An issue in Texas today is whether the public have sufficient control over the executive branch of Texas government. Texas has a plural executive, which mean the public not only elects the Lieutenant Governor, but also the Attorney General, Comptroller, Land Commissioner, and Agricultural Commissioner (Benson, Clinkscale, and Giardino 216). These elections add significantly to the “long ballet” that the public can vote for. Some argue that because there are so many to vote for, people cannot adequately vote for the positions. The research and attention needed to stay up to date on the elections can steer people away from voting. Many people vote for the governor and the lieutenant governor because of the title and how high the positions are. …show more content…
Direct elections add to the public’s control and power. In contrast to the presidential election of the United States. The people vote and then electors vote for the final decision or another example. Being able to directly vote for the plural executive, ensure that the governor does not tell the other what to do because the elected work for the people (Benson, Clinkscale, and Giardino 216). This presents or assists in the governor not being “all-powerful” in the executive branch. The plural executive weakens the governor’s control in the executive branch, which reasserts some power and control to the public …show more content…
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 office of president of the Republic of Texas was superseded and the state governor was first established in the Constitution of 1845 (“Phillip, Fry,” 2010) The Constitution of 1845 vested executive power in the governor and the election was done by the qualified voters of the State. In comparison, the Constitution of 1876 created plural executive, dividing the executive power among a governor, lieutenant-governor, Secretary of State, comptroller of public accounts, treasurer, commissioner of the general land office, attorney general and all of the officers of the executive department. All of these positions are elected by qualified voters except the Secretary of State who is appointed by the governor. The governor remains the commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the State and the militia in both the Constitutions. Also, the Constitution of 1845 placed a limit on the governor’s salary to two thousand dollars annually, which was amended on November 2, 1954 removing this limit. Although there has not been much change in the requirements to become a governor, the Constitution of 1845 limited the governor to two two-year terms in six years compared to the four-year term in the Constitution of 1876 (“Constitution of Texas,” n.d.; “Texas Constitution,” n.d.)
...iminal code, and the Court of Criminal Appeals, both are equal in prominence and decision-making capability. M most positions in the US Government outside of the President and Congress are appointed by the President, confirmed by the Senate. In Texas, only the Governor's and Lt. Governor's aides and some cabinet positions are appointed, all other positions are elected, including that of the State Attorney General, Comptroller of Public Accounts (basically, the State Accountant and Tax Assessor), and Railroad Commissioner (who controls and regulates the state's land and mineral resources).
In this essay, I will explain why Texas should retain the partisan election of judges. Texas is one of the few states that elect their judges using a Partisan voting method. Partisan elections can be unfair and can misinform the voter. A high legal position such as a judge should never be chosen in such a manner. Partisan elections often cost more than nonpartisan elections in campaigning. Partisan elections are also more likely to lead to straight ticket voting or mindless voting. Partisan elections also lead to more campaign contributions and can increase the power of constituencies. Lastly partisan elections can cause an imbalance in equal represent the population. Therefore, Partisanship voting does not belong in the courts of Texas and
Our Legislative Branch has two chambers or as some will call it bicameral. The chambers consist of the Senate and the House of Representatives just like the National Legislative Branch. In our Senate we currently have a total of 31 members and there are 150 members in the House of Representatives. Senators hold their seat for 4 years and their election years are spread out while the House of Representatives are elected for two-year terms. In our Texas Legislature we have a few authority figures. “The Texas Constitution provides that the lieutenant governor shall serve as president of the senate, the presiding officer of that body. The lieutenant governor is elected statewide by voters of Texas and is the second-highest ranking officer of the executive branch of government”. (Texas Medical Associaton) In the House of Representatives we have a Speaker of the House who is chosen in each time a new legislature starts by its own members. “The speaker maintains order during floor debate, recognizing legislators who wish to speak and ruling on procedural matters.” (Joe Straus Speaker) There are also many committees who act as important gatekeepers and shape the proposed legislation. (University of Texas at Austin). The main pu...
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.
Texas is big! From the size of the state, to our trucks, and to our pride, there are countless examples of why “everything is bigger in Texas”. Even our state constitution is bigger! With approximately 87,000 words and 474 amendments, the current Texas Constitution of 1876 is one of the longest state constitutions in the United States. Compared to the United States Constitution with only 4,400 words and 27 amendments, one wonders how the Texas state and local governments can operate efficiently with such an overwhelming document. The length and detail of the constitution stem from the specific policies written into the document, making it statutory in nature. This specificity has resulted in a restrictive document that requires frequent amending.
