Texas Government Essay

2166 Words5 Pages

Bonnie Rodriguez
Professor Nejad
GOVT 2306
8 December 2014



Exam 2

Essay #1
The reason that the office of governor in Texas is weak is because the Texas Constitution of 1876 restricted the powers of the governor as a way to prevent the abuse of the office and powers granted to the governor that occurred during the Reconstruction time period in Texas. The governor that preceded this Constitution was Edmund Davis and he had to be removed from office. Texas’ government at that time was viewed as corrupt and the new Constitution did its best to change things for the state. Once the new one was written, the role of Governor was severely limited. When a poll was taken of all the governor positions in the United States, Texas came …show more content…

It has 9 justices and is the last stop for civil cases in Texas. This court will hear civil cases that have come up through the Texas courts. This court is the last stop for Texas civil cases. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has 9 judges and is the final authority in Texas criminal cases. Once a case is heard in either of these courts the decision is final and cannot be overturned. These two courts are at the top tier of Texas courts. Next comes the Texas Court of Appeals which has a total of 14 Courts in its jurisdiction and has 80 justices. This court is at the intermediate level of Appellate courts in the state. District Courts come in at the level of Trail Courts of General and Special Jurisdiction for the state. There are 456 courts and 456 judges at this level. This court hears civil action involving monetary amounts of greater than $500, divorce land titles, felony criminal matters and juvenile cases to name a few. This court falls directly below the Court of Appeals. Next comes the county level of courts. At this level we have 505 courts and 505 judges in Texas. These types of courts hear cases of civil actions involving monetary values of $2-10 thousand dollars, simple probate cases, some misdemeanor criminal cases, guardianship and mental health commission among others. When a case needs to be heard at a higher level, it jumps up to the Court of …show more content…

This special election needs to be authorized by law and once held the special district needs to win more than 50% of the votes. Once completed, the special district can be created. Special Districts then have a boards or committee elected which will perform the governing functions. All boards establish the rules, operating instructions and taxes for the district. A special district is tasked with having one full time employee who will manage the daily operation of the district. Property taxes are the main source of income for special districts. Those fees that are paid by the users of the public service provided make up the next level of funding for the special district. Federal and state grants supplement the special districts finances where property taxes and user fees fail to provide financial resources.


Works Cited
"Bexar County Flood Control." Bexar County Flood Control. Web. 8 Dec. 2014. <http://www.bexarfloodcontrol.org/>.
Champagne, Anthony, and Edward J. Harpham. Governing Texas: An Introduction to Texas Politics. Print.
"Invisible Government: Special Districts in Texas." 1 Oct. 2008. Web. 8 Dec. 2014.

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