Orlando Torres
The Texas Governor
Government differs from every state, some states allow the Governor to have a lot of freedom, but unlike other states our government has restrictions on the power of the Governor. “The office of governor gets the most attention in state government, and most people think it comes with a great sense of power” (Gibson & Robinson, 2013, p.186). “But, the term “chief executive” is inaccurate, due to constitutional restrictions” (ibid). These restrictions have made the Texas governor weak. This weakness has been around for years and does not look like it will be changing anytime soon.
The Texas Government is structured similar
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to the United States, they are both divided into three branches, the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. The executive branch is composed of the governor, lieutenant-governor, and the attorney. The legislative branch is composed of the House and the Senate and the Judicial branch is composed of the Supreme Court. “In the executive branch, the governor has the power to appoint the secretary of state, vetoing bills, and conveying special sessions” (Gibson & Robinson, 2013, p.192). The lieutenant governor, who is the second highest ranking official in Texas, presides over debate and oversees the movement of legislation through the chamber. “Although he can’t vote he works with advocates in the senate to introduce the legislation for him” (Gibson & Robinson, 2013, p.211). Also in the executive branch, the attorney serves as a counselor to their legislatures and state agencies. In the legislative branch, the house is one of congress’s two chambers, that makes and passes federal laws. The Senate is the other chamber that writes and votes on new laws call “bills”. A bill must be voted on and passed by both the Senate and the House, and be signed by the President to become a law. Finally, the judicial branch is composed of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is the final judge in all cases involving laws of Congress, and the highest of all law the Constitution. The Texas Governor is the chief executive of the state, he or she is elected by the people every four years.
“Unlike the president of the United States and the forty-four governors of other states, the governor of Texas does not have a formal appointive cabinet to carry out policy on the governmental bureaucracy and shares the executive function with other elected officials” (Gibson & Robinson, 2013, p.186). Our Texas Governor must be a resident of Texas five years prior to the election date and must be at least 30 years of age. “The Texas Governor’s office is often referred to as weak because of the revision of the Texas Constitution, many of the duties of the Governor changed and hence made the Governor’s office weak” (Texas Politics, 2012). The way it was set up was for the legislature specifically, people like the Lieutenant Governor and the speaker of the house, who control the Senate and House in the legislature. “It allowed them to have a little bit more control in terms of setting what bills can get passed and what bills can make it to the governor’s desk” (Staff, K, …show more content…
2017) Even though the Texas Governor is referred to as weak, they still have some power.
“Due to the new constitution retaining the plural executive, which is a fragmented system of authority under which executive officeholders are elected independently of the governor, the Governor is only allowed to appoint the Secretary of State and the members of State Agency boards and commissions” (Texas Politics,2012) Some other roles of the Texas Governor include, making policy recommendations, signing and vetoing bills, estimating taxation, granting reprieves and commutations, declaring special elections, appointing people to state offices, serving as a commander-in-chief of the military, delivering reports on the states conditions, recommending budgets, and conveying special sessions for specific purposes. “Not only can the governor veto bills, but the way our legislative is set up and the way our veto rules are set up, the governor usually vetoes about a week after the lawmakers have left Austin” (Staff, K, 2017). Lawmakers cannot come back as a legislative body unless the governor calls them back, and when he does they can only work on what he tells them they are allowed to work on. “The governor also has line-item veto authority over the budget of the state” (Gibson & Robinson, 2013, p.195). The governor of Texas has the strongest veto power of any other governor. “The Line-item veto means the governor can get rid of specific spending items without vetoing the entire bill” (ibid).
