Roles and Function of the Texas Legislature Term Paper

Roles and Function of the Texas Legislature - Term Paper Example The constitution divides the United States’ Congress into the Senate and the House of Representatives. Of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives, the Texas State has 36 representatives for each district (Agnew, 2008). Every state is apportioned a number of seats in the House depending on the state’s population proportion in the country (Agnew, 2008). Reapportionment occurs every ten years following a census. The reapportionment involves deciding which districts within the state get to have representative members of Congress following a decennial census (Agnew, 2008). The process also involves redistricting which involves redrawing of the district lines in the respective state to serve a two-year term. The Texas legislature passes reapportionment bills, which amend the state apportioned counties to both the Senate and the House of Representatives. The state’s legislature also lines up representatives for the Senate.Through the appointment of representatives to the U.S Congress, the Texas Legislature helps to represent the political agenda of the state in Congress. The representatives in the both the Senate and the House of Representatives have voting power on all matters of the Constitution. It is their function to ensure they represent the views of their constituents in Congress. The Texas legislature also helps shape the political landscape of the entire nation. Members of both the Senate and House of Representative vote on certain constitutional issues.