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Dissertation on presidential vs parliamentary
Dissertation on presidential vs parliamentary
Dissertation on presidential vs parliamentary
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The Texas Land Commissioner’s position has been a vital part of the Texas government since the 19th century. The position is a part of the General Land Office agency, which handles affairs regarding public land and properties owned by Texas. Along with every other position in the Texas government, the Texas Land Commissioner has their own roles, system, and issues. By doing their job, the Texas Land Commissioner can aid in maintaining the Lone Star State as the great republic that it is.
Role and Power
In 1836, it was established by law that there would be a Texas Land Commissioner who would "superintend, execute, and perform all acts touching or respecting the public lands of Texas” (Gammel, 1898). Granted by Article 14 of the Texas Constitution,
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the Texas Land Commissioner has the responsibilities and power of preserving the history of Texas and its’ people, ensuring military personnel are given what they deserve, and handling investments that can benefit education and land resources, such as oil (Webb, 1952). The Texas Land Commissioner works independently and shares it power with other independent executives (Attorney General, Lieutenant Governor, Commissioner of Agriculture, etc.) in order to limit the power of the Governor. Together, these independent departments make up the “plural executive” and prohibit the governor from dictating all decisions. By acting independently, each department handles their own task and balances the executive power. (Laws of Texas Republic, Handbook). The Election Process All executive offices—except the secretary of state—of the Texas government are elected by qualified voters of the state (Texas Constitution, 1996).
Those who are interested in running for Texas Land Commissioner must be U.S citizens, be residents of Texas of at least12 months, not be convicted of a crime, and be at least 18 years of age. In addition, if a candidate wants to be a major party nominee, they must file an application with the state party chair and pay a filing fee of $3,750. As an alternative of paying the filing fee, a candidate must get 5,000 signatures on a nomination petition (Secretary of State, 2014). In March, the candidates with party affiliation compete in the primary election, in which each party chooses their nominee to compete in the general election. Once the party nominees are chosen, all the candidates from each party participate in the general election to gain the title of Texas Land Commissioner, or other executive titles. Once elected, the Texas Land Commissioner serves a term of four …show more content…
years. The Current Texas Land Commissioner George P.
Bush was elected as the Texas Land Commissioner in the November 2014 election. He is the son of Jeb Bush, who served as the 43rd governor of Florida. He is also the grandson and nephew of former presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. He was born in Houston, Texas, but spent a majority of his life in Florida due to his father serving as the governor for nine years. Before gaining the title of Texas Land Commissioner, Bush managed to become a teacher in Miami, serve as an officer for the U.S Navy, return to Texas, and graduate from Rice University and the University of Texas. He won the election on November 4, 2014 with the most votes than any other candidate and was sworn into office on January 2,
2015. During his address, Bush mentioned several goals he would wish to achieve during his term as commissioner, such as to offer a better education for children by amending the funding, to offer more economic opportunities to workers, to improve veteran support and programs, and to preserve the Alamo and Texas heritage (Ballotpedia). Bush and the Republican Party Bush’s beliefs and decisions are in congruence to his Republican Party affiliation. In a recent address at the Republican Convention in Dallas, Bush clearly portrayed his opposition to the decisions that were made by Democratic president Barack Obama and Democratic nominee Hilary Clinton. “Here’s my message to Barack and Hillary this afternoon: You want to regulate our jobs? You want to take our land? You want to control our guns and our rights? You want to run our schools? You want to take over our state? No way,” he stated. Like his party, Bush is a solid believer in limited government involvement, and has helped fight policies made by Obama. He has adopted republican views on decisions such as banning abortion, exploring energy resources, defending the right to carry arms, and improving funding to schools (Weissert, 2016). Current Issues Being Faced There have been consistent and growing issues that the Texas Land Commissioner has been confronted with. In his campaigning, Bush exemplified the issue of poor education in Texas. He states that students often go to college unprepared and have to attend remedial classes. Schools must improve their curriculum in order to prepare students for college. By improving education, he believes that students will have the capability of entering challenging fields, such as math and science. In addition to education, Bush brings forth the issue of the growing veteran community that lacks assistance and benefits. He advocates for the improvement of veteran programs that can assist veterans in getting shelter, jobs, and resources. Ultimately, Bush is pushing for support in remodeling programs that can improve Texas for its residents (http://georgepfortexas.org/). Conclusion The Texas Land Commissioner is vital to Texas’ executive power, as they handle matters regarding Texas land. Since the beginning of the Republic of Texas, the Texas Land Commissioner and the General Office of Land have managed have focused on collecting funds that could be used to benefit citizens. As far as the 19th century, the General Office of Land collected funds that went into funding education, which is still carried on today by the Permanent School Fund. Also, the Texas Land Commissioner has preserved historical sites, like the Alamo, that are important to Texas history so that they are not forgotten. Without the work of the Texas Land Commissioner, Texas would not be the monumental state that it is. Ultimately, a crucial job relies on a person who is able to recognize and deal with issues that must be addressed. George P. Bush is suited well for the task. It is no doubt that his values and principles are in the best interest of Texas. He truly wants to make it a better place, as all Texas Land Commissioners should.