“All other bills have to be completely accepted or completely rejected” (ibid). Although, it may seem as if the governor does not have much power some of the power they do have happens to be very strong. Over the years constitutional amendments have loosened a few restrictions on the executive branch like voters approving an amendment giving the legislature the authority to raise the governor’s salary, another amendment expanded the term of office for the governor and most other statewide executive officeholders to four years, and the governor was given the power to remove persons from boards and commissions whom the governor had personally appointed. Although these changes loosened the restrictions, the governor will still be referred to as a weak position. The term “chief executive” will remain an inaccurate statement regarding the governor’s power. This weakness has been around forever and will not be changing anytime soon. Works Cited Gibson, L. T., & Robison, C. (2013). Government and politics in the Lone Star State Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson. Texas Politics - The Executive Branch. (2012, September). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from http://www.laits.utexas.edu/txp_media/html/exec/index.html Staff, K. (2017, May 2). How Powerful Is The Texas Governor Compared To Other State Governors? Retrieved November 20, 2017, from http://kut.org/post/howpowerful-texas-governor-compared-other-state-governors
The government officials have a scope of duties that they are required deal. The governor may create the budget, appoint executive boards, and declare martial law, so the scope of the governor’s duties range from budget to martial law. I believe citizens will find the budget very important because that is where their tax money is and people typically want to know where that is going. The lieutenant governor is the president of the Senate, which according to the textbook by Benson, Clinkscale, and Giardino, “many political scientist believe…is the most powerful position in the state,” (218). The senate is a part of the Texas legislature, so making laws is very important to the public because the citizens are the ones who have to abide by the law. The attorney general is elected by the public and basically the state’s lawyer, so his issues are important to the people because he deals with making laws (Benson, Clinkscale, and Giardino 220). The comptroller is “the state’s chief accountant and financial officer,” so the public should be interested in the financial aspects of the state (Benson, Clinkscale, and Giardino 221). The land commissioner manages leases and the state’s public land, so the issues that are under the title may not be as important as the comptroller or lieutenant governor’s
It was a remarkable coup Texas least three of their own to serve as an important adviser in the cabinet of Wilson. Because of one-party rule in the state, members of parliament from southern Texas and can build seniority and gain positions of power simply by being elected and reelected in a noncompetitive political environment. During Wilson, the state lost power in the national government by the establishment of the Federal Reserve system and some constitutional amendment allowed the direct election of senators, Range Women's right to vote, and allowing for a federal income tax was
The people of Texas are diverse and carry their “big can-do attitudes and accents” (Pearson); making Texas a bigger than life state. The political culture of Texas is impacted by two different subgroups of individualistic and traditionalistic characteristics. The combination of traditionalism and individualism has had a huge impact on the state and Texas’ seven different constitutions. The shift in power between 1827 and 1876 has impacted the political diversity Texas has today. Looking at the specifics of these subcultures, the traditionalists believe government should benefit the wealthy and powerful, and that government services must be limited.
Texas is an intricate state with deep roots embedded in limited government authority. Almost all, Texans, favor the limited government between citizens and state. The two most important cultures in Texas are individualistic and traditionalistic culture. Individualistic views are summoned by limited government and that politics are the root of malicious acts, and is usually responded with negative reactions from the community. The individualistic cultures’ vision is egotistical for ones self-interest. The individualistic culture is viewed as priority in private independent business rather that those of the community as a whole. Unlike individualistic views, traditionalistic culture is motioned by conservatism. This cultures vision is supported by the common wealth of society’s privileged. Its beliefs are usually of distrust in its bureaucracy. Traditionalistic culture maintains an obligation to its family hierarchy. The traditionalistic subculture has a lower voting turn out rate compared to the opposition. These distinctive cultures were bestowed upon Texans in the 1800’s, when Texas was changing into a diverse and demographically society. Individualistic and traditionalistic cultures are the outline of ideology and certainty to the way Texas government is administrated. This has a huge impact on the way the Texas structures its government and why people support such a structure. And Texas is viewed as both subcultures.
The Governor of Texas needs to not only be a citizen of the United States, but also reside in Texas for at least five years immediately preceding the election in order to fully understand the policies Texas residents’ are dealing with, the culture of Texas, as well as how Texas’ political decision impacts the rest of the nation. Both the President and the Governor are required to give an address to the legislatures, which cover very similar topics. The President’s State of the Union address “…recommends to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient;” while the Governor of Texas gives the Condition of the State in which, “…he shall recommend to the Legislature such measures as
Texas went through a great amount of political change from being dominated by the Democratic Party during the 1960s and 70s, from the Republican Party taking over in the 80s. One of the big reasons for this change was due to the political party’s views. Throughout this essay I will discuss the changes of the political stances in Texas as well as the present day factors that affect America.
With wonderful learning opportunities, a team of sharp and intelligent classmates and teachers, and specialized equipment, the Governor’s School at Innovation Park is the ultimate dream of all determined math/science devotees. With my natural curiosity for mathematics and science and eagerness to take on challenging ideas, I can collaborate with the team at Governor’s School to develop our wide spectrum of ideas and abilities into a highly sophisticated product.
