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72 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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A legislature divided into two houses
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Bicameral legislature
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The proportional process of allotting congressional seats to each state following the decennial cencus
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Apportionment
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The re-drawing of congressional districts to reflect increases or decreases in seats alloted to the states, as well as population shifts within a state.
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Redistricting
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A proposed law
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Bill
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The power delegated to the House of Representatives in the Constitution to charge the President, Vice-President, or other "civil-officers," incuding federal judges, with "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors"
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Impeachment
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The only officer of the House of Rep. specifically mentioned in the Constitution; elected at the beginning of each new Congress by the entire House; traditionally a member of the majority party
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Speaker of the House
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The political party in each house of congress with the most members
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majority party
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The political party in each house of Congress with the second most members
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Minority party
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A formal gathering of all party members
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Party caucus or conference
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The elected leader of the party controlling the most seats in the House or the Senate; is second in authority to the speaker of the house, and in the Senate is regarded as its most powerful member
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Majority leader
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The elected leader of the party with the second highest number of elected representatives in the House or the Senate
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Minority leader
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One of several representatives who keep close contact with all the members and take nose counts on key votes, prepare summaries of bills, and in general act as communications links within the party
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Whip
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Committee to which proposed bills are referred
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Standing committee
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Includes members from both houses of Congress; conducts investigations or special studies
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Joint committee
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Joint committee created to iron out differences between Senate and House versions of a specific piece of legislation
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Conference committee
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Temporary committee appointed for specific purpose, such as conducting a special investigation or study.
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Select (special) committees
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Petition that gives a majority of the House the authority to bring an issue to the floor in the face of committee inaction.
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Discharge petition
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Legislation that allows representatives to bring homw the bacon to their districts in the form of public works programs, military bases, or other programs designed to benefit their districts directly.
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Pork
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Time of continuous service on a committee.
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Senority
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The fact that being in office helps a person stay in office because of a varitey of benefits that go with the postion
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incumbency
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Role played by elected representatives who listen to constituents' opinions and then ise their best judgement to make final decisions.
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Trustee
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Role played by elected representatives who vote the way their constituents would want them to, regardless of their own opinions
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Delegate
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Role played by elected representatives who act as trustees or as delegates, depending on the issue.
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Politico
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The political condition in which different political parties control the White House adn Congress.
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Divided government
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Vote trading; voting yea to support a colleague's bill in return for a promise of future support.
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Logrolling
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A tactic by which a senator asks to be informed before a particular bill is brought to the floor. This stops the bill from comming to the floor until the hold is removed
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Hold/ Used when there is limited debate
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A formal way of halting action on a bill by means of long speeches or unlimited debate in the Senate.
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Filibuster
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Mechanism requiring 60 senators to vote to cut off debate/ only way to end fillibustering
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Cloture
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Formal constitutional authority of the president to reject bills passed by both houses of the legislature, thus preventing their becomming law without further congressional activity
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veto
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If congress adjourns during the ten days the rpesident has to consider a bill passed by both houses, without the president's signature, the bill is vetoed
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pocket veto
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Congressional review of the activites of an agency, department, or office
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oversight
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A process whereby COngress cna nullify agency regulations by a joint resolution of legislative disapproval.
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Congressional review
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Passed by congress in 1973,the president is limited in the deployment of troops overseas to a sixty-day period in peacetime(which can be exteneded for an extra 30 days to permit withdrawl) unless Congress explicitly gives its approval for a longer period
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War powers act
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A process by which presidents, when selecting district court judges, defer to the senator in whose state the vacancy occurs.
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senatorial courtesy
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A change, addition, or deletion tp a constitution
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Constitutional amendment
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Redraw eletion-district boundaries
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Redistrict
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A vote by the House to formally accuse a government official of official wrongdoing
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impeach
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Legislator's per day allowence covering room and board expenses while on state business
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Per diem
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A legislative body that meets in regular session only once in a 2-year period
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biennial legislature
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The biennial 140-day session of the Texas legislature, beginning in January of odd-numbered years.
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Regular session
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A legislative session of up to thirty days, called by the governor, during an interim between regualr sessions
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special session
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An election system for legislative bodies in which each legislator runs from and represents a single district, rather than the entire geographic area encompassed by the government.
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Single-member district
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Restricitons that exist in some states about how long an indiviual may serve in state and/or local elected offices.
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term limits
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The lieutenant gov. of Texas, serving in his constitutional role as presiding officer of the Senate
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President of the Texas Senate
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A legislator who serves temporarily as legislative leader in the absence of the Senate president or House speaker.
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Pro-tempore
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The state representative who is elected by his or her fellow representatives to be the official leader of the House
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Speaker of the Texas House
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A subunit of the legislature appointed to work on designated subjects
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committee
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An organization of legislators who are all of the same party, and which is formally allied with a political party.
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Legislative party caucus
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The campaign to determine who shall be the speaker of the Texas House for a given biennium
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Speaker's race
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The legislative scandal of 1969-1972 which resulted in a bribery conviction of the House speaker and others and set the stage for the 1973 reform session
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Sharpstown scandal
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House members who make up the speaker's team, assisting the speaker in leading the House, either informally, or in a role as a committee chair or other institutional leader
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Speker's lieutenants
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The leadership team in the House consisting of the speaker and his or her most trusted allies among the memebers, most of whom the speaker appoints to chair House committees
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Speaker's team
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An organization of legislators that is based on some attribute other thatn party affiliation
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nonparty legislative caucus
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The rule in the Texas Senate requiring that every bill win a vote of 2/3 of the senators present to suspend the senate's regular order of business, so that the bill may be considered
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Senate 2/3 rule
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The process the legislature follows in considering and enacting legislation
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Legislative process
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A legislative document that either proposes an amendment to the Texas Constitution or ratifies an amendment to the US Constitution,
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Joint resolution
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A legislative document proposing an action that affects only the one chamber in which it is being considered, such as a resolution to adopt House rules or to commend a citixen.
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Simple resolution
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A legislative document intended to express the will of both chambers of the legislature, even though it does not possess the authority of the law.
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Concurrent resolution
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The Senate calendar listing bills on which the author or sponsor has given notice of intent to move to suspend the regular order of business in order that the Senate may consider them.
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Intent calendar
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The minimum number required to cinduct business (as in a legislative body)
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Quorum
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The Texas cinstitution requires 3 readings of a bill by the legislature; the bill is introduced, its caption is read aloud and it is referred to committee.
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1st reading
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The Texas Constitution requires 3 readings of a bill by the legislature; the final reading in chamber, unless the bill returns from the other chamber with amendments.
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3rd reading
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The reading of a bill when debate and consideration of amendments occur before the whole chamber
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2nd reading
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Related to the topic
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germane
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A bill that has been given final approval on third reading in one chamber of the legislature.
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Engrossed bill
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A bill that has been given final approval in both chambers of the legislature and is sent to the governor
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Enrolled bill
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A budget in whcih the legislature balances expenditures with expected revenues, with no deficit
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balanced budget
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Government spending in the current budget cycke that exceeds government revenue
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Deficit spending
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The total outstanding amount the gov. owes as a result of borrowing in the past
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Debt
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The authority to move money from one program to another program or from one agency to another agency
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Budget execution authority
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A joint legislative committee (with a large staff) that provides legal advice, bill drafting, copyediting and printing, policy research, adn program evalutaion services for members of the legislature.
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Legislative Council
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A joint legislative committee (w/a large staff) that prepares the state budget and conducts evaluations of agencies' programs.
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Legislative budget board (LBB)
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