Educational Resources
The Texas Constitution
Links
Graphics
- How the U.S. Constitution distributes power
- Texas Constitutions with links to originals
- Images of the flags flown over Texas
- Capitol has changed with the constitution
- U.S. Constitution Civil War amendments
- Constitutional Convention of 1875
- Biography of Governor E.J. Davis
- Trends in state constitutional change
- Model state constitution
- A look at the sizes of state constitutions
- Table of contents: U.S. and Texas Constitutions
- Bills of Rights from the U.S., Texas, and UN
- Edgewood ISD v. Kirby
- Comparing turnout in constitutional elections
- Proposed constitutional amendments since 1879
- U.S. and Texas amendment processes
- Comparing homestead exemption in the states
- Local government in the Texas Constitution
- Counties in the Texas Constitution
- Trying to rewrite the Texas Constitution
The Legislative Branch
Graphics
- Legislature Age Profile
- Legislative salaries and staff
- Organizing the Legislature: Legislative Caucuses
- The Partisan Composition of the Texas Legislature
- Percentage of Women in the Texas House and Senate, 1923 - 2013
- Race and Ethnicity in the Texas Legislature
- Incumbency and Turnover - The Texas Legislature and the U.S. Congress
- Legislature age and occupation profiles
- Constitutional redistricting provisions
- Texas State House Districts, 2003-2012
- US House Districts in Texas, 2004-2012
- Texas State Senate Districts, 2003-2012
- Redistricting Texas Style
- One Person, Less Than One Vote
- 82nd Legislature Summary
- Legislative Committees of the 83rd Legislature, 2013-2014
- Warchests of House Committee Chairs
- The Legislative Process in Texas
- Bills Passed: Signed or Vetoed
- Referendum and recall in the states
Maps
Slideshows
The Executive Branch
Graphics
- Making the Cut: Qualifications
- Compensation of Governors and President
- Who's Next?: Order of Succession
- Trying to Lead: Policy Powers of Executives
- Spreading the Power Around
- Limits on governor's powers
- Gubernatorial appointee application form
- Presidential appointee application form
- Powers of Number Two Executives
- Public lands managed by General Land Office
- Republican Elected Officials, 1974-2002
- Characteristics: Texas Governors Since 1874
The Justice System
Graphics
- Texas court caseloads by court and case type
- Crimes and punishments
- Organization of Texas courts
- Comparing Texas and U.S. court caseloads
- Appellate judge terms compared
- Appellate Court districts
- Profiling Texas Judges
- Different methods of selecting judges
- Different groups judge the justice system
- Houston attorneys: selecting Texas judges
- Public opinion about confidence in police
- Criminal procedure in Texas
- Sample Jury Summons
- Executions carried out in Texas and the US
- Geography and ethnicity of Texas death row
- Profiling Texas prison inmates
- Rating crime in the U.S., Texas, and the South
- Texas corrections facilities
- Texas prison budgets
- Cruel and unusual punishment: Ruiz
- Texas and U.S. incarceration rates
- Building prison capacity
- Crime, the most important problem?
Bureaucracy
Graphics
- State government employment and payroll
- Government employment in Texas counties
- Reinventing government
- Expenditures of the state of Texas by function
- A diagram of the policy making process
- The science of 'muddling through'
- Recommendations from the Sunset Commission
- Sunset review schedule through 2015
- Iron triangles, aka subgovernments
- Theories of economic regulation
- Special sessions of the legislature
- Taxonomy of bureaucratic leadership
- Bureaucracy responds to child support problem
- Government employment across the states
- Federal employment across the states
- Politics of CHIPping in
- Federal aid to state agencies
- Federal money earmarked for Texas
- Federal money earmarked for states
Interest Groups
Links
Graphics
- Interest group influence in the states
- Financing of professional sports stadiums
- Political capacity in the grass roots
- Interest group diversity
- Texas interests go to Washington
- Organizing for change
- Non-profit organizations and politics
- Effective political action
- Interests lobbying the Texas legislature
- Interests lobbying Texas government
- Ten Commandments of lobbying
- A guide to constructive confrontation
- Civil disobedience and non-violent action
Voters, Campaigns, and Elections
Graphics
- The 2000 election: Bush/Gore by county
- Getting on the primary ballot
- Turnout across election types
- The demographics of voting
- Rates of participation in Texas and the U.S.
- State voter residency requirements
- Reasons for not voting
- Smith vs. Allwright: white primaries
- Presidential and midterm election turnout
- Black elected officials in Texas, 1970-2000
- Latino elected officials in Texas, 1974-2003
- Cumulative voting in Texas
- Voting rules and election outcomes
- Congressional and Texas legislative fundraising
- On the stump (stump speeches)
- Campaign media costs, 2004
- U.S./Texas campaign contribution limits
- Contributions to Texas candidates
- Free media versus earned media
Political Parties
Graphics
- Yellow Dog and Blue Dog Democrats
- Money and votes in Texas
- The Texas Delegation to the United States House of Representatives 1845-2013
- Decline of Democratic dominance in Texas
- The rise of the Republican South
- Ideology in the Texas Congressional Delegation
- Increase in Republican elected officials
- Party organization in Texas
- Suggestions for organizing your precinct
- Weblogs: participatory, online forums
- Party identification in Texas
- Demographics of race and ethnicity in Texas
Political Economy
Graphics
- State government employment and payroll
- Government employment in Texas counties
- Reinventing Government
- Expenditures of the state of Texas by function
- A diagram of the policy making process
- The science of 'muddling through'
- Recommendations from the Sunset Commission
- Sunset review schedule through 2015
- Iron triangles, aka subgovernments
- Theories of economic regulation
- archive/html/pec/features/0400_01/slide1.html
- Taxonomy of bureaucratic leadership
- Bureaucracy responds to child support problem
- Government employment across the states
- Federal employment across the states