Huiting Zhou
Professor Blake Windham
Texas Government
Oct 17, 2015
Three branches of Texas Government
Texas Constitution, mirroring the U.S. Constitution, divides the power of government of Texas into three branches: the legislative, executive and the judicial. The separation of power, along with the check and balance doctrine, is also manifested in Texas institution.
The Texas Legislature consists of the upper chamber, Texas State Senate of 31 members and a lower chamber, House of Representative of 150 members. The Speaker of the House (Joe Straus) presides over the House, and the Lieutenant Governor (Dan Patrick) presides over the Senate. Legislative branch sets public policy by passing bills and resolutions. It also oversees the state bureaucracy
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through the budgetary process and the Sunset Act. Besides that, legislature has several nonlegislative powers, the power to serve constituents, electoral powers, investigative powers, directive and supervisory powers, and judicial powers. The speaker of the House of Representatives and the lieutenant governor are two most powerful political figures in the state. They often have the power to pass legislation they support. The executive branch is responsible for the daily administration of the state and enforces the law. Executive branch in Texas is divided into several officials: Governor (Greg Abbott), who serves as the chief executive; Lieutenant Governor (Dan Patrick), who acts as Governor in absence of Governor; Secretary of State, who is administering elections; Comptroller of Public Accounts (Glenn Hegar), who directs the collection of taxes and other revenues; Attorney General (Ken Paxton), who serves as the state’s chief civil lawyer ;Land Commissioner (George P. Bush), who manage most of the public owned land; Agriculture Commissioner, who is primarily responsible for enforcing agricultural laws; Texas Railroad Commission (three members); and the State Board of Education (15 members). The governor commands the state militia and can veto bills passed by the Legislature and call special sessions of the Legislature (this power is exclusive to the governor and can be exercised as often as desired). The governor can also fills judicial vacancies between elections. The governor has a major persuasive force in mobilizing interest groups; however, the governor of Texas is weak compared with the president. The plural executive system provides an additional check against any concentration of power. With the exception of the Secretary of State (who has no control over other members of the plural executive), all other executive officers are elected independently and don’t answer to the governor. They don’t serve as a cabinet and sometimes it appear as if it is going in several different directions at once. Partly because of many elected officials, the governor's powers are quite limited in comparison to other state governors or the U.S. The Texas judicial system has a reputation of being one of the large and intricate structures in the United States.
Texas has two highest appellate courts of last resort: the Texas Supreme Court, which hears civil and juvenile cases, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which has final appellate authority over criminal cases. Both Courts consist of nine justices. Unlike the federal judges, who are appointed by the president and confirmed by the senate, all judges in Texas Court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals are elected. Besides that, Texas has 14 other appellate courts, called courts of appeal, located in various parts of the states and have both criminal and civil intermediate jurisdiction. They hear appeals from the trial courts. Presently, there are 80 judges in this level. The major trial courts in Texas are the district courts, which hear a wide range of civil and criminal cases. Besides that, Texas also has 505 county-level courts. They have jurisdiction over uncontested probate cases and over the more serious misdemeanor criminal offenses involving fines greater than $500 or a jail sentence as well as over civil. Most distinctive characteristic in Texas is the county judge in each of 254 counties. In Harris County, Judge Ed Emmett is the country judge served as Harris County’s chief executive officer, responsible for working with four county commissioners to administer county government. He is also presides over the county …show more content…
court. These three branches perform the doctrine of check and balance which was established in the Texas Constitution in a way of separating the power.
