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The Texas Governor – Constitutional Requirements
30 years of age U.S. citizen Texas resident – five years immediately
preceding election Tenure – four years, no limit on reelection Succession – lieutenant governor, then
Senate picks a lieutenant governor
Texas Governor– Social and Political Characteristics
Education and religion All recent governors had college degrees (since
1940s) All Protestants
Race, gender, and age All Anglos Two women Average age is 49
Texas Governor – Social and Political Characteristics
Political Party and Ideology Three Republicans elected since 1876 Mostly conservative
Prior Political Experience Lawyers or businesspeople Penultimate office – lieutenant governor (6) and
attorney general (5)
Texas Governor – Roles and Powers
Chief Executive Appointment powers
Boards and commissions Executives – Secretary of State, Adjutant General, etc.
Removal powers Limitations
Senate confirmation – 2/3 vote Senatorial courtesy Board members serve long, staggered terms Boards appoint executive director Technical qualifications for some appointments
Texas Governor – Roles and Powers
Chief Executive (continued) Executive Orders
Most executive orders involve appointments of members of Boards and Commissions.
When can executive orders be issued? What is the authority for them?
Governor Perry has used executive orders to create policy that the legislature either refused to adopt or the governor felt would not adopt. Executive order mandating 65 percent of spending by
school districts be for instructional purposes. Executive order mandating HPV vaccinations for females
prior to the 6th grade.
Texas Governor – Roles and Powers
Chief Legislator Messages
State of the State Budget Special Farewell
Vetoes Regular Post Adjournment Line-item
Special or Called Sessions 30-day maximum Governor sets agenda Legislature can only
consider agenda items No limit on number of
special or called sessions
Texas Governor – Roles and Powers
Judicial Powers Appoint Judges Executive Clemency
30-day stay of execution Pardon (full or conditional) Commute sentence Pardon or commutation requires Board of Pardons and
Paroles Recommendation
Texas Governor – Comparative Powers
Schlesinger’s Scale, 1960-1969 Tenure (2) Appointments (1) Budget (1) Veto (3)
Texas governor among weakest governors Increased by Thad Beyle’s addition of
informal powers
Texas Governor – Informal Powers
Personality Personality types: Barber
Active or Passive Positive or Negative
Persuasion Meetings with legislators Meetings with executive officials
Public Opinion Leadership Television shows Press conferences
Relations with Legislators
Presidential Character: Barber
Style: The president’s habitual way of performing his three political roles: rhetorical, personal relations, and homework.
Worldview: The president’s primary, politically relevant beliefs, particularly his conceptions of social causality, human nature, and the central moral conflicts of the time.
Character: The way a president orients himself toward life.
Presidential Character: Barber
Active Passive
Active – PositiveFDRJFK
Passive – Positive
RWR
Active – Negative
LBJRMN
Passive – Negative
DDE
Positive
Negative
Presidential Character: Barber
Active – Positive: is confident, flexible, and focuses on producing results through rational mastery. Power sought to produce results.
Active – Negative: emphasizes ambitious striving, aggressiveness, and a struggle for power in a hostile environment. Power sought for personal reasons, overcoming low self-esteem.
Presidential Character: Barber
Passive – Positive: is receptive, compliant, other-directed whose superficial hopefulness masks inner doubts. Power sought to be liked by others.
Passive – Negative: withdraws from conflict and uncertainty, thinks in terms of vague principles of duty and regular procedure. Power sought because of others’ expectations.
