Term
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Definition
- 1961: Texas was a colony under Mexico and the king of Spain appointed the then governor of the state.
- 1824: mexico won indepentdence from Spain and Texas became a state under mexico (Coahuila ye Texas)
- 1836: texas gained its independent from Mexico to become the Lone Star Republic (Country)
- 1845: US annexed Texas as a state |
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Term
| Texas as a state under US |
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Definition
| - 1845L governor has broad powers to appoint most state executive officials and also to select state judges |
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Term
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Definition
- 1850: Jacksonian Democracy movement swept through the state
- movement was the belief that the way to expand democracy is by electing state public officials not by governors appt.
- Supporters succeeded in amending the state constitution of 1845 and took appointive powers awar from governor |
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Term
| the amendment provided for... |
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Definition
-election of state judges and other officials
- limited number of executives the governor can appoint.
- introduced plural executive : division of executive governors power among several other elected officials
- introduced long ballot: enable the election of a long lost of public officials created through plural executive. |
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Term
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Definition
| 1861: texas seceded from the union with other southern states |
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Term
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Definition
- 1866: tx and other southern states, under reconstruction have to return back to the union and conditions stipulated by Radical republicansin the US congress for re-admission back to the Union are:
ratify 13th, 14th, 15th amendment
ratify new state constitution and elect new governor. |
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Term
| post reconstruction governor republican (EJ Davis) |
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Definition
| 1869: reconstruction constitution revamped the state governor's broad powers again somiliar to 1845- gave governor power to appoint public officials again. |
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Term
| EJ Davis used this broad power to... |
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Definition
- borrow money to jumpstart destroyed state economy from civil war and texans hated spending deficit.
- register new state voters ( texans disliked this too)
- appoint state oofficials
- introduce legislative annual sessions
- increase legislators salary
- introduce compulsory public ed. with mandated state supervision
- TX now: Conservative democrates. hated R-party bc they helped EJ davis get elected with Black vote
- Texans also hated 1869 Constitution as an imposition on Texans by Yakees
- as a reaction to perceived excesses of EJ Davis, current const. signed in 1876 makes sure future governor will be stripped of power. |
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Term
| Weakening the Gubernatorial powers with the current Constitution (1876) |
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Definition
- since 1876: office is plural executive again
- up until 1972: governor cant fire appointees. but now can subject to 2/3 senate vote
- governor still cannot remove appointess of predecessor
- sec of state: highest ranking governor-appointed state official.
- 2/3 senate vote to confirm governor's appointees as opposed to president's majority vote
- reduced term of office to 2 years then, though now 4 yrs. |
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Term
| Weakening the gubernatorial powers with the current Constitution (1876): from 1965 to present... |
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Definition
- term of office increased to 4 yrs.
- constitutional amendment and legislative actions have added new features to the executive branch
- governor salary is higher now
- long ballot remains
- budgetary authority still remains weak |
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Term
| Formal and Informal Qualifications |
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Definition
-must be american citizen
- resident of TX for 5 yrs preceding election
- 30 years of age
- 4 yrs term of office & no term limit
- can be removed via impeachment
- James Fergusion: only governor to be impeached due to attempt of removing UT faculty members |
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Term
| Growth in Governor's role in policy-making |
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Definition
-even though state const. limits the formal powers, the governor is shaped by:
-governor's personality
- political adroitness
- staff appointments
- ability to defend and sell agenda if his political party controls the state legislature. |
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Term
| policy-making authority has grown because... |
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Definition
- Fed. Grant programs required participation by governor's office
- media have focused public attention of Gov's office. |
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Term
| Powers & responsibilities of the governor |
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Definition
1. legislative powers
2. appointive powers
3. Judcial powers
4. budgetary powers
5. law enforcement powers
6. administrative powers |
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Term
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Definition
-gov.'s strongest constitutional power
-enable governor's policy wishes to be communicated to the legislature during the state-of-the-state message at the beginning of the legislative sessions. |
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Term
| legislative powers include... |
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Definition
- emergency measures power that can force legislature to consider gov's measures
- veto power although can be overridden by 2/3 of both chambers but is difficult to override the gov's veto bc:
a) most vetoes occur after the legislature has adjourned.
b) 2/3 vote of each chamber is difficult to come by.
- gov has line-item-veto for influencing appropriations
-gov has power to call special sessions to last 30 days and can be extended |
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Term
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Definition
-extensive
- gov is empowered to staff admin. boars and commissions that set policies for state agencies such as:
PUC, State insurance board, Racing Commissions, Dept. of Public Safety
- power to fill vacancies in elective positions should they occur between elections. |
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Term
| limitations of appointive powers |
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Definition
- appointees must be confirmed by 2/3 senate vote
- most admin. board members serve 6 yrs overlapping terms longer than gov's term and may outlast an elected governor and an incoming governor cant easily remove a predecessor's appointees.
- gov has little power of removal of state agency heads.