Voting is at the center of every democratic system. In america, it is the system in which a president is elected into office, and people express their opinion. Many people walk into the voting booth with the thought that every vote counts, and that their vote might be the one that matters above all else. But in reality, America’s voting system is old and flawed in many ways. Electoral College is a commonly used term on the topic of elections but few people actually know how it works.
With any decision, both parties (republican and democratic) campaign over the state to gain support from voters to increase their chances of being elected to the office that they desire. When voting most voters arrive at polling stations to vote, first for instance, they can be given a paper ballot on which they will select their choices and which later will be checked by hand; second they can be given a paper ballot on which they will select their choices with the assistance of a voting machine; or thirdly they can be given a sheet of paper with a numerical access code. Texans share a lot of the same essential needs of voting and nonvoting as other Americans. The republican party remains undefeated after a decade that saw fights over legislature redistricting, bitter and commonly intense campaigning around both inside and between the parties, continuously expensive battling up and down the ballot. In 2002, Republican competitors cleared all statewide races and took control of both houses of the Texas legislature, viably assuming the organizations of powers. The resulting year the legislative gathering returned to the distribution of districts for the U.S. House of Representatives the accomplishment of that offensive is seen inside the progressive changes in the delegations that are represented in the features of The Texas Delegation to the united states House of Representatives.
Our government here in Texas has three major parts that play a significant part in our decision making process. These levels have been deigned to decentralize power and make it more affective for the public's needs. The primary level is the Texas legislature. It is almost a given to say that everyone has at least heard of the legislature. Some variables that the legislature contains are the Lt. Governor, the Speaker of the house of Representatives and Committee Chairs. The Speaker acts as the presiding officer over the house and has two levels of power. These two levels are institutional powers which allow the officer to preside over the Legislative Audit Committee and Sunset Advisory Committee.
The controversy surrounding the 78th Texas Legislature between the Democratic and Republican Party state representations and senators was that there was an attempt to redistrict the recently redrawn congressional districts. This issue of, “redistricting” was indorsed by the Republican Party. The endorsement of “redistricting,” wasn’t surprising considering that the Republican Party had just won the Texas state legislature for the first time since Reconstruction. The Republican Party’s position on the issue was clear through the statements of Tom DeLay, “Texans deserve representation that reflects their values and believes.” Knowing that the redistricting would result in catastrophic losses for the party, the Democrats apposed the idea of, “redistricting.” The Democrats were so opposed to the idea of, “redistricting,” that they fled to Ardmore, Oklahoma. The justification for the party fleeing was said best in the words of state Representative Jim Dunnam, “We're here in Ardmore, Oklahoma, because the real problems of Texas are budget problems, are school finance problems, are health ...
In Texas, the only executive official appointed by the governor is the Secretary of State. The other executive officials, who run on their own, are the Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller of Public Accounts, Commissioner of the General Land Office, Commissioner of Agriculture, Elected Boards and Commissions, Railroad Commission, State Board of Education,
With the Electoral College in place, the United States remains a true Representative Democracy. By having electors, who are nominated to cast their vote for the president, the nation distances itself from a Direct Democracy (Longley). While creating the nation, many people believe the founders were strictly concerned with power to the citizens. However, they truly did not give the people much “political credit” (Longley). In fact, the “framers expressly ejected” the idea of popular vote, and felt using state electors was the only fair method of electing the president (Gringer 2008). They also understood “it would be unlikely for a candidate to have a nationwide presence among the people” (Patel, 2012) Delegate Elbridge Gerry believed a plan using popular vote was “radically vicious” and feared that the “people are uninformed, and would be misled by a few designing men” (Gerry 1787). They framers understood many people do not have a lot of information on, or background in politi...
Not only is the state governor the most prominent and noticible state official and needs to have several qualification to represent the state. He or she also acts as the central point of the politics of the state government. This puts a lot of pressure on the governor to be powerful leaders, which is a fairly difficult challenge. The negativity from colonial abuse during the American revolution led several states limited the power of their respective governors. During the reconstruction speculation of power abuse has also lead to give limitied formal powers to several former confederate state governors, including Texas. The governor of the state of Texas has formal and informal powers in various areas ranging from legislating, judicial, law
The United States of America is one of the most powerful nation-states in the world today. The framers of the American Constitution spent a great deal of time and effort into making sure this power wasn’t too centralized in one aspect of the government. They created three branches of government to help maintain a checks and balance system. In this paper I will discuss these three branches, the legislative, the executive, and the judicial, for both the state and federal level.
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.