Texas Legislature Government Essay

This part of your project assumes you have secured a spot in the Texas legislature, and now you need to figure out what you’ll do!

1. Research the committees of the chamber in which you are running:
   • For the House ( http://www.house.state.tx.us/committees/ ), see the main page that lists the committee’s jurisdiction, then click on “Bills referred,” so you can see the work the committee did in the last legislature.
   • For the state senate (https://senate.texas.gov/cmte-archives.php ). This link takes you to the last legislative sessions’ committee work. When you click on the committee names, you’ll see the “charges” given to each committee — this is the legislative agenda for each committee, and will give you an idea of the issue area focus the committee.
   • I recommend that you complete Ch. 4 first, and incorporate the sections of Texas Politics that discuss committees (sections 4.14 and 4.15, respectively).
2. Choose at least three (3) committees on which you’d serve, if elected.
   1. Explain each committee’s functions (is it substantive or procedural?).
   2. Explain why your placement on these committees is justified. How does it serve you district’s needs? How does it emphasize your experiences/interests?
3. What kind of constituent communication AND service would you be likely to do? What kind of “home style” would you create (and how)? Most Texans do not know who their legislators are. How do you seek to solve that problem? Here’s advice from a PR firm on constituent communication: https://www.hoydenbranding.com/ten-ways-to-improve-communication-with-your-constituents/ Which would you utilize?

See the following for a discussion of what constituent service is, and examples of how a few Texas legislators practice it:

https://www.linafortexas.com/district-77-1

https://www.burnsfortexas.com/constituent-services