions can be held to 30 days (Turner, 2015).

Moreover, it is a bicameral body consisting of 31 members in the Senate and a house of representatives of 150 members. It is a very influential arm of the government of Texas because of its strength in controlling and directing the state government activities and the strong connections with the constitution between it and the Texas Lieutenant Governor. This legislative branch in Texas is the successor of the constitution of the Republic of Texas Congress from the 1845 Texas' entrance into the union (Council, 2010).

The legislative process in Texas

The legislation process in Texas legislative is controlled by the constitution of the state and its applicable statuses and by those rules of house and senate procedures adopted at the onset of a regular session by every individual chamber. The different legislative process phases typically occur within the confines of a set timetable, and this is a summary of the process. The subsequent discussion highlights the legislative process for simple resolutions, concurrent resolutions, and joint resolutions for the diversifications that are specific to the documents (McCubbins, 2005).

The origin of a bill is a common legislative document type and is the sole means through which they may enact, amend, or repeal a law. In Texas, it is solely a Texas legislator who can initiate a bill into the progression of legislation. However, the idea may originate from a different source apart from the legislator like committee study findings or an interested party. The bill may be drafted by a legislator, an outside party with interest, or by the professional Texas Legislative Council staff or any other appropriate entity in legislation (Rouse, 2013).

Bill introduction: The legislator introduces it in their chamber that is considered the chamber where the bill originates from. Upon bill passage by the chamber, it progresses to the reverse chamber for its approval ahead of advancing to the governor's table for last approval. The step in the progress of the bill is the same in all chambers, with numerous opportunities for defeat or amendment of the bill. A state representative is needed to introduce it (a bill) in the representative's house, and in the Senate, a Texas state senator must first file it with the senate secretary. Both the Senate and the house rules allow the unobstructed introduction of bills in the first sixty days of an ordinary section of the calendar of a regular session. After the end of the deadline, the bill introduction is done, apart from an emergence appropriations bill, a local one, or a bill for addressing urgent situations that the governor submits needs the consent of not less than four- fifths-of-the-senate members when the bill is introduced (Rouse, 2013).

Civil rights in Texas

Issues regarding civil rights in Texas are linked with the two prominent ethnic minorities: Mexican Americans and African Americans. The former has tirelessly made efforts to bring about enhanced political circumstances from the domination of the Anglo-Americans in Texas that started in 1836. Texans of African origin have fought for civil rights from the period of slave emancipation in 1865. However, organized campaigns were not initiated up to the early 20th century. Issues regarding the immediate concern to Mexican Americans beyond the Revolution revolved around the actions of racism. Around 1850, Tejanos were expelled from their Central Texas homes on the ground that they had helped slaves in their escapade to Mexico. Some became victims of the wrath of the Anglos around the locality of Goliad during the 1857 Cart War, as was the case in South Texas in 1859 immediately after the capture of Brownsville by Juan N. Cortina. After the Civil War, the Tejanos and the free slaves underwent many major atrocities (Carroll, 2001).

Kosary (2007) adds that white men in the 1880s, in East Texas, employed violence as a means of controlling the inhabitants politically, and lynching was now taking center stage as a common retaliation form for alleged white women rapes or other injuries or insults perpetrated on the white community. South Texas Mexican Americans experienced comparable brutality forms. The White Caps, Ku Klux Klan, the Texas Rangers, and the law officials, all acting in the capacity of white authority agents, often terrorized equally black Texans and Mexican in America. The de facto separation came after emancipation. Freed slaves were barred from schools and most public places, and, as the 19th century approached, they remained confined to specific residential areas in towns and cities.

By the beginning of the 20th century, such barbaric practices had been faced out by law. The whites did not formulate the statutes with consideration of the Tejanos, but they enforced them through other social customs nevertheless.

Behnken (2011) argues that between 1880 and 1890, minority ethnic groups faced legal forces aimed at disfranchising them, though the Anglos changed to a variety of informal means to make weak their strength politically. Mexican Americans and black Americans faced numerous terrorist tactics, ballot boxes stuffing, literary tests, and impotence accusations after winning office. South Texas political bosses and other localities with an enormous Mexican-American population like El Paso valley, for a while, dominated through controlling poor people's votes (Behnken, 2011).

Why they are interesting and important

They are important and interesting in the sense that they enlighten the people on their rights as civilians of the Texas state. Moreover, the topics are considerate of the ethnic minorities living in Texas and undergoing issues like racism. The discussed categories promote emancipation and inclusivity in the Texas populace. Moreover, understanding civil rights is critical for any person living within Texas, especially the Mexican Americans and African Americans. Through this discussion, one understands the role and position of the legislature in the Texas government.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the constitution controls the legislative process and the legislature in Texas. Moreover, the Anglo-Americans dominated the politics and administration of Texas. African Americans and Mexican Americans have suffered segregation in Texas. Whites used violence against them that led to the controlling of poor inhabitant's votes. The Texas law faced out barbaric acts and ensured that there is inclusivity where both victims were to be fairly treated.

References

Behnken, B. D. (2011). Fighting their own battles: Mexican Americans, African Americans, and the struggle for civil rights in Texas. Univ of North Carolina Press.

Carroll, M. M. (2001). Homesteads ungovernable: families, sex, race, and the law in frontier Texas, 1823-1860 (No. 3). University of Texas Press.

Council, T. L. (2010). Texas Legislative Council Drafting Manual. https://www.tlc.state.tx.us/docs/legref/draftingmanual-86.pdf

Kosary, R. A. (2007). To degrade and control: white violence and the maintenance of racial and gender boundaries in reconstruction Texas, 1865-1868 (Doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University).

McCUBBINS, M. D. (2005). Legislative process and the mirroring principle. In Handbook of new institutional economics (pp. 123-147). Springer, Boston, MA.

Rouse, S. M. (2013). Latinos in the legislative process: Interests and influence. Cambridge University Press.

Turner, B. (2015). At the current filing rate, the 84th legislature could set a new bill record. Ranch and rural living, 96(5), 20. https://search.proquest.com/openview/99b94ca496dc03e236921264b89d3cfb/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=24102