Texas Interest Groups Research Paper

Interest groups are organizations that work to influence government policies and programs (Champagne and Harpham 163). These groups can work for one interest or for a multitude of interests. They get their views known to government officials through the use of lobbyist. Which are people that work for the interest group and get on the good side of officials by entertaining them with fancy dinners and activities. These interest groups all wish to have programs and policies passed that reflect their views, which in turn allows the people in these groups to benefit from them (Champagne and Harpham 165-166).
One type of interest group in Texas is professional interest groups. These particular groups work to protect the interest of professionals, such as teachers, accountants, and doctors. An example is the Texas …show more content…
One organization working for the interests of the environment is the Sierra Club (Champagne and Harpham 166). The chapter of the Sierra Club in Texas works for the interests of ensuring the improvement of air quality, the development of cleaner sources of energy, the preservation of the environment and its wildlife, stabilizing the climate, and preserving water. Organizations like the Sierra Club raise awareness for their cause through litigation, educating the public, and voting people into office whose main interest is protecting the environment (“About Us”). A fourth type of interest group in Texas are those that focus on business. These groups sole purpose is promoting the interest of their business’s industry. Since these groups usually have a significant amount of steady funding, it usually allows them to have access to better resources. This in turn also makes business interest groups some of the most influential. They have access to law firms who can represent them and over time they are able to establish connections within government departments (Champagne and Harpham