- as of 1980: can remove his/her own appointees but not those of his predecessor & still subject to 2/3 approval vote
- appointees must pass political inspection by home area senator
- senatorial courtesy: allows senator to block the confirmation of a gubernatiorial appointee who lives in the senator's district. |
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Term
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Definition
- gov's most important power: fill vancancies in district and appeals court until next election bc state judges are elected
- pardon, communication & reprieves are weak bc unless the state board of pardons & paroles that the governor appoints grant recomendations, the gov can grant: repreives, comunication (reduce a sentence), pardon. |
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Term
| In capital Cases involving death penalty |
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Definition
| governor can only grant single 30 days repreive independently without recomendation by the board. |
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Term
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Definition
- gov may submit budget proposals to the state legislature but the legislative budget board's proposals carry more weight & LBB is headed by Lt. gov
- gov has line-item-veto power (most powerful budgetary power) to influence appropriations
- line-item veto: allows gov to reject some portions of appropriated bill without rejecting all of the appropriation.
- gov granted limited budget execution authority: allows gov to transfer money between state agencies when the legislature isnt in session
- an agency's appropriation cut cant be more than 10% or increase more than 5 %
- LBB which is chaired by Lt. Gov must accept or reject this fund transfer proposal before the gov can transfer fund. |
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Term
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Definition
| the governoe is commander in cheif of TX and TX nat'l guard. |
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Term
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Definition
| very weak bc of plural executive and because of governor has little power of removal of most state agency heads bc they are elected. |
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Term
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Definition
- currently 7 elected plural executives in the state
- 2 of them, attorney general and railroad commission are constitutionally established
- remaining 5 have been created by the legislature and the governor over the years through legislative process. |
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Term
| Current 7 elected plural executives include... |
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Definition
1. Lt. Gov
2. Attorny General
3. Comptroller of Public accounts
4. Commissioner of Agriculture
5. Commissioner of General Land Office
6. Railroad Commissioner
7. State Board of Ed. |
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Term
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Definition
- succeeds the governor
- helps determine the order of business in the Senate
- debates issues in the Senate but only votes to break a tie vote
- most powerful state public official |
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Term
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Definition
- responsibilities are to act as a lawyer
- gives legal advice to state, local officials & agencies in the form of opinions which are not binding on the courts
- initiates lawsuits against delinquest on child support
- is a civil lawyer and therefore does not prosecute criminals |
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Term
| Comptroller of Public Accounts |
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Definition
- state cheif accounting officer and tax administrator
- audits spending by state agencies
- estimates state revenues for the up-coming two-year budget cycle to certify that the appropriation bills falls within revenue estimates (to prevent deficit spending)
- collect overdue taxes from retail merchants for the state. |
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Term
| Commisioner of Agriculture |
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Definition
-administers and executes all agricultural laws.
- inspects & regulates gasoline pumps, seeds, meat market scales and flower nurseries
-enforces the state weights & measures. |
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Term
| Commissioner of General Land Office. |
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Definition
- manages state 20.3 mill of acres of public land and mineral-rights
-public land is either leased out for mineral exploration & or for agricultural purposes
-revenues raised from land is never spent and are constitutionally set aside
-principal revenues are treated as endownments and are invested in interest yeilding accounts
- on part of endowment is called Permanent Univeristy Fund (PUF)
-interest from teh PUF is used to finance UT, TX, A&M
-other part is called Permanent School Fund (PSF) and interest from PSF is used to finance public schools in the state.
-commissioner also manages Veteran Land Programs |
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Term
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Definition
-state agencies main function is the regulation of oil & gas exploration
-commissioner's regulatory policies fall into 4 broad categories:
1. conservation of oil and gas
2. pro-ration to keep oil prices stable
3. protection of oil & gas producers
4. safeguarding thepublic from oil and gas pollution
-state agencies regluate oil & gas such as:
drilling,pipeline transmission, storage
pro-ration, allowable, well spacing and production quotas by establishing monthly barrels of oil, an oil well could pump per day for that month to keep stable market prices.
- regulates railroads, commercial vehicles, hazardous waste shipments, and enviornmental protection. |
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Term
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Definition
- jointly responsible with local ISD for public schools
- coordinates educational activities & services below the college level
- approves purchases of public school's textbooks and instructional materials. |
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Term
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Definition
-secretary of state:
- cheif electiion officer
- interpret election laws
- highest ranking official appointed by the governor |
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Term
| Appointed Boards Commissions |
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Definition
-These are TX Bureaucracy
- TX beauracracy is highly fragmented
- over 950,000 people are employed by the state
- these are agencies that run the state bc the state legislature only meets once every 2 years for 140 days
-Ex: University Board of Regents, Occupational Licensing Boards, Public Utility Commission (PUC)
- Most of these postions are unsalaried. |
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Term
| Growing state bureaucracy |
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Definition
- st. bureaucracy is growin rapidy bc of rapid pop growth rate. this creates demand for public services (education, prison, healthcare)
-even though bureaucracy has grown, the state still ranks low in per capita expenditure (#44) |
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Term
| Strategies for controlling state bureaucracy |
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Definition
-power of gov is weak (plural executives)
-legislature has greater influence through: sunset review process but this takes place every 12 years not very effective.
- whistle-blower system was therefor set up to protect and encourage state employees to report wrongdoing within their agencies to their supervisors
- hasnt been watered down since the George Green case.m |
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