Texas should consider adopting total-fourth dimension Legislature

2014-11-25_Legislative_Session_Stephaie

After the inefficiency of this yr's legislative session, it is clear that the Texas Legislature needs a change. Texas should consider adopting a full-time legislature for 3 reasons. First, the number of bills that die every session is too many. 2nd, our large state population demands more only a part-time commitment. Third, it would better facilitate the passage of legislation beneficial to the state.

By the adjournment of the 84th Legislature, 5,797 bills out of xi,332 died in the process, including many worthy ones. The Legislature failed to pass significant ideals reform, which was 1 of the top-five priorities for Gov. Greg Abbott.  They failed to laissez passer HB fourscore, which would have created a statewide texting-while-driving ban. They besides failed to pass legislation that would have created statewide regulations for Uber and Lyft.  Because of the part-time and biennial structure of the Texas Legislature, these bills won't be heard once again for nearly ii years, if at all.

Many of these bills died due to the time constraint of the legislative session, which is limited to 140 days in every odd number year, likewise as thirty-day special sessions chosen as needed by the governor. Texas ranks 11th in American states whose legislatures meet least frequently and has the simply role-fourth dimension Legislature among the seven near populous states in the Union. A part-time legislature made sense when the Texas Legislature first convened in 1846, when the population was less than 150,000. The same cannot be said now, every bit Texas is the 2d most populous state in the land.

Many of the laws that made it onto Abbott'due south desk could have been passed final year, if not earlier, if we had a Legislature that met annually. Some support the current construction of Texas's biennial Legislature because they appreciate limited authorities with legislators that are still individual citizens since legislators could not survive on a meager legislative salary of $seven,200 during legislative years and $28,200 during years with special sessions. However, express government does not have to exist bars to a biennial schedule.

For case, the Legislature could encounter for seventy days each year, and hasten the process of filing new bills. Additionally, since the Capitol is open 360 days per year anyway, it does not toll the state much to hold additional days of legislative session, so seventy-day annual sessions are not the only option. In fact, sometime Gov. Rick Perry called many special sessions during his governorship. Thus, since Texas sometimes has special sessions to accept care of unfinished concern, we might as well increase the number of days our Legislature meets to reduce the need for special sessions.

It does non brand sense that Texas must wait another two years while Texans die at the hand of those who text and drive. It does not make sense to factor a cost estimate for two years when you can make more than accurate almanac estimates. Nosotros saw this in 2011, when former Comptroller Susan Combs underestimated the two-year budget by as much every bit $12 billion. As a result of Combs'due south inaccurate judge, the Legislature cut $5 billion from public instruction, which led to 25,000 school employee layoffs. Additionally, Texas does non alive up to its reputation of being conservative and pro-business, when businesses such as Uber and Lyft take to look another ii years before trying, over again, to pass legislation that would streamline their regulations statewide.

Understandably, 139-year-old arrangement is hard to change, and by attempts to change it have not gotten far. Moving Texas from a part-fourth dimension Legislature to a full-time Legislature would require a constitutional amendment, which is a daunting task.

"The basic problem of constitutional design for Texas is to create a governing construction for a state in which most of the citizens do not vote, and those who do vote are irrational in the sense that they want regime to practice many things for them," government professor David Prindle said.

Voters would certainly prefer a Legislature that tin accost problems equally quickly and accurately as possible, although they may exist in favor of part-time legislators. Accordingly, we are left asking how many more important bills need to die, upkeep revenues need to be wrongly estimated and Texans need to exist harmed by the current status quo for voters and legislators to finally do what is best for the land? What is best for the state is for the Legislature to meet every single year.

Hung is a 2d yr constabulary student from Brownsville.