Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Texas state government branches
Texas state government branches
Texas state government branches
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Texas state government branches
The role of an executive branch is to carry out the law. Many states switched to the plural executive form of government because state governors were known for abusing their power when appointing friends to political positions or handing out favors when they requested. A plural executive system which means the power of a governor is limited and distributed among other government officials. Which means, that there is not an government official in Texas that has the solely responsible for the Texas Executive Branch. Some of the members of the Texas Plural Executive and their roles are Lieutenant Governor serves as the presiding officer is first in line of succession for governor, is elected to 4 years terms by the public with no terms limits. Attorney General serves as the lawyer for the state also represents the state on civil matters and is responsible for the interpretation of the …show more content…
Manages and administrate mineral leases and state lands. Comptroller of Public Accounts serves as the chief tax collector and accounting officer and is also responsible for certifying the biennial budget of the state. Is elected by the people to 4 years terms. Other members of the Texas Plural Executive are the Commissioner of Agriculture, Railroad commission, State Board of Education, Elected/Appointed Boards and Commissions, and Appointed Agency Directors. The pros and cons of having a plural executive system the con of this system is that it lacks cohesion, leading political officials chasing after many different goals. The governor has much less power to lead the group in any unified direction. As well, voting prevents governor bias, leaving voter not electing qualified candidates. While the pros are it prohibits the governor from abusing its power. As well the governor omits can be covered by the other officials. Therefore, distribution of the power to some extent enhances the quality of
...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).
The Texas constitution draws clear lines for separation of powers. The role of a legislative branch is to create laws and be leaders. However since the 1930s, the executive branch of the national government is taking powers away from Congress, and causing this “leadership” branch to become more of a “managerial” branch. United States Federal Legislation is not clearly separate from the executive branch. This causes certain executive powers
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...
A governor’s formal powers include the tenure of the office, power of appointment, power to veto legislation, responsibility for preparing the budget, authority to reorganize the executive branch, and the right to retain professional staff in the governor’s office. These institutional powers give governors the potential to carry out the duties of office as they see fit. However, the formal powers vary considerably from state to state (Bowman, Kearney, 2011). The governor of Texas is in general the most known state official and usually at the center of state government and politics. As such an important part of the Texas government, the governor has many powers, both formal and informal.
The plural executive is a system that divides the power among the lieutenant governor, state treasurer, general land commissioner, and attorney general. It was established in 1876 because state governors normally abused of their power many regarded it as oppressive and corrupt. The governor is limited to the people appointed to office and which appointees to office could be removed. However, the governor can still be successful if he works closely with the legislature and shares common visions. The governor can only appoint the Secretary of State other officials do not work together.
The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the land in the United States of America. The Texas Constitution establishes the structure and purpose of the Texas government. Constitution can also be defined as a body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is acknowledged in being governed. Each of these constitutions can be related in many ways as wells as being able do differentiate the two. Coming with strengths and weaknesses each plays a role and ultimately can coexist and learn from each other. These documents are critically important and share common goals that differentiate slightly. By breaking down the internal process of each of these constitutions the end goal is
The Arizona executive branch is quite similar to the federal government’s executive branch as it is responsible with implementing and enforcing the laws. “According to Article 3 in Arizona's constitution " The powers of the government of the State of arizona shall be divided into three separate departments, the Legislative, the Executive and the Judicial; and, except as provided in this Constitution, such as departments shall exercise the powers properly to either of the others”(McClory). The difference between the federal government, Arizona has a plural executive. The executive branch carries approximately one hundred and thirty agencies, departments, commissions, authorities, registers, offices, boards, councils, and institutions. This branch depends on these organizations in order to assist them to carry out the law and while assisting the everyday matter for the State government. The legislative branch determines and reviews policy as well as the administration of state affairs. Those who are included with the Arizona Senate along with the Arizona House of Representatives as they are the State’s two major law makers. However, the law makers are not the only ones involved as the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, the Legislative Council, and the Office of Auditor General are a part of the legislative branch as well. The judiciary branch takes care of resolving legal clashes while managing trials and interpreting the law. In fact, the ones who are included in the judiciary branch in order to make legal matter better are the Arizona Court of Appeals, Superior Court, and Municipal Courts. Arizona’s branched government is not the only aspects bringing structure to the state, County Government and Municipalities are in the mix
In Texas the legislature is considered the most powerful branch of the state government. Texas entered the union in 1845. It is composed of two chambers the texas state senate, and the Texas House of representatives. There are 31 members on the state senate and 150 members in the house of representatives. Texas is a bicameral institution meant the legislature meets in regular session on the second Tuesday in january of each odd numbered year and limits their regular sessions to 140 days, the texas legislature was created by the texas constitution to write and regulate laws for the state and represent the public's wants, needs and concerns on government and state issues including taxes laws and political interest. Because legislature only has
