Texas Governor and Executive Branch Chapter 5. The Texas Governor – Constitutional Requirements 30...

Texas Governor and Executive Branch

Chapter 5

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

The Texas Governors

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


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.


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


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


Military Powers Commander-in-Chief Appoints Adjutant General

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 – Comparative 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.


Active Passive

Active – PositiveFDRJFK

Passive – Positive

RWR

Active – Negative

LBJRMN

Passive – Negative

DDE

Positive

Negative


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.


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


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


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


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


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


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


Insurance Commissioner Appointed by governor for four-year term Monitors the health of the insurance industry Regulates rates and service


Public Counsels Advocates for the public before governmental

bodies Department of Insurance Public Utility Commission


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


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.


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.


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.

Executive Branch and Democracy Executive branch members are elected Open meetings, deliberation, and the

Administrative Procedures Act Executive branch control of bureaucracy Existence of iron triangles in bureaucracies

suggests elitism rather than democracy Sunset process

Texas Governor and Executive Branch Chapter 5. The Texas Governor – Constitutional Requirements 30...

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