In the context of the legislative process, discuss how a bill is referred to committees.
What will be an ideal response?
Answers will vary.As soon as a bill is introduced and assigned a number, it is sent to the appropriate standing committee. In the House, the Speaker assigns the bill to the committee. In the Senate, the presiding officer does so.A committee chairperson will typically send the bill on to a subcommittee. Alternatively, the chairperson may decide to put the bill aside and ignore it. Most bills that are pigeonholed in this manner receive no further action.If a bill is not pigeonholed, committee staff members go to work researching it. The committee may hold public hearings during which people who support or oppose the bill can express their views. Committees also have the power to order witnesses to testify at public hearings. Witnesses may be executive agency officials, experts on the subject, or representatives of interest groups concerned about the bill. The subcommittee must meet to approve the bill as it is, add new amendments, or draft a new bill.This meetingis known as themarkup session.If members cannot reach a consensus on changes, a vote on the changes is taken.When a subcommittee completes its work, the bill goes to the full standing committee, which then meets for its own markup session. The committee may hold its own hearings, amend the subcommittee's version, or simply approve the subcommittee's recommendations.
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Measurement of test results as a consequence of the No Child Left Behind Act is an example of the art of understanding public policy
Indicate whether the statement is true or false.
Some voters show up at the polls because they
A) are required to vote to maintain their citizenship. B) believe they are doing their patriotic duty and receive personal satisfaction from voting. C) have been ordered by the courts to participate in free and open elections. D) need to vote to satisfy religious mandates. E) are required to appear at the polls to receive government benefits.
Which of these statements is most accurate regarding the Texas constitution?
a. it is one of the most organized state constitutions b. its overly flexible nature is reflected in the constant change it has undergone c. it is one of the longest state constitutions in the nation d. one of its strengths is its high degree of detail, spelling out topics all the way down to the county level
In the elite model of public policymaking, opinion making is performed by
a. foundations and universities. b. think tanks. c. government commissions and the media. d. corporations.