The separation of powers system is designed to distribute authority among several branches —to preserve individual liberty, prevent the concentrating of power and guarantee that no part becomes too powerful. For instance, the executive officer has no right to make laws (the role of the legislature) or interpret them (the role of the judiciary). The role of the executive is to enforce the law as written by the legislature and interpreted by the judiciary. Independent electing of all the officials is a major way to show the principle. Almost all the members in Senate and House, in executive branch and judicial branch including each county judge and county commissioners, county attorneys, county and district clerks, county treasurers, sheriffs, tax
assessor-collectors. Legislature checks over the executive and judicial branches in four ways: the budgetary process, investigation, and the impeachment process. The governor, as the chief budget officer submits an executive budget to the legislature. Legislative Budget Board also summits a legislative budget to the legislature. The legislature can demonstrate its satisfaction, or lack thereof, with an agency of the plural executive by the amount of money it appropriates to that agency. In addition, the legislature can undertake to investigate problems facing the state, the integrity of a state agency, or almost anything else it wishes. Moreover, the governor and any member of the executive or judicial branch can be impeached from the office and disqualified from holding any other state office. The impeachment need the majority vote of Texas House against an official, and two third of the senator agree to proceed the conviction. Governor James Ferguson was the only Texas governor to be impeached and convinced. On the other hand, the executive branch has checks on the legislative and judicial branch. The governor has the power over the legislation—by signing them into law, or vetoing them. In bills of individual appropriate parts, the governor possesses the line-item veto. The governor also has the power over judicial branch. He could fill vacancies in the office of district attorney. As a part of the checks and balances system, the judicial branch has checks on the executive and legislative branches. Legislative and executive actions are subject to review by the judiciary called judicial review. Judiciary may invalidate laws and decisions that are not compatible with Constitution of Texas. In recent years, the courts’ scrutiny has included the prison system, the state’s treatment of patients in state mental hospitals, the funding of public education, and equality of funding for colleges and universities in South Texas. The ability to rule acts of the legislature and actions of state agencies unconstitutional gives court significant power over issues the legislature addresses. To a certain degree, the court can force the Texas legislature to act that legislature would prefer to avoid, especially in the issue requiring a large expenditure of money. For instance, many recent legislative actions directed toward criminal and public education are response to court ruling. All in all, Texas government consists of three branches: legislative, executive and judicial in a way of separating the power and check and balance. Works cited Champagne, Anthony, and Edward J. Harpham. Governing Texas. Second ed. W.W.Norton, 2014. Print. "Texas Transparency." Texas State Government at a Glance. Web. 9 Oct. 2015. . "Texas County Government." Texas County Government. Web. 7 Oct. 2015. . "TexasGOPVote." TexasGOPVote. Web. 7 Oct. 2015. .
The same things go to the three branches of government; they don't have too much power because of checks and balances. So each branch has its own powers split evenly. This is another reason why separation of powers protect America from tyranny. Checks and balances help protect America from tyranny. Checks and balances protect America because each branch can cancel out one another.
The separation of powers keeps any one branch from gaining too much power by creating 3 separate, distinct branches power can be shared equally among. According to Madison, “Liberty requires that the three great departments of power should be separate and distinct.”(Document B) In other words, to avoid tyranny and achieve liberty, the three branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial) must be separate and diverse. The purpose of a separation of powers is to divide the powers of the government so there is not only one central source of power. The three branches must be as distinct as possible to avoid falling into the hands of one individual leader. There are also checks and balances between these three branches. Checks and balances are a system of each branch monitoring an...
For almost fifty years, from 1827 to 1876, seven constitutions were adopted and implemented for Taxes and each one has its set of laws and contained specific ways, aimed at correcting the deficiencies and drawbacks of the previously adopted order. The Constitution of 1876 is the sixth one, which set the rules and laws for Texas government since the state has achieved its independence from Mexico in 1836. The constitution established the principles of Texas Democratic Government and specified the laws, which were applied to the three branches of government: legislative, juridical and executive.
