"As I've learned in my time in the state legislature, important legislation is always a work in progress."
Marco Rubio
A general overview
Texas Legislature has short, infrequent sessions, and in those sessions, legislators try to find solutions to Texas problems by approving or denying bills, depending on how good or necessary they think it is (Maxwell, Crain, Santos. Texas Politics Today, page 189). In the case of transportation, there are many bills that want to help improve transportation in the state or modify it in some way, so the legislators just have to choose the ones that seem better and that’s it. It looks simple right? Well, it is actually not that easy. There are many steps a bill has to go through in order for it to become a law. This is why the majority of bills does not become laws.
STEPS FOR A BILL TO BECOME A LAW
STEP 1: The Creation of a Bill.
Members of the House or Senate draft, sponsor and introduce bills for consideration by Congress. |
Step 2: Committee Action.
A committee is assigned to study the bill according to its subject matter. Often a committee will refer the bill to one of its subcommittees. |
STEP 3: Floor Action.
The bill is returned to the full House or Senate for further debate and approval. |
STEP 4: Vote.
House and Senate members vote on their respective versions of the proposed bill. |
STEP 5: Conference Committees.
A bill must be approved by both Chambers of Congress. The two Chambers may begin to resolve any legislative differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill by way of a conference committee. |
STEP 6: Presidential Action.
After the bill is passed by both Chambers it is sent to the President for his approval or his signature, which if granted creates a Public Law. (Zero to Three) |
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Why is it hard for a bill to become a law?
It is very unlikely for a bill to have enough votes in just one chamber, and the situation gets worse if the approval of the two chambers is needed. The process itself is designed to prevent deficient bills to become laws, and this is why every bill is constantly revised and voted.
But this is not the only thing that could sentence the fate of a bill. Political interests and parties control can play a more important role in these cases. Currently, the Republican party is the one controlling both the Senate and the House, and this republican dominance is constant in this state, so bills that don't support their ideas have it almost impossible to pass.
But this is not the only thing that could sentence the fate of a bill. Political interests and parties control can play a more important role in these cases. Currently, the Republican party is the one controlling both the Senate and the House, and this republican dominance is constant in this state, so bills that don't support their ideas have it almost impossible to pass.
how to use this as an advantage?
We have seen already that political culture and voter turnout (or participation) play a significant role on the decisions made about transportation, but legislature may be even more important, as at the end of the day, people there are who decide which bill passes and which doesn't. So in summary, if we want to have a future impact on transportation, either with bills or proposals, we need to have in consideration that our idea has to satisfied the three points discussed along these articles.
In the best case, if we have the support of people who vote (elder, wealthy, educated), the dominant political culture (individualism), and the dominant party in the state (republican), we have a lot of possibilities to succeed.
In the best case, if we have the support of people who vote (elder, wealthy, educated), the dominant political culture (individualism), and the dominant party in the state (republican), we have a lot of possibilities to succeed.