Join the Debate: Cabinet Arguments for a Cabinet
Tool necessary to direct the executive branch Plural executive detrimental to good policy Strong governor necessary in contemporary
Texas Arguments against a Cabinet
It violates the Texas tradition of small, limited government
Plural executive stimulates innovation Governor’s power has been extended recently
Introduction
Characteristics of a Bureaucracy
Large Organization Hierarchical Structure Specialization by Functions Merit System
Bureaucracy’s Functions
Policy process involves policymaking, policy implementation, and policy evaluation
Bureaucracy implements policy Translates legislative intent into working public
policy through making rules, regulating private practices, and providing services
Organizing the Bureaucracy
Agencies headed by a single person Elected – Agriculture Commissioner Appointed – directly or indirectly
Agencies headed by part-time, unpaid board members or commission members Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission
Agencies run by a full-time paid commission Elected - RRC Appointed - PUC
Elected State Officials Attorney General
Chief counsel for state of Texas
Represent state agencies in litigation
Assists local prosecutors on request, if state interest is involved
Issues advisory opinions Opportunities for public
policy leadership Greg Abbott
Elected State Officials
Comptroller of Public Accounts State’s money manager –
collects and disburses funds
Budget estimates Revenue forecasting E-Texas performance
reviews (until 2004) School performance
reviews (until 2004) Susan Combs
Elected State Officials
Land Commissioner Manages and leases
state property – 20 million acres
Veterans land and home loan programs
Jerry Patterson
Elected State Officials Agriculture
Commissioner Created by legislature
rather than constitution Promotes Texas
agriculture Regulatory policies –
weights and measures, safety of grain warehouses, pest control, and egg and seed labeling
Todd Staples
Elected State Officials
Railroad Commissioners Three members that serve staggered six-year
terms Regulation of oil production Regulation of transportation Regulation of mining Elizabeth Ames Jones, Michael Williams, and
Victor Carrillo are current members
Elected State Officials
State Board of Education (SBOE) Fifteen-member board
elected from districts commissioner of
education appointed by the governor – Robert Scott
Texas Education Agency implements policy
SBOE sets education policy for the state
Appointed State Officials
Secretary of State Keeps the states records
– election data, state laws and regulations, public notifications, and corporate charters
State Register Esperanza “Hope”
Andrade
Appointed State Officials
Public Utility Commissioners (PUC) Three member commission who serve staggered
six-year terms Regulates telephone companies Regulates electric power transmission and
distribution, but rates are deregulated
Appointed State Officials
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Three commissioners who serve staggered six-
year terms Regulate businesses to maintain air and water
quality standards Battles pit environmentalists against businesses Commission has generally sided with business
interests
Appointed State Officials
Insurance Commissioner Appointed by governor for four-year term Monitors the health of the insurance industry Regulates rates and service
Appointed State Officials
Public Counsels Advocates for the public before governmental
bodies Department of Insurance Public Utility Commission
Appointed State Officials
Commissioner of Health and Human Services In 2004, commissioner became head of four new
agencies, consolidating a number of agencies: Department of Family and Protective Services
replaced the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services
Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services took over Texas Rehabilitation Commission, Commission for the Blind, Commission for the Deaf, and Interagency Council on Early Childhood Intervention
Appointed State Officials
Department of Aging and Disability Services took over mental retardation services from the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, community care and nursing home services from the Department of Human Services, and services of the Department of Aging
Department of State Health Services absorbed the Department of Health, Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, and Health Care Information Council. Mental health clients from DMHMR.
Appointed State Officials
Health and Human Services Commission will be a fifth agency responsible for Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), family violence services, refugee services, nutrition programs, and early childhood coordination programs
Controlling the Bureaucracy Legislative Oversight Sunset Process
Sunset Act passed in 1977 Sunset Advisory Commission Sunset review process Results – July 2008
398 agencies reviewed* 316 continued – 80% 33 abolished – 8% 21 abolished and functions transferred – 5% 14 merged/separated – 4%
* Some agencies reviewed were not subject to continuation or abolishment or had their Sunset date removed.
Across-the-BoardRecommendations
Public membership on state agency boards – at least one-third of members
Prohibitions on agency conflicts of interest – members engaged in lobbying
Unbiased appointments to agency boards – appointments without regard to race, color, disability, sex, religion, age, or national origin
Governor designates chairs of agency boards –accountability of board to public officials
Across-the-BoardRecommendations
Specific grounds for removal of agency board members – specific reasons
Information on Standards of Conduct for agency board members and employees – aware of state laws
Board member training – allow effective operation of the board
Information on complaints – protect public and ensure adequate procedures
Controlling the Bureaucracy
Revolving Door Individuals who are governmental regulators are
selected from the industries that they regulate. When their government service is completed, they
return to the industry from which they came. Ethics rules restrict some bureaucrats from
lobbying for the industry for a period of time. Legislators are not subject to any limits.
Controlling the Bureaucracy
Captured Agencies Agencies that are meant to regulate an economic
activity in society in the public interest become captured by that economic interest.
Examples include the Texas Railroad Commission and the Texas Residential Construction Commission.