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. By 1875 the need to rewrite the Texas Constitution had become very evident, and a Convention was held to rewrite the Constitution. The constitution written then was the fifth that the state has been ruled under, and is the one still in place today. At that point in Texas history, the state was primarily agricultural, and that was obvious by the delegates present at the Constitutional Convention. This resulted in a large percentage of the rewritten constitution being in favor of individualistic political culture; a weaker, more limited state government in which voters have a great deal of …show more content…
We see a great example of this in the article providing for the judicial branch. "The article is now over a dozen pages long, and most of the changes that have been made are of the type that would have been unnecessary had the framers of the constitution stayed with fundamentals, as did the framers of the United States Constitution. The judicial article of the United States Constitution is printed on one page." (Riethmayer, 1941) If the constitution were to be rewritten to be less wordy and provide more of a framework it would be beneficial for running the government under it and accommodating to the ever-changing and growing state of Texas. Ultimately, everything that follows is a result of what was spelled out in that
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Show MoreThe Texas Constitution is a document that describes the structure and purpose of the government in Texas. It took effect in February 15, 1876 and is amongst the longest state constitutions in the United States. It is the sixth constitution since claiming their independence from Mexico in 1836. Texas joined the United States under the Constitution of 1845 with provisions. Those provisions included allowing Texas to enter the union and begin the first U.S. statehood constitution. In 1861 Texas amended to transfer their statehood to the Confederacy. After the Confederacy was defeated Texas was required to adopt a constitution if they wanted to rejoin the union. The 1866 Constitution Convention emerged with a document but it did not last very long.
Texas Constitution is long and detailed, containing a range of statutory provisions that specify exactly what the government is allowed to do and is prohibited to do. In case of any public policy challenges, public
The Texas constitution of 1876 is made up of 18 sections including the preamble, each section covering a different aspect of governing decisions and how they should be handled including defining what the powers of the government actually are, managing taxes and revenue, public land and titles, and the different departments of the government branches. It is the sixth constitution that has fallen under Texas since independence in 1836. The constitution was thought of by the 1875 Texas constitutional convention and h...
Rushing to put in place a working system of government, many of the provisions outlined within the 1836 Texas Constitution were adapted from several places such as the United States Constitution, Spanish-Mexican law, English law, and other southern States Constitutions. (Ericson, Joe E.) Provisions adapted from the United States Constitution were reflected through the amount of power given to State officials that closely resembled identical provisions of the Uni...
In my analysis of the Texas Constitution I will assess the three branches of our State Government, the Legislative Branch, Executive Branch and finally the Judicial Branch. Our State Government resembles our National Government in various ways but also in very different ways which we will review in this essay. I will identify a handful of criticisms and problems associated with the provisions in each of these branches of our State Government and identify suggested reforms that many feel are needed.
Martial law is where the military is put in control of normal civilian functions of government due to an invasion or disaster of some degree. Being able to call for military control shows the military power the governor can possess. Another power and duty the governor has in the state is formulating and submitting the state budget. Given these powers, this allows the governor to reveal his spending priorities. Given these budgetary powers, he can subsequently position the budget in his favor. The governor with the senates approval, has the power to appoint the three-member Public Safety Commission which governs the tasks of the Department of Public Safety. This is so significant because by appointing his people to oversee all of the Department of Public Safety, gives him police power and makes them more powerful. One role that defines and is said to be the most important power given to the governor, is the power to sign or veto a bill once it has been passed by the Texas Legislature. If the governor decides to veto a bill, it gets sent back to the legislature and they can override the veto if they get two-thirds vote in each chamber and if they are still in
Texas went through a great amount of political change from being dominated by the Democratic Party during the 1960s and 70s, from the Republican Party taking over in the 80s. One of the big reasons for this change was due to the political party’s views. Throughout this essay I will discuss the changes of the political stances in Texas as well as the present day factors that affect America.
The United States Constitution is one of the most used documents in American History, as it is the foundation of American democracy. Within the constitution, the tenth amendment grants, “…The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Thus, Texas also has a Constitution, which outlines important powers within the state, itself. Both of these documents are extremely important to understand together, but to also understand their differences. Some examples of the differences between the Texas State Constitution and the United States Constitution include, the powers of the President and the Governor, the varying Legislative sessions,
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.
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.
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.
Texas and Federal Constitutions contain the principles needed for a representative democratic government and both arose from different historical situations; for instance, the U.S. Constitution was made to replace the Articles of Confederation, a weak decentralized form of national government with no president or taxes, which made the government not powerful enough to start a war. The U.S. Constitution was made to improve these weaknesses by proposing a degree of centralization which increased government power. On the other hand, Texas Constitution was made to reverse or avoid the ideas of the U.S. Constitution. On one part, the U.S. Constitution wanted to empower government action whereas the Texas Constitution wanted to weaken government action. The Texas Constitution is more geared toward protecting people’s rights whereas the U.S. Constitution protects the nation’s interest. The Texas Constitution has been amended more than 300 times whereas the US Constitution includes the Bill of Rights and the subsequent
Texas is an intricate state with deep roots embedded in limited government authority. Almost all, Texans, favor the limited government between citizens and state. The two most important cultures in Texas are individualistic and traditionalistic culture. Individualistic views are summoned by limited government and that politics are the root of malicious acts, and is usually responded with negative reactions from the community. The individualistic cultures’ vision is egotistical for ones self-interest. The individualistic culture is viewed as priority in private independent business rather that those of the community as a whole. Unlike individualistic views, traditionalistic culture is motioned by conservatism. This cultures vision is supported by the common wealth of society’s privileged. Its beliefs are usually of distrust in its bureaucracy. Traditionalistic culture maintains an obligation to its family hierarchy. The traditionalistic subculture has a lower voting turn out rate compared to the opposition. These distinctive cultures were bestowed upon Texans in the 1800’s, when Texas was changing into a diverse and demographically society. Individualistic and traditionalistic cultures are the outline of ideology and certainty to the way Texas government is administrated. This has a huge impact on the way the Texas structures its government and why people support such a structure. And Texas is viewed as both subcultures.
The Constitution of the United States and the Texas Constitution share many similarities. They also have important differences due to different attitudes about what the role of government should be. It is important to know the limits of the state’s power as it can help us better understand our role as a Texas citizen.
Democracy has been the root of a limited government, the system of which government powers are distributed so that one group of leaders do not have too much influence. The limited government has been structured to keep peace amongst all parties that are involved in the government. And under the U.S. Constitution, citizens are given ultimate power by their right to choose their representatives through the democratic process of voting. Each levels of the government are limited as they have their own responsibilities. The city government has the most local level of government as the residents elect a city council and mayor to represent their interest at the city level. All city governments establish housing and health regulations, and are responsible