First of all, for the U.S executive branch, shall the current President experience death, resignation, or impeachment, the Vice President should take the reins and become the President. In the Texas Government, should the Governor experience the same event, the Lieutenant Governor should take over as the Governor. Another example of the differences is how judges obtain their positions. For the United States that follows the Constitution, judges are appointed by the President and approved by the Senate. For the plural executive systems in Texas, judges are voted on. This is one of many reasons why the plural executive form of government is seen as weak. For instance, when comparing the powers of the President and the Texas Governor in regards to abilities, the President wins that race. In Texas, the system of plural executive government enables the executive powers to be shared throughout the branch. In fact, the only major decisions that the Texas Governor can make include vetoing; appointment of Secretary of State and replacing judges until
Like the president, the Texas governor has restrictions on his powers, only more so for the governor. The president must rely on the agreement and unity of various systems such as Congress, while the governor is part of a divided executive team including, but not limited to the lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller of public accounts, and commissioner of the General Land Office. Texas government is closer to what the Framers intended for government with its less efficient and diversified system of checks and balances on the executive. Continuing, this stemmed from the Founders fear of authority, a by product of their experience of government in England. In summary, they were
The Texas legislative is the dominant branch of the state government of Texas and works within the constitutional structure of separation of powers. As it is the representative of the people of Texas and under the 10th amendment to the USA constitution it implements the authoritative powers that only works for the US constitution and Texas and federal law that are applicable (Dye, Gibson & Robinson, 2010). It also has the authority to put into practice the necessary police rule to promote the safety, moral, health and welfare. The Legislature is a bicameral body that consists of the 31 representatives of member of council and 150 members of House of Representatives. The effects of bicameralism are: it helps to stabilize
national government, Congress is the legislative branch. The Executive branch is led by the President and the judicial branch is run by the Supreme Court (SCOTUS). Each branch of the national government has power over each other and can check each other. Congress makes laws for the entire country. The president (executive branch) carries out the laws that congress makes. The judicial branch interprets how the law should be read. Each branch has separate jobs (separation of powers). For the state, governors have the authority to issue executive orders. This means that they can veto the legislation they enforce state laws instead of national laws. In the state, the legislation branch consists of two houses which are considered bicameral. The judiciary branch of the state government is the state courts. The state and national level of government basically check each other in the same ways at the legislative
The lieutenant governor serves as the president of the senate. The senate has given the lieutenant governor similar powers of the speaker of the house. The lieutenant governor has the power to appoint senate committees, committee chairs, refer legislation, maintain order during floor debate, and recognize speakers who wish to speak. The power to recognize those who wish to speak takes on additional importance as it determines the order in which bills will be considered. One key difference in the powers of the speaker and lieutenant governor powers is voting on a question. The speaker may vote on all questions, whereas the lieutenant governor may vote to break ties. The lieutenant governor of Texas is unique because he is part of both the legislative and executive branch. The lieutenant governor will fill in for the governor when the governor is absent or unable to serve. The Constitution also gives the Senate the authority to write its own rules and that's where the Lieutenant Governor derives most of his power. The lieutenant governor also serves on some boards. Some of the boards he servers on are chairman of the Legislative Budget Board and the Legislative Council, and is vice-chairman of the Legislative Audit Committee and the Legislative Education Board. The lieutenant governor has many powers and can be considered a powerful person with too much power. He can do most of what the speaker can do as well as duties of the governor. The lieutenant governor also serves on a few boards. The senate can write rules as necessary which can add more power to the lieutenant
Home Rule governments distribute power among various branches of governments. As for General Law seeks to constitution to determine restrictions and freedoms in there local government. City governments in Home Rule have two different branches. The most common to use in texas cities is Strong Mayor. The main powers a strong mayor can have are (1) the power to appoint and remove department heads and major boards.(2)Prepare city budgets followed by the council's approval.(3) Vetoing actions by council. Weak mayor government consist of few major powers. (1) the mayor is elected by council instead of people.(2) the may for a weak mayor is low. (3) power can be removed by majority council vote.(4) Vetoes have restrictions. Home Rule with a strong mayor is common in large cities, as weak mayor is common in small. The second branch is General Law which can be broken into type A,B,C powers. Most new cities with a population between 201-10,000 our labeled as type B General law. This type consist of 6 member including the mayor and 5 other Aldermen. Giving its’ “Border of Alderman”. A type B can be moved to a type A if the population grows by 600. Type C General Law has a “Board of Commissioners” which in mayor and 2 commissioners. No other city officials our required except a city clerk. The reason there is low number of people in office is because this type is used by towns
These positons include the governor, the lieutenant governor, the attorney general, the land commissioner, the commissioner of agriculture, the comptroller, and the commissioner of the general land office. Every representative that is chosen to fill these positions is elected by Texans with the exclusion of the secretary of state, which is appointed by the Texas Governor. (Champagne, Harpham). Although power is shared amongst these representatives, they rarely work together in the form of a cabinet. Instead, each representative works independently, implying the fact that they “do not have to answer to the Governor.” (plural executive). That being said, the Texas Governor continues to hold the majority of the focus as opposed to the others. The amount of importance and attention that is given to the governor by Texans can be associated with the fact that although the power of the governor is moderately limited, they hold the power to “appoint qualified Texans to state offices that carry out laws and direct policies of state government.” (Office of the Texas Governor). As a result of, Texans believe that by focusing mainly on the governor’s office, they will also make an impact on the governor’s decision to appoint certain individuals to the state offices that are in charge of carrying out and directing the state policies. In other words, Texans