Constitution, creates a unitary executive whereas the Texas Constitution creates a plural executive government. In the Texas Constitution, the government is plural executive and disperses the power among several elected officials. On the other hand, the U.S. Constitution creates a unitary executive, which concentrates the executive power on a single representative, the president. The president has a right to veto any bill he dislikes, but the Congress is also able to approve a bill if the president refuses to adopt it. In the Texas Constitution, there is a line-veto which allows the governor to veto specific items on the legislature of bills passed. The Texas government is more of a limited government whereas the U.S. constitution grants power to the president. Furthermore, in the U.S. Constitution the legislative branch is responsible for making the laws being very limited in government spending, and in the Texas Constitution there were detailed restrictions on tax and specific policies depending on the states legislatures. Legislatures are not allowed to oppose a tax on personal income and are forbidden to make states government develop into debt. Even though the Constitution was ratified, the anti-federalist adopted the Bill of Rights, which promises basic human rights to citizens. Moreover, 27 amendments are in the U.S. Constitution; nevertheless, the state
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 Texas government is a complex system whose ultimate purpose is to serve its citizens. Oftentimes, its complexity in certain aspects causes problems in its efficiency in serving. The way the Texas Constitution is written, how local governments run, the judicial, legislative, and executive branches’ efficiency, as well as Texas public policy and fiscal policy result in a government that is not set up to best serve its citizens.
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.
The Texas Constitution delegates authority to three departments; Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. The Legislative Department
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 legislative branch consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives also known together as Congress is the only branch that has the power to create new laws. Furthermore the legislative branch employs an amazing amount of power. However the members of this branch are likely voted out of office if their objectives are not acceptable to the people. In addition the legislative branch is looked at the branch that is connected to the people. (Phaedra Trethan, 2013)
The current judicial system in Texas comprises of five levels of courts, some created by the State Constitution and others by the legislatures. At the local level, there are two courts; the Justice of Peace court and the Municipal Court. The Justice of Peace...
This “two house” structure is composed of the Texas Senate and Texas House of Representatives, with a total of 181 state legislators total. The Senate is presided by the President of the Senate, the Lieutenant Governor. He is elected statewide independently of the Governor. Even thought he is a member of the Executive Branch, he contains a lot of power and influence in the Legislature. In addition to serving as the Chairman of the Legislative Budget Board and the Legislative Council, he has the authority to assign bills to specific committees, casts a vote in the case of a tie on the Senate floor, and serves as a member on the Legislative Redistricting Board. Other than the Lt. Governor there are 31 Senators in the Senate. Each is elected from their own district in staggered elections, for a 4-year term with no term limit. The requirements to be a Texas Senator are being a US citizen, a resident of TX for 5 years and your district for 1, be registered to vote for 5 years, and be at least 26 years old. The House of Representatives is presided by the Speaker of the House. He is elected by his fellow house members from a house district. His job is to keep order on the House floor during debates by recognizing the various members who speak and ruling on questions. He must also sign all bills passed by the Legislature, all while having all the powers of a regular Representative of the House. Like the Lt. Governor of the Senate, he also serves on the Legislative Council, Legislative Redistricting Board and Legislative Budget Board. The requirements to be a Member of the House are to be a US citizen, a registered voter, a resident of TX for 2 years and of your district for 1, and at least 21 years old. The Governor of Texas, while apart of the Executive Branch, does have select Legislative powers. Only he can call the Legislature into Special Sessions, and he decided the purpose for these sessions. Committees
The legislative branch the first branch of the three, consist of two branches establishing Congress, the House and Senate. Each of these components elected by residents of each state has specific requirements that they must follow. The House objectives has several powers assigned exclusively to it, including the power to initiate revenue bills, impeach federal officials, and elect the President in the case of an electoral college tie (Quote GCU). The Senate objectives are managed by the Vice President of the country, known to be the President of there group. Under the President the Senate confirms appointments that requires consent and ratifies treaties (Quote GCU). This helps the entire branch with duties that are performed.
What is the Texas legislature you may ask? The Texas legislature is what is known as a bicameral body which consists of 31 members of Senate and an additional 150 members of House of Representatives. Similar to most legislators the Texas
The principle of separation of powers is laid out in Articles I, II, and III, in effort to avoid tyranny. It is a part of a system called check and balances. The check and balances play the roles of the three branches of government. This system was made so that no one branch will over power the other. The three branches come together and help one another by being independent of the other. The legislative branch consists of the Congress, the judicial branch consists of the courts, and the executive branch consists of the president. For an example, when a bill is in progress and the chief executive (president or governor) does not approve of it, he can reject legislation and return it to the legislature with reasons for the rejection. This is a process called veto power.