CHAPTER 1



Chapter 8

Study Guide To Go

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the Texas executive structure as outlined in a flow chart, showing the governor, department heads, and important boards and commissions.

2. Explain the importance of money in gubernatorial politics.

3. Identify state constitutional provisions concerning the qualifications, term of office, and compensation of the governor of Texas.

4. Identify state constitutional provisions concerning gubernatorial succession and the process of impeaching and removing a Texas governor.

5. Explain the functions and importance of the governor’s staff.

6. Outline the governor’s principal executive powers.

7. Outline the governor’s principal legislative powers.

8. Outline the governor’s principal judicial powers.

9. Describe some of the governor’s informal powers.

10. Describe the principal powers and functions of the appointed secretary of state and the popularly elected heads of executive departments.

11. Summarize Leah Caldwell’s description of the relationship between campaign contributions and Governor Rick Perry’s appointments.

12. Summarize Mike Ward’s report on how the Texas Enterprise Fund has been used to attract and retain jobs.

The Executive

I. Looking Back

II. Overview of the Governorship

A. Gubernatorial Politics: Money and Media

B. Election

C. Compensation

D. Succession

E. Removal from Office

F. Staff

III. Powers of the Governor

A. Executive Powers

1. Appointive Power

2. Removal Power

3. Military Power

4. Law Enforcement Power

5. Budgetary Power

6. Executive Orders and Proclamations

7. Economic Development

B. Legislative Powers

1. Message Power

2. Veto Power

3. Special-Sessions Power

C. Judicial Powers

1. Appointment and Removal of Judges and Justices

2. Acts of Executive Clemency

D. Informal Powers

IV. The Plural Executive

A. The Lieutenant Governor

B. The Attorney General

C. The Comptroller of Public Accounts

D. The Commissioner of the General Land Office

E. The Commissioner of Agriculture

F. The Secretary of State

Overview of the Text (pp. 302-336)

The governor is the most visible figure in Texas state government. Unlike the president of the United States, the governor of Texas shares executive power with other elected and appointed officials.

Looking Back (p. 303). A “weak-executive” pattern of organization is provided in the Constitution of 1876 to prevent gubernatorial domination, like that exercised by Governor E. J. Davis, Jr., during the Reconstruction era following the Civil War.

Overview of the Governorship (pp. 303-312). Although the Texas Constitution does not establish financial qualifications for the office of governor, it is a fact that serious gubernatorial candidates and recent governors have been wealthy or have had significant financial support from rich individuals and well-financed special interest groups. The Texas Constitution does specify that the governor must be at least 30 years old, a U.S. citizen, and a resident of Texas for a minimum of five years immediately preceding election. Like other elected executive officials, the governor is elected for a four-year term. Removal can be accomplished by impeachment in the House and conviction in the Senate. Less than 300 state employees serve as staff members within the Governor’s Office.

Powers of the Governor (pp. 312-324). The constitutional powers of the governor include appointment of most members of state boards and commissions, with confirmation by a two-thirds majority vote of the Senate. Independent gubernatorial removal power is limited to members of the governor’s staff and some statutory officials. Although the governor proposes a state budget, the legislature pays more attention to the budget produced by its own Legislative Budget Board. Nevertheless, the governor can veto a whole appropriations bill or specific budget items.

Executive orders are used to set policy within the executive branch and to create or abolish various study and advisory bodies. Proclamations are used for ceremonial purposes as well as for other matters, such as calling special elections and declaring a region to be a disaster area.

Legislative affairs are influenced by the governor’s vetoes, messages to the legislature, and calls for special legislative sessions. In judicial matters, gubernatorial influence is exerted through appointment of judges to district and appellate courts when vacancies occur between elections. The governor is also involved in administering justice by granting pardons, reprieves, and commutations of sentences. The Board of Pardons and Paroles, however, must recommend most such actions. Informal powers are exercised through the governor’s participation in public ceremonies and press interviews.

The Plural Executive (pp. 324-331). First in line of succession in the event of death, resignation, or removal of the governor is the lieutenant governor, who also serves as president of the Senate. The attorney general is the state’s principal legal officer and is responsible for issuing opinions on legal questions raised by state and local officials. The comptroller of public accounts is the state’s chief tax collector and custodian of state funds. In addition, the comptroller selects the banks that serve as depositories for the state’s money.

The commissioner of the General Land Office administers the vast lands owned by the state—lands that produce many millions of dollars of annual revenue from rents and mineral leases. The Department of Agriculture is headed by the commissioner of agriculture, who directs services designed to aid farmers and ranchers and is responsible for enforcing regulatory statutes affecting agriculture.

Unlike the aforementioned elected officials, the secretary of state is appointed by the governor and confirmed by a two-thirds vote of the Senate. This executive officer performs diverse tasks that include granting charters for Texas corporations, issuing permits to outside corporations to do business in Texas, supervising the administration of Texas election laws, tabulating election returns for state and district offices, and arranging for the extradition of criminals.

Looking Ahead (p. 332). Constitutional changes in the power and structure of the governor’s office and the offices of other elected executive officials would require one or more constitutional amendments or a new state constitution. A proposed constitutional revision resolution submitted by Senator Bill Ratliff and Representative Rob Junnell in 1999, for example, would provide a cabinet structure for the executive branch. Neither the legislature, nor Governor George W. Bush, nor Governor Rick Perry showed interest in this proposal. Although the legislature has taken steps to increase the governor’s control over some state administrative agencies, Texas will continue with a weak executive head unless the state constitution is amended or revised to give more power to the office of governor.

Overview of the Selected Readings

“At the Pleasure of the Governor” by Leah Caldwell (pp. 337-338)

During a four-year term, the governor of Texas makes hundreds of appointments to state agencies, boards, and commissions. Many of the appointees have experience in the field in which they will function as government officials. Some watchdog groups charge, however, that Texas governors (including Governor Rick Perry) have used their appointment power to reward campaign contributors rather than considering the qualifications of appointees.

“How Texas Plays ‘Let’s Make a Deal’ for Jobs” by Mike Ward (pp. 338-341)

Texas is seeking to enhance its economic development with incentives to businesses offered through the Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF). Run from the Office of the Governor, all offers also require approval by the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the House of Representatives. Since 2003, the state has given TEF packages to 17 companies in order to lure them to Texas or to help finance the expansion of their Texas operations. Because 123 companies have sought TEF assistance, the governor’s office argues that the state has a stringent vetting process. People running TEF maintain that the 17 incentive packages approved so far will create almost 25,000 new jobs for Texans within the next decade. On the other hand, critics of TEF object to the secrecy that surrounds the deal-negotiation process, as well as to an unwillingness to insist on higher-wage jobs with guaranteed health coverage. They note some areas where the TEF program could be improved for the good of all Texans.

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