"BROWN, HERMAN," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fbr86), accessed November 30, 2013. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
Calvert, Robert A., Arnoldo De Leon and Gregg Cantrell. The History of Texas. 4th. Wheeling: Harlan Davidson, Inc., 2007. Print.
The principles, which define the work of juridical branch, are relevant nowadays, as they have proved their effectiveness and managed to gain confidence of population. Texas juridical branch is complex and confusing. According to the principles of the Texas Constitution, six types of courts are established, some of which have simultaneous or overlapping jurisdictions. In accordance with the Texas Constitution of 1876, two high courts were established. In addition, in the traditions of Jacksonian Democracy, all the judges in Texas courts should be ready to compete with electoral politics and take their positions according to the results of partisan elections. This democratic principle of fair elections and respect to the votes of citizens is still applied in the juridical branch of Texas
Ericson, Joe E. “Constitution of the Republic of Texas”. Handbook of Texas Online. Published by the Texas State Historical Association, accessed 3 February 2014.
Texas has a wide variety when it comes to sizes of its cities and towns, with the most populated city being Houston, with a population of 2,099,451, and the least populated city being Los Ybanez city, with a recorded population of only 19. (togetherweteach.com) With that in mind, it’s important to have different types of local governments to best accommodate the type of city or town. There’s one problem with that though. What if a huge corporation moves into a small town, increasing the population significantly and changing the dynamic of the city in a matter of 2-3 years? "Local community decisions about what government-types are chosen, and when, have lasting consequences for the future configuration of governments in an area. If cities are established earlier...then fewer government options are available later.” (Thomas, 1993) With the way local governments are determined now, it’s unlikely that the government would be able to quickly change how it functions and accommodates to its citizens. Even something like campaigning, which may not have been needed much during elections beforehand due of the closeness that tends to happen in people of small towns, would be a much bigger part of running for a local
The three different branches of government in Texas are the following: The executive branch, which is directed by the governor, executes the laws, the judicial branch, which is run through the supreme court and state courts, interpret the laws, and the legislative branch, which is bicameral, includes the 150 members of the house of representatives and the 31 members of the state senate that make the laws.
In the United States, for the last four decades, from Richard Nixon to Ronald Reagan through the two Bush Presidency, the Republican Party won the White House by amassing large margins among white voters (Lizza). The state of Texas has been reliably Republican since the 1970s and there are various elements to Texas political culture that can be narrowed down to three essential ideological trends: economic liberalism, or faith in the free market economy, social conservatism, or favoring traditional values and moralism, and populism, or promoting the rights and worthiness of ordinary people (Texas Political Culture). As a result, the dominant political mood in Texas favors low taxes, minimal government services, and policies that are pro-business. This phenomenon is not static, however, since changing demographics in the state are causing changes in the profile of Texas in reference to electoral politics, among other major issues. This paper will explore different perspectives on the changing demographics of Texas, and where they might lead the state politically, and will present a variety of viewpoints regarding this complex subject.
The growth of agriculture and railroads in Texas and in the United States helped form our economy today. Railroads today pass through a lot of Texas, and even in big cities like Houston or Dallas. Since there are so many farms and open farmland (especially in south and west Texas), railroads can carry the produce and livestock to their destination. James Watt invented the first steam engine in about 1769, and from then on, railroads were a must for transportation, since cars had yet to be invented. Railroads began to be built before the Civil War. It originally took about 6 months to get from the west of the US to the east, but now it only took 7 days. With railroads expanding all across the country, agriculture was affected in a mostly positive way. Now, crops and other goods could be transported by train anywhere in the US, and fast.
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.
From being established as a Spanish colony to an independent nation to finally as a state within the United States, Texas, as it is named today, held its fair share of battles and conflicts on the way to how it is today. Most notably is The Texas Revolution in which the colony fought the recently independent Mexico to become its own republic. And the colony actually succeeded in doing so by issuing the Texas Declaration of Independence on March 2, 1836 and later the Treaties of Velasco which on paper ended the fighting between Mexico and Texas.
Thesis: The nine years of Texas’s independence were long and seemed to be dragged out. Were those nine years unnecessary and could it have been done in a shorter period of time? 13 October 1834 was the first revolutionary meeting of the American citizens who’d settled in Mexico, in the area soon to be known as Texas. The people attempted a movement that soon was laid to rest by the Mexican Congress. Attempts at independence were silenced for the time being and the elections of 1835 proceeded forward.
The Annexation of Texas was one of the most debatable events in the history of the United States. This paper argues the different opinions about doing the annexation of Texas or not. In this case Henry Clay and John L. O’Sullivan had completely opposite opinions about this issue. The reasons of why not do it was because of the desire to prevent war, for division over slavery, and for constitutional rights. On the other hand, John L. O’ Sullivan wanted to do this because of his idea of Manifest Destiny. By 1845, the annexation of Texas went into effect.
The Texas Revolution is one of the biggest events that contributed to the founding of this country. Texas’s fight for independence from the Mexican government was very beneficial to the young and growing United States. The effects of this war play a crucial role in how this country came to be
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.
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.