Preview

Compare And Contrast The Formal And Informal Powers Of Texas Governor

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
895 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Compare And Contrast The Formal And Informal Powers Of Texas Governor
Summer Lab Assignment: Option 1 In this paper, I will compare the formal powers of the Texas Governor and Texas Lieutenant Governor. Also, a conclusion will be drawn about who has more power and why. The governor of Texas is perceived to be a weak governor (compared with others across the fifty states) which stems from conditions dating back to the new Texas Constitution. The reason for this is that Texas had to disperse power (after the Civil War) among the lieutenant governor, the governor, and the speaker in order to keep a balance of powers. The Governor of Texas has powers in four separate areas: Executive powers, Legislative powers, Judicial Powers and Law enforcement/Military powers. The governor has appointive and executive powers, which involve the ability to make appointments (over 1000 positions) to various boards or commissions for six year terms. Texas’ Governor’s removal powers are very weak; in addition to not being able to remove appointees from predecessors, the governor can only remove people from personally appointed positions with a …show more content…
This is considered one of the most powerful aspects of the office because prior to going to the senate floor, bills must go through a senate committee. Lieutenant Governor decides when a bill comes up on the floor for a vote. Almost all of the Lieutenant Governors powers derive from rules passed by senate at the beginning of each legislative session. The Lieutenant governor really has only as much power as he or she can get from the state senate or legislators. The Lieutenant Governor is also the leader of the Legislative Budget Board which has considerable power over the state’s budget and policies. Other, well known aspects of the office of Lieutenant Governor is that he/she gets to be governor if the governor dies, or leaves the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The constitution, weather the state or national, is a blueprint or outline in regards to the distribution of power. There are two main purposes to a constitution, the first reason is to establish a government and second reason is to delegate certain powers. Every state have a state constitution that is designed for that state, however the US Constitution override all state constitution. Although Texas is the oldest constitution in the US, the constitution have many revised many time. Since the establishment of Texas Constitution in 1876, the document have been revised or amended approximately 666. There have been so many revisions to the constitution over the years, the question stand what are the strengths and weakness of the current…

    • 333 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Goverment Review

    • 738 Words
    • 3 Pages

    17. Elections of Texas governors and of board and commission members are staggered, leading to the ???…

    • 738 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Government 2306 Essay

    • 750 Words
    • 3 Pages

    When it comes to policy regarding education both the legislature and governor play a major role in deciding what gets passed and what does not. The House and Senate must hear the bill before being voted on. If the bill passes then it goes on to the governor where he has the option to pass it as legislation or veto the new law. When it comes to determining who has more power in this situation, most might say the governor because he has the final say on the matter. I am not most and believe that the legislature has the most power when it comes to education policies. The legislature has to see the bill through before it gets to the governor, controls the flow of money, and has a very close connection to the lieutenant governor.…

    • 750 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Texas Constitution has its similarities with the Constitution of the United States of America but the two Constitutions have their differences as well. The Texas Constitution has had over 450 amendments and has a weak central government. The State of Texas has a Governor, Secretary of State, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller of Public Accounts, Commissioner of General Land Office, Elected Boards and Commissions, Rail Road Commissioner, State Board of Education, Appointed Agency Directors and Appointed and Ex-Officio boards Commissions. Texas is the only state with a Commissioner of General Land Office. The only seat the Governor is allowed to elect is the Secretary of State. Every other chair is elected individually and must run their own campaign.…

    • 549 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Governor Rick Perry

    • 2279 Words
    • 10 Pages

    During his tenure, Governor Perry has maintained a strong focus on fiscal discipline, leading the state out of a $10 billion budget deficit in 2003 by cutting government spending. He is also the only Texas governor since World War II to sign budgets that reduced general revenue spending. In addition, he has used his line item veto to scrub more than $3 billion in spending from those budgets, while encouraging investments in the building blocks of a prosperous state: the economy, education and security.…

    • 2279 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Most governors have several varieties of formal powers granted by the state constitutions or other laws. Some of these formal powers include: The power to appoint, where they can pick their own teams, giving them greater authority to set policy; power to prepare state budgets, where they can shape their state’s budgets giving influence in their dealings with the legislature. They can also maintain the control over state agencies; power to veto, where governors have the ability to veto legislation in every state. Legislators can override veto, but that is not common to happen; the power to grant pardons, where governors, just like the president, can forgive crimes or change sentences if they feel that particular person was convicted unfair;…

