My classmate, Rebekah Tharp, shared her thoughts on the Texas Legislature. She believes that the legislature should meet annually instead of biannually as they have been for over 20 years. She pointed out that 140 days is not enough time to address all of the issues Texas faces.
I completely agree with her thoughts. As things are today, if an issue needs to be fixed or voted on after the session is over, we have to wait up to two years before it can be fixed. The only way to override that is if the governor calls a special session, which he or she may or may not be inclined to do. Other states have full time legislators. It is there only job and they are well compensated for it. Our representatives are only part time and have other jobs to get back to. If a special session is called, they may not be able to come from all over the state to attend. If that happens, our issues in our state cannot be fully addressed. Not every district is being represented on issues that affect everyone! A full time legislature is imperative to function as a well run state. Until we change how things work, it cannot be fully effective. We are using standards set up decades ago. Texas has changed and our government here should change as well.
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