preview

Interest Groups in Texas Essay

Better Essays

In this essay I will compare and contrast the different legislative agendas of various interest groups involved with the Texas Government. An interest group (also called an advocacy group, lobbying group, pressure group, or special interest) is a collection of members that are determined to encourage or prevent changes in public policy without trying to be elected. The essay will discuss the four kinds of interest groups, trade, professional, single and public, as well as provide one detailed example of each type. It includes examples from the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, Texas AFT, MADD and TexPIRG interest groups, which are just a few of the many groups in existence out, but it provides an idea of what different types of …show more content…

The Texas AFT wants to influence the legislator because the school districts have been left to try to make up for inadequate state aid by raising local tax rates, even as the state has continued to make it much harder for them to accomplish this. Basically, all they want to do is handle the budget crisis in the school districts of Texas. To analyze the successes and failures of Texas AFT in influencing legislation is short and sweet; school systems are still under budgeted and local taxes are still being raised to help the schools. The only break educators have received was in 2006 with “surplus” dollars tax swap for which the bill is now belatedly coming due. The third interest group of topic is a single interest group called Mothers Against Drunk Driving, also known as MADD. A single interest group is a group of persons working on behalf of or strongly supporting a particular cause, such as an item of legislation, an industry, or a special segment of society. (Answer.com) Mothers against Drunk Driving (MADD) is a non-profit organization seeking to stop drunk driving, support victims of drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and push for stricter alcohol policy overall. MADD was incorporated on September 5, 1980, the purposes of MADD as stated in its Articles of Incorporation were “To aid the victims of crimes performed by individuals driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, to aid

Get Access