Patricio Lankenau, 1 Government Final Exam Texas State Government Texas has a weak government (Executive branch) Power

er is vested on the people Constitution Texas Constitution US Constitution Over 93,000 words long 7000 words long Over 450 amendments 27 amendments Legislative Branch Texas Paid $7,200 per year (set in constitution) Voters have to amend to raise pay Part-time citizens legislature Also paid $128 per diem Meets every two years (odd years) In session for only 140 days House of Representatives o 150 members elected from districts o Two-year terms Senate o 31 members o Four-year terms Executive Branch Texas Weak governor system Lt. Governor is elected independently Originally two year term, but now four Original pay was $12,000 Now paid $120,000 Weak appointive powers No term limits Judicial Branch Texas Two Supreme Courts (9 justices each) o Texas Court of Criminal Appeals o Texas Supreme Court All judges elected by voters Have a finite term

United States Legislatives are paid $170,000 a year Congress can vote itself a raise Full-time professionals House of Representatives o 435 members o Two year terms Senate o 100 members o 6 year terms (staggered)

United States Strong president President runs with vice-president Four-year term Can only serve two full terms Paid $400,000 a year Picks cabinet members

United States One supreme court All federal judges appointed by President Judges confirmed by senate Term for life or good behavior

Patricio Lankenau, 2 Bill of Rights Texas First section of the Texas constitution Includes equal rights for women Power to Veto Texas Governor has two choices o Sign law is passed o Veto law is sent back to congress Gov. has 10 days to respond, can wait for legislation to finish before vetoing

United States Bill of Rights was the first 10 amendments No equal rights for women

United States President has three choices o Sign law is passed o Veto law is sent back to congress and can still pass with 2/3rd majority o Do nothing 10 day rule: If less than 10 days of congress, law is not passed

Special Session Governor of Texas can call for a special session for Congress to meet for 30 days President sets the agenda, and session ends when goals are met Cannot be extended, but there is no limit on special sessions Case on Abortion Started by Griswold v. Connecticut [1965] o Right to marital privacy, which allowed the use of contraceptives Eisenstaedt v. Baird [1972] o Established the right for unmarried people to possess contraceptives o Implied the right for non-married people to engage in nonprocreative sex Roe v. Wade [1973] o Ruled that a right to privacy under the due process clause of the 14th Amendment extended to a woman's decision to have an abortion o Held that a person has a right to abortion until viability Political Parties Parties are factions with similar beliefs who act on them Primary purpose: get their candidates elected Secondary purpose: raise money (through fund-raisers and donations) The US has a two party system o Due to single-member districts (SMD) winner takes all votes Primaries are held by parties for the selection of candidates (unique to the United States) City of Houston elects officials non-partisan Parties are necessary in order to be part of committees in congress o Committees are where the real work happens o You are selected by party leaders if you do what you are told

Patricio Lankenau, 3 Democrats used to base their platform on states rights Republican party was against slavery First republican president: Abraham Lincoln Lyndon B. Johnson was a Texas democrat who stole the Civil Rights issue from republicans George Washington openly voiced against political parties Interest Groups Organized Meetings Primary purpose: influence policy and laws Majority of interest groups represent businesses Lobbying is protected by the first amendment but limited Interest groups can provide accurate information and sometimes take part in court cases Interest groups get their money from membership fees Iron Triangle
Congress

People

Interest Groups

Life-long Knowledge [Republican][Democrat] President Vice-President Governor of Texas Chief Justice Speaker of US House House Minority Leader Senate Majority Leader Senate Minority Leader My US Senators

Barack Obama Joe Biden Rick Perry John Roberts John Boehner Nancy Pelosi Harry Reid Mitch McConnell Kay Bailey Hutchison John Cornyn