Unlike the United States Executive Branch, where the President of the United States appoints his cabinet, the Executive Department of the State of Texas is all elected by the public with the exception of the Secretary of State and the State Board of Education, which are appointed. With this power being distributed by the voters, it makes the Executive Branch less powerful than the other two branches in the state. This weakness in the branch was even stated in a Wall Street Journal article by Jonathan Weisman in 2011, “By constitutional design that dates to Reconstruction, Texas has a weak governorship. In addition to the legislature, power is diffused among 270 agencies, boards and commissions”. This statement alone certainly conveys that the Executive Branch has clearly been weaker than the other two branches of authority in the State of Texas.
Functioning under the Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, it works as representative of the people of Texas, and has powers which can only be limited by the Texas and United States constitutions and valid federal laws. The legislative department is also the state 's policing branch, which promotes and safeguards the safety, health, morals, and welfare of the citizens of Texas. In addition, it has the traditional legislative power of the purse (to tax, spend, and borrow money for public purposes), and to organize and confer powers on the executive and the judiciary departments only as much as they are allowed in the Texas Constitution. Legislative powers of the State of Texas are under The House of Representatives and a Senate, which combine to make the Legislature of the State. The head of the House of Representatives is the Speaker of the house and who currently is Honorable Joe Straus. He is selected by the members of the House of Representatives from among their ranks and his main duties include conducting meetings of the House, appointing committees, and enforcing the Rules of the House. The proceedings in the Senate are run by the current Lieutenant Governor, Honorable Dan Patrick, who was elected by a statewide vote. He is the one who controls the work of the Texas Senate and controls the budgeting process as a leader of the Legislative Budget Board. Under the Texas
Texas politics is an interesting ecosystem of power, rules and regulations. Of course, in typical Texas fashion, most of the politics we engage in we do our own way. From governors who stay in office for a decade to our extremely diverse demographics, Texas is extremely unique. This uniqueness of course comes with its critics, benefits, and downsides. This is particularly true with the Texas Court system compared to both the federal courts and many other states.
The constitution establish major governing institutions, assign institution’s power, place explicit and implicit control on power granted. All this gives the political legitimacy. The U.S constitution gives the base model for state constitution for Texas.
The government of the state of Texas is a difficult and complicated institution that is composed of many different levels. The question comes in to everyone's mind at one time or another whether or not to trust the government. It could be that people believe that the officials will take advantage of their power, or simply people don't like the idea of being controlled by someone who is not a family member or friend. To avoid this centralized power, the government is divided into stages and this is a reasonable ground for trusting the government. Government runs this state and it does deserve to be trusted.
Democrats, Republicans, and Libertarians are perhaps three of the most prominent political parties within Texas. Within the pages of their party platforms, we see that each possesses a unique philosophy, with specific viewpoints and recommendations for shaping or reforming government policy. To be sure, the people of Texas face many challenges, two of the most compelling issues being the crisis in healthcare and in education. Not only are we lacking in these areas as Texans, but also on the national level. The parties’ stance on these two major issues defines them, giving us insight into the mind and intentions of each.
The funding of public education has long been an issue for the state government of Texas. Starting before Texas was even a state, public education funding was at the forefront of politicians’ minds. In 1836, one of the reasons Anglo-Texans wanted to become independent from Mexico was Mexico’s lack of a public school system (An Overview of the History of Public Education in Texas, 2016). This drove the desire of President Mirabeau B. Lamar of the Republic of Texas to create legislation that would grant public schools land (A Brief History of Public Education, n.d.). This act set aside four leagues of land per county for the use of free education centers and thus began the funding of public education by the state government (An Overview of the History of Public Education in Texas, 2016). In the last 177 years, the Texas Legislature and the Texas Education Agency have created numerous acts and laws regarding the funding of education, but it has been in the last 50 years that this topic has become highly contested, resulting in several lawsuits and endless efforts (by the school districts) to equalize the distribution of funds to Texas school districts (Texas School Finance History, n.d.). In sum, the complex issues and policies that surround the funding of public education are derived from a combination of the legislature, bureaucratic agencies, and local governments in the form of school districts.
He expanded services to handicapped Texans by the department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, and established the first toll-free hotline for runaway children. He appointed a larger number of women and minorities than any previous administration, and appointed the first African American members to state boards and appointed the first African American district judge. No new state taxes were passed during Briscoe's terms as governor, making him the first governor since World War II to hold the line on new state taxes or increasing existing state taxes. Briscoe restore integrity back to Texas state government and left a number of achievements and landmarks event when he retired out of office. Briscoe was the first Texas governor to serve a four-term, making his political career as Texas governor for six years. In 1978 Briscoe lost and was denied for a third