Texas Politics & Government: Ideas and Institutions

In a prior post, I noted the distinction among several types or kinds of representation. In that post, I considered the degree to which each political party represents the people of Texas in the Texas legislature. In this post, I want to give you an idea of how I plan to approach substantive representation. As noted in the previous post, substantive representation involves the degree to which the representatives are like the people they represent in terms of public policy. In this post, I will examine one issue, enacted by the 82 nd Texas legislature. As described by the House Research Organization, House Bill 15 requires each abortion provider to perform a sonogram on a woman seeking an abortion. The sonogram must be performed at least 24 hours before the abortion or two hours before the abortion if the woman lives at least 100 miles from the nearest abortion facility. The physician must provide verbal explanations of the images and the heart auscultation, which must be vis...

In his 2013 State of the State address, Governor Perry stated that education spending had increased during the last decade. He stated: Over the past decade, the state's share of public education spending increased from $11 billion per year to $20 billion in '09. That's an 82% increase. Part of our push for accountability has included a sharper focus on the basics like math, science, English & social studies. Those efforts are paying off in the lives of our young people. For example, Texas has been recognized as one of only four states closing the achievement gap in math. On the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress, Texas children scored significantly higher than their peers. The quality of education in our state is getting better and better preparing hardworking Texans to apply their legendary work ethic and provide for their families. Is Perry correct, and more importantly, does it accurately reflect the position of education in Texa...