The Texas Governor
As elections closely approach in the state of Texas, a significant amount of attention is placed on the candidates who are running for the position of Texas Governor. However, it is likely that the majority of voters overestimate the power that the governor truly holds in the executive branch. Texans tend to largely focus on the Governor’s office and ignore the others because the Texas Governor is the most recognizable state official. In other words, the Texas Governor holds the position of being a symbolic leader that utilizes their limited power to influence policies and politics.
The Texas Governor has many restrictions in regards to the power that they are able to exercise as a result of the limitations outlined in
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the Texas constitution. These restrictions solemnly regard to the governor of Texas that, “unlike the U.S president… must share executive power with the other executive officers.” (Texas Politics). That being said, the governor undeniably holds a weak office that is dependent on the rest of the executive office. The intention of the instalment of these shared powers was to distribute the power, that was originally reserved to the governor, to various officials in what is known to be the plural executive. This decision strips the power of the Texas Governor to have direct authority over electing the officials that coincide with the Texas system put in place. Many Texans undeniably demonstrate a significant amount of importance towards the Texas Governor as opposed to the rest of the officials in the executive branch due to the fact that even though the governor proves to possess little power; the Texas Governor is known as the face of this plural executive. In other words, The Texas Governor is known to be “the most visible state official and is among the highest paid governors in the nation.” (Champagne, Harpham). This revelation can be used to depict the interpretation over the underlying reason explanation concerning the fact that The Texas Governor is the main focus for voters when elections are held. Furthermore, the Texas governor can be described as only being one of the seven individuals that make up the plural executive.
These positons include the governor, the lieutenant governor, the attorney general, the land commissioner, the commissioner of agriculture, the comptroller, and the commissioner of the general land office. Every representative that is chosen to fill these positions is elected by Texans with the exclusion of the secretary of state, which is appointed by the Texas Governor. (Champagne, Harpham). Although power is shared amongst these representatives, they rarely work together in the form of a cabinet. Instead, each representative works independently, implying the fact that they “do not have to answer to the Governor.” (plural executive). That being said, the Texas Governor continues to hold the majority of the focus as opposed to the others. The amount of importance and attention that is given to the governor by Texans can be associated with the fact that although the power of the governor is moderately limited, they hold the power to “appoint qualified Texans to state offices that carry out laws and direct policies of state government.” (Office of the Texas Governor). As a result of, Texans believe that by focusing mainly on the governor’s office, they will also make an impact on the governor’s decision to appoint certain individuals to the state offices that are in charge of carrying out and directing the state policies. In other words, Texans …show more content…
believe that in the process of electing a Texas Governor, they are also electing appointed qualified Texans into state offices. Aside from the power to appoint Texans into office, the Governor has a number of important jobs to do regardless of the limitations placed on their position through the Texas constitution. The first duty of the Texas Governor is to sign or veto bills passed by the legislature. (office of the Texas Governor). Many Texans place emphasis on the Governor due to the fact that they are aware that this individual will be representing the state of Texas as well as make important decisions on behalf of the state of Texas. This idea can also be implemented with the fact that the Texas governor serves as the “commander in chief of the states military forces.” (office of the Texas Governor). Texans understand that whoever is elected into office as governor, will be hand the reigns to the state military forces. Therefore, an abundance of importance and focus is placed on this position as opposed to the rest of the positions in the executive office. One of the biggest factors that goes into the election, and can be held accountable for the amount of focus that is placed on the Texas Governor, is trust.
Texans believe that the governor should be a trusting individual in office that will be able to help the state and citizens understand what is being spoken about in the executive office. Texans want the governor to be their ally. This is due to the fact that the governor has financial duties as well, such as recommending the budget for the following two years and estimating the “amounts of money required to be raised by taxation.” (Office of the Governor). Citizens of Texas place a significant amount of importance in regards to their money and the way that they believe that the state should be spending it. Furthermore, this provides an explanation for the known fact that Texans tend to place more emphasis on the governor when voting. When Texans vote for a governor into office, they assume that they are electing what will be known as the face of the state of
Texas. In conclusion, much of the electoral campaign attention is situation upon the race for the Governor in the state of Texas, regardless of the little executive power that the governor truly holds in office. The lingering fact behind the immense focus that is situated upon the Texas governor is derived from the fact that the essence of the governor is reflected to be a representation of the state itself.
The role of an executive branch is to carry out the law. Many states switched to the plural executive form of government because state governors were known for abusing their power when appointing friends to political positions or handing out favors when they requested. A plural executive system which means the power of a governor is limited and distributed among other government officials. Which means, that there is not an government official in Texas that has the solely responsible for the Texas Executive Branch. Some of the members of the Texas Plural Executive and their roles are Lieutenant Governor serves as the presiding officer is first in line of succession for governor, is elected to 4 years terms by the public with no terms limits. Attorney General serves as the lawyer for the state also represents the state on civil matters and is responsible for the interpretation of the
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
The Constitution of the United States and the Texas Constitution share many similarities. They also have important differences due to different attitudes about what the role of government should be. It is important to know the limits of the state’s power as it can help us better understand our role as a Texas citizen.
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 Texas Legislature is far too archaic to provide consistent leadership for a state government; Congress has become too enmeshed with the executive branch and leaves blurry lines drawn in its separation of powers. The ideal legislature would be a modernized version of what the Texas Constitution created.
In my analysis of the Texas Constitution I will assess the three branches of our State Government, the Legislative Branch, Executive Branch and finally the Judicial Branch. Our State Government resembles our National Government in various ways but also in very different ways which we will review in this essay. I will identify a handful of criticisms and problems associated with the provisions in each of these branches of our State Government and identify suggested reforms that many feel are needed.
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.
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.
He was a prime candidate and was well respected by his associates. Nevertheless, his journey to becoming governor was not an easy one and there were many who opposed his ideas. His main concerns consisted of the railroad and the well-being of all Texans. As he traveled around Texas he gave his speech and revealed his standings to the many potential voters. These were the most difficult speeches he had to give as he was speaking to two audiences, the press and the local citizens. He also knew that many of the people who had heard of his idea for railroad reform were frightened by the thought. He hoped to justify his reasoning to them. Every speech that he gave consisted of the ideas he strongly supported throughout his life and political career. He was sure to use the fact that he was a native Texan himself to empathize with the people. The first belief was of course the need for reform of the railroad. He focused mainly on his plans to form a commission for the railroad and dividing its control. His minor points consisted of three secondary importance’s to him. He wished to reform the public education system to comply with the Texas Constitution. At the current time, school terms only lasted about four months where as in the Texas Constitution it specifically required terms of at least 6 months. Hogg, a strong believer in the Constitution wanted to follow the laws that had
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.