Review and Change of the Texas Legislative Process
There should be a review and eventual change of the Texas legislative process. First, the Texas legislature should scrap off the biennial sessions and make it a full-time legislature. The main reason for effecting the change is because full-time legislators are more committed and are more productive than part-time legislators. Texas legislators meet for 140 days after every two years where they amend laws or make new ones (Texas House of Representatives, 2018). It would not be easy for most employers to give their employees, who happen to be members of the senate legislature, a five-month leave to go and perform legislative functions. Some legislators may even lose the trust of their employers and lose their jobs. Setting up one's own business could be the best option for most legislators, but not everyone can succeed in business. This creates a picture that Texas lawmakers often need to hassle so much to meet their needs. They live by working for part-time jobs and may be financially unstable. This is dangerous for someone who has been chosen by voters to represent them in the Texas legislature.
The Process of Passing a Bill in Texas
The process a bill goes through from the time a member sponsors it to the time the governor signs it into law is appropriate and effective for Texas. It is lengthy but ensures that the bills passed into law are necessary and not mere acts of politics. Statistics indicate that most bills die at the committee stage, meaning that they do not help in solving Texas problems or have a potential of benefitting few individuals. The process is also okay because serious decisions on controversial issues such as whether to legalize abortion have to pass through strict avenues before making final decisions.
References
Texas House of Representatives. (2018). How A Bill Becomes A Law. Retrieved from Texas House of Representatives: http://www.house.state.tx.us/about-us/bill/