    • 139 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Executive Branch which is made up by the Governor, Lieutenant General, The Secretary of state, Attorney general, and the State Board of Education. All of these positions are elected by the state’s voters and they enforce laws.…

    • 936 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Judicially, the contrasts between federal government and state government could not be starker. The federal judiciary is simple and orderly, with three levels of courts – district courts, appeals courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court, the final word on all statutory and constitutional matters. All federal judges are appointed, not elected, and Supreme Court justices are appointed for life, with the specific intent of removing the judiciary from the pressures of electoral politics, allowing protection of minority interests in a government system designed to allow majority rule. In contrast, the Texas judiciary is complicated and confusing. The Texas Constitution establishes six types of courts, some of which have concurrent or overlapping jurisdictions.…

    • 160 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Texas Legislature is a bicameral body consisting of a 31-member Senate, along with a 150-member House of Representative. It is also “the dominant branch of state government within the state constitutional framework of separation of powers” (Texas). The Texas Legislature completed its regular biennial session in May of 2011 by considering 5,795 bills, but only passing 1,379 bills over the course of five month.…

    • 915 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    10) Governor James Allred, “Message to the Forty-Fourth Legislature, First Called Session,” October 9, 1935, James V. Allred Papers, University of Houston Library…

    • 4703 Words
    • 19 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Texas constitution.

    • 547 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The framers of the Texas Constitution failed to anticipate that the limitations they imposed on governmental institutions would ultimately allow major economic interests within the state to dominate the policy-making process, often to the detriment of the lower socioeconomic groups. What the delegates to the Texas Constitutional Convention of 1875 regarded as the strengths of the constitution--fragmented authority, detailed limitations on the power of governmental institutions, and decentralization--have served to limit the ability of state and local governments to adapt effectively to economic and demographic changes. The perceived solutions to many of the problems of 1875 have compounded the problems of state and local governments in the 2000s.…

    • 547 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Should the Texas Legislature continue to serve as a part-time law making body, only meeting in regular session for 140 days every two years, or should it change to a full-time body meeting in regular session each year? The Texas Legislature should continue to serve as a part-time law making…

    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Texas campaign

    • 1952 Words
    • 6 Pages

    We are proud to introduce the next governor of the great State of Texas, Ms. Jane “Bitzi” Johnson Miller. She is a staunch Conservative Republican whose proud Texan traditions are deep rooted here in the Lone Star State. A native Texan who grew up in West Texas, she comes from a great line of proud Texans including former Governor Joe “Big Daddy” Johnson. Ms. Miller attended Harvard and earned a Master’s in Business Administration. In this difficult and uncertain time of economic recession, she has been an innovator and business leader. She knows the kinds of policies Texans need in order to free themselves from this recession and emerge with Texas as a global economic leader. In addition to being an accomplished business woman, she knows the value of being a single mother, and has always emphasized the importance of family, raising her two children to become role model in their communities and proud Texas citizens. Everyone knows you “don’t mess with Texas” and so they will learn not to mess with Bitzi, for she will fight for Texas families and businesses, creating economic growth while retaining the traditional values our great State needs. As you all know our country is facing many problems including lack of healthcare, proper transportation infrastructure, education expenses, unemployment, minority issues, including their education and immigration. It is with these issues that Ms. Jane “Bitzi” Johnson Miller would like to base her platform.…

    • 1952 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Texas is a large state with a vast population that has a variety of diversity and perspectives about the government. The perspectives of the people are important since they define the political culture of the state and affect how others in different nations perceive us. Texas is often described as having a combination of traditionalistic individualistic political culture. Some patterns that reflect Texas’s political culture are taxes kept low and social services minimized. Also, business leaders are the people that have a major say in how the government is managed. In Texas the state has a diversity of views in how the government should be managed which makes it more difficult to classify the political culture. (Champagne and Harpham, pg. 6)The…

    • 905 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The constitution in 1876 was a reaction to the previous constitution. One of those reactions was a lessening of the Governors power, this was achieved by reducing the length of his term to only 2 years, and also reducing his salary. They also lessened his appointing power by deciding it between other elected officials (lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller, treasurer, and land commissioner).…

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays