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75 Cards in this Set
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constituency
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the residents in the area from which and official is elected
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bicameral
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having a legislative assembly composed of two chambers or houses; opposite of unicameral
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sociological representation
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representatives that have the same racial, gender, ethnic and religious backgrounds as their constituents
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agency representation
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representatives is held accountable to a constituency if he or she fails to represent that constituency properly
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incumbency
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holding a political office for which one is running
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term limits
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legally prescribed limits on the number of terms an elected official can serve
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apportionment
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the process, occurring after every decennial census, that allocates congressional seats among the fifty states
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redistricting
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the process of redrawing election districts and redistributing legislative representatives
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gerrymandering
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apportionment of voters in districts in such a way as to give unfair advantage to one racial or ethnic group or political party
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patronage
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the resources available to higher officials, usually opportunities to make partisan appointments to offices and to confer grants, licenses or special favors to supporters
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pork barrel
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appropriations made by legislative bodies for local projects that are often not needed but that are created so that local reps can win re-election in their home districts
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private bill
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a proposal in congress to provide a specific person with some kind of relief, such as a special exemption from immigration quotas
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conference
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a gathering of House Republicans every two years to elect their house leaders, democrats call theirs a caucus
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caucus (political)
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a normally closed meeting of a political or legislative group to select candidates, plan strategy, or make decisions regarding legislative matters
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speaker of the house
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presiding office of the house of reps, most important party and house leader
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majority leader
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the elected leader of house or senate, subordinate to speaker of house if in same party
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minority leader
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the elected leader of the minority party in House or Senate
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whip
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a party member in the House or senate responsible for coordinating the party's legislative strategy, building support for key issues, and counting votes
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standing committee
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a permanent committee with the power to propose and write legislation that covers a particular subject. such as finance or agriculture
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select committee
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a (usually) temporary legislative committee set up to highlight or investigate a particular issue or address and issue not within the jurisdiction of existing committees
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staff agency
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a legislative support agency responsible for party analysis
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caucus (congressional)
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an association of members of congress based on party, interest, or social group, such as gender or race
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bill
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a proposed law that has been sponsored by a member of congress and submitted to the clerk of the house or senate
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committee markup
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session in which a congressional committee rewrites legislation to incorporate changes discussed during the hearing on the bill
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closed rule
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a provision by the House rules committee limiting or prohibiting the introduction of amendments during debate
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open rule
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a provision by the House rules committee that permits floor debate and the addition of new amendments to a bill
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filibuster
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a tactic used by member of senate to prevent action legislation they opposed by holding the floor and speaking until majority backs down
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cloture
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a rule allowing a majority of two thirds or three fifths of the members of a legislative body to set a time limit on debate over a given bill
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veto
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the presidents constitutional power to turn down acts of congress. can be overridden by a 2/3 vote of each house of congress
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pocket veto
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a presidential veto that is automatically triggered if the president does not act on a piece of legislature in the last 10 days of a session
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party unity vote
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a roll call vote in the house or senate in which at least 50 percent of the members of one party take a particular position and are opposed by at least 50 percent of the members of the other party
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roll call vote
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a vote in which each legislator's yes or no vote is recorded as the clerk calls the names of the members of the alphabet
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logrolling
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a legislative practice whereby agreements are made between legislators in voting or against a bill; vote trading
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oversight
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the efforts by congress through hearings and investigations to exercise control over the activities of exec agencies
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appropriations
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the amounts of money approved by congress in statutes (bills) that each unit or agency of govt can spend
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executive agreement
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an agreement, made between the president and another country, that has the force of a treaty but does not require the senate's advice or consent
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impeachment
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the formal charge by the house of reps that a govt official has committed treason, bribery, or other high crimes
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delegate
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a representative who votes according to the preference of his or her constituents
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trustee
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a representative who votes based on what he or she thinks is best for his or her constituency
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bicameral
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having a legislative assembly composed of two chambers or houses
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regular session
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the 140-day period during which the Texas legislature meets to consider and pass bills; occurs only in odd numbered years
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biennial
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occurring every two years
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special session
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a legislative session called by the governor that addresses an agenda set by him or her and that lasts no longer than thirty days
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bill
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a proposed law that has been sponsored by a member of the legislature and submitted to the clerk of the house or senate
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local bill
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a bill affecting only units of local govt, such as a city, county or special district
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special bill
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a bill that gives an individual or corporation a special exemption from state law
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general bill
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a bill that applies to all people and/ or property in the state
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resolution
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a proposal that deals with the internal workings of the government
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concurrent resolution
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a resolution of interests to both chambers or the legislature and which must pass both the house and senate and generally signed by governor
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joint resolution
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a resolution, commonly a proposed amendment to the Texas constitution or ratification of an amendment to the US constitution that must pass both the house and senate but does not need the governors signature
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simple resolution
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a resolution that concerns only the Texas house or senate such as the adoption of a rule or the appointment of an employee and which does not require the governors signature
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constituent powers
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efforts made by members of a legislature on behalf of his or her constituency
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constituent
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a person living in the district from which an official is elected
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electoral powers
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the legislature's mandated role in counting returns in the elections for governor and lieutenant governor
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investigative powers
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the power, exercised by the house, the senate or both chambers jointly to investigate problems facing the state
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direct and supervisory powers
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the legislatures power over the executive branch; for example, the legislature determines the size of the appropriations for state agencies
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judicial powers
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the power of the house to impeach and of the senate to convict members of the executive and judicial branches of state government
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impeachment (TEXAS)
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according to the Texas constitution the formal charge by the house of reps that leads to a trial in the senate and possible removal of state official
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introduction
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the first step in the legislative process during which a member of the legislature gets an idea for a bill and files a copy of it with the clerk of the house or secretary of the senate
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referral
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the second step in the legislative process during which a bill is assigned to the appropriate standing committee by the speaker (house bills) or the lieutenant governor (for senate bills)
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consideration by standing committee
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the third step in the legislative process, during which a bill is killed, amended, or heard by a standing committee
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floor action
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the fourth step in the legislative process, during which a bill referred by a standing committee is scheduled for floor debate by the calenders committee
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conference committee
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a joint committee created to work out a compromise on house and senate versions of a piece of legislation
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action by governor
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the final step in the legislative process, during which the governor either signs, vetoes, or refuses to a bill
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standing committee (TEXAS)
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a permanent committee with the power to propose and write legislation that covers a particular subject, such as finance or agriculture
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pigeonholing
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a step in the legislative process during which a bill is killed by the chair of the standing committee to which it was referred, as a result of his or her setting the bill aside and not bringing it before the committee
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filibuster (TEXAS)
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a tactic used by members of the senate to prevent action on legislation they oppose by continuously holding the floor and speaking until the majority backs down. Once given the floor, senators have unlimited time to speak, and it requires a vote of three-fifths of the senate to end a filibuster
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veto (TEXAS)
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according to the Texas constitution, the governor's power to turn down legislation; can be overridden by a two-thirds vote of both the house and senate
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post-adjournment veto
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a veto of a bill that occurs after the legislature adjourns, thus preventing the legislature from overriding it
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line-item veto
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the power of the executive to veto specific provisions (lines) of an appropriations bill passed by the legislature
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speaker
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the chief presiding officer of the house of reps
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recognition
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the speaker of the house's power to control floor debate by recognizing who can speak before the house
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single-member district
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an electorate that is allowed to select only one representative from each district
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redistricting
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the process of redrawing the election districts and redistributing legislative reps, happens every 10 years
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one person, one vote principle
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the principle that all districts should have roughly equal populations
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