In simple terms, a state attorney general is essentially the state’s lawyer, but he/she has many more responsibilities than that. It should come as no surprise that a state as large as Texas requires a lot of its government officials. A person in this position is the chief legal officer and is charged with protecting the interests of the state. This is typically done through giving legal advice or court proceedings. As the state’s lawyer, they can advise other Texas government agencies on how to make sure they are operating legally. More commonly, lawyers usually operate in court, and the attorney general is no different. If the state of Texas is ever directly involved in a case, the attorney general represents their state in both local and federal courtrooms such as taxes owed to the state or against those that violate any environmental-protection laws ("Attorney General," 2010). Being in the executive branch, the Texas attorney general reports to the governor: “The attorney general shall report to the governor on the first Monday of December of each even-numbered year. The report must include the following information for the preceding two years: (1) a summary of the cases in which the state was a party that was acted on by the supreme court and court of criminal appeals; and (2) a summary of civil cases in which the state was a party that were prosecuted or defended by the attorney general …show more content…
The attorney general does report to the state governor, but as a whole, the executive branch shares its powers with a legislative and judicial branch to ensure not one power can dominate another, as stated in the Texas Constitution. Many members of the executive branch of Texas are elected, meaning they campaign and rely on the confidence and support of the people. Once successful gaining the majority vote of his or her constituents’, the attorney general serves a typical four-year
The Executive Branch refers to the Presidential seat in both governments. The Presidency is a paramount institution, not only of the Mexican Government but of the US Government as well. The Countries entire political system is positioned around the presidency. In the United States the President also serves as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. The President appoints the cabinet and oversees the various agencies and departments of the Federal Government. The Executive Branch is checked by Congress which would be the Legislative Branch. In order for someone to become President, he or she must be a natural -born citizen of the United States. He or she must be at least 35 years of age and must have resided in the US for at least fourteen years. Once elected, the President must serve a term of four years, and may be re-elected only once. Now, the Executive Branch of the Mexican government is very similar to that of its neighbors, but there are some pivotal differences in the institution. Presidents are elected by a majority of registered voters in the thirty-one states and the Federal District. The President holds the formal titles of chief of state, head of government, and commander in chief of armed forces. The candidates must also be at least thirty-five years of age by election day.
...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...
The United States Constitution contains the “Necessary and Proper Clause” which grants Congress the power to enact statutory laws that are “necessary and proper” for carrying out the enumerated powers (US Const. art I, sec. 8, claus. 18). Texas has no equivalent to the “Necessary and Proper Clause” in its constitution. This limits the legislature to powers only specifically written, and thus driving the requirement for frequent constitutional amendments for even minor legislative changes.
To this day, Americans have many rights and privileges. Rights stated in the United States constitution may be simple and to the point, but the rights Americans have may cause debate to whether or not something that happens in society, is completely reasonable. The Texas v. Johnson case created much debate due to a burning of the American Flag. One may say the burning of the flag was tolerable because of the rights citizens of the United States have, another may say it was not acceptable due to what the American flag symbolizes for America. (Brennan and Stevens 1). Johnson was outside of his First Amendment rights, and the burning of the American flag was unjust due to what the flag means to America.
Lawrence v. Texas In the case Lawrence v. Texas (539 U.S. 558, 2003) which was the United States Supreme Court case the criminal prohibition of the homosexual pederasty was invalidated in Texas. The same issue has been already addressed in 1989 in the case Bowers v. Hardwick, however, the constitutional protection of sexual privacy was not found at that time. Lawrence overruled Bowers and held that sexual conduct was the right protected by the due process under the Fourteenth Amendment. The effects of the ruling were quite widespread and led to invalidation of the similar laws throughout the United States that tried to criminalize the homosexual activity of adults who were acting in privacy.
In the Texas court system, judges are elected instead of appointed like in the federal government. In the federal government, the president appoints members to the Supreme Court. This appointment then heads to Senate where the members of Senate will take a vote
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 executive branch impacts on the prerogatives of local government by being responsible for implementing and administering the public policy enacted and funded by the legislative branch. The judicial branch is responsible for interpreting the constitution and laws and applying their interpretations to controversies brought before it.
Lieutenant Governor is the second highest position in the government of Texas. This position has a position in the executive and legislative branches. If the something happens to the governor, the lieutenant governor will take over the governor’s duties until the election of a new governor. The duties and power of the lieutenant Governor are outlined in the Texas Constitution Article 4. “This official is perhaps the most powerful elected officer in the state, especially when the legislature is in session”, (Brown, pg. 289). The position is also known as the president of the Senate. The Lieutenant Governor duties consist of established all special and standing committees, appoints all chairperson for the committee. The position controls
The governor is placed within the executive branch of the checks and balances system who
Sandesh Thapa Professor Sharafin Texas Government-2306 30th March,2017 Lobbyist and Interest groups in Texas Interest group are the group of people that are looking to influence the public policy based on specific common interest or concern. Generally, they are nonprofit and usually voluntary organizations. The primary function of this interest group is lobbing the member of legislative part through the involvement to political parties. The major types of interest groups are economic associations, Professionals associations, Public interest group, special interest group. They are very specific to their own fields. Lobbyists plays an important role to pass the bill of interest groups which make decisions in legislature in executive branch.
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 executive branch at the federal level is the President of the United States, at the federal level it is the fifty governors and at the local level it is the thousands of mayors who serve in towns and cities across America. Each of these executives have a role in the formation of crime control policy and are often seen as the representative of government who can address problems such as crime.