The three branches of Texas State government Structured much like the Federal Government
Dec 22, 2015
Judicial branch consists of
• Texas Criminal Courts• Texas Civil Courts• Texas Courts of Criminal
Appeals (appeals courts)• Texas Supreme Court• Texas Criminal Justice System
Texas Supreme Court
• The name of the highest court in Texas to hear criminal cases is the Supreme Court
• Nine justices sit on the Texas Supreme Court.
judicial term of office
• Consists of the judges for all courts
• The length of the term of office for the judges of the higher level state courts is six years.
Legislative branch
The Texas Legislature consists of • Texas House of Representatives • Texas Senate
Legislative powers
The Texas Legislature has the power to:
• Propose amendments to the Constitution of Texas.
• Make laws.
• to propose a law to raise revenue (a tax law).
Making laws
• Proposed laws called BILLS are introduced in the House or Senate, then after being sent to committee for consensus, a vote is held.
• If approved, the Bill is sent to the governor for approval…..
To become a LAW• If signed by governor, the Bill becomes a
LAW.
• If not signed-vetoed-it is no law
• If the governor vetoes a bill, the Legislature can override the veto with two-thirds vote.
Legislative service
The length of a term of office for members of the Texas House of Representatives is two years.
Texas Senate
• The length of the term of office for members of the Texas Senate is four years
• Thirty-one senators serve in the Texas Senate.
• One must be at least 26 years old to be elected to the Texas Senate.
Financing
The Texas Legislature is responsible for maintaining a balanced state budget.
It does this through
• Taxes
• Licenses
• fees
impeachment
• The Texas Legislature has the sole power of impeachment (removing someone from office.)
• Only one Texas governor has been impeached-”Pa” Ferguson