Chapter 8
The Texas
Executive Branch
The Texas Executive Branch
The Governor
• Texas governor position is weak by design
– 1876 Constitution (currently in place) reaction to
overly powerful governor during Reconstruction
• Governor is one member of plural executive
– Multiple elected offices independent of governor
• Unique to Texas, most state governors appoint and
remove these executive positions (that Texans
elect)
– Important functions outside governor’s authority
• Budget most notably
The Governor
• To be successful, the governor must:
– Use appointments well
– Willing to veto, but also to negotiate
• Win support for policy agenda from legislators,
interest groups, and other vested parties
– Convince public to adopt vision for state
– Since governors have limited power, it becomes
more important to be popular among voters.
The Governor
• Formal powers of Texas governor
– Call special sessions of the legislature
– Pardon criminals
– Permit fugitives to be extradited
– Appoint state board and commission members
– Veto acts of the legislature
– Give the State of the State address
– Declare martial law
The Governor
• Informal powers of Texas governor
– Biggest power is the power to persuade
– Address the legislature
– Set the agenda for state government
• Cooperation/influence with legislature,
agencies, boards/commissions
– Media covers governor statements and politics
– By far, the most visible state government official
The Governor
• Formal requirements to run
– Thirty years of age
– U.S. citizen
– Resided in Texas for the prior five years
• Informal requirements (viable candidates)
– Strong name recognition
– Prior elected experience
– Successful at fund-raising for campaign and party
– Support from national party
Governors of Texas and Their
Terms of Office since 1874
Campaigns
• Campaigns usually start election year January
• Party primaries held in March
• General elections in November
– Follow the national calendar
• Currently, GOP primaries more consequential
than general election for statewide offices
• Candidates must fund-raise and make the
rounds before then.
Campaigns
• State size makes governor campaigns
expensive for two reasons:
• Travel distances to fund-raising and events
– Rallies, editorial board meetings, debates
• Travel costs add up (air, gas, cars, hotel,
meals, mobile tech)
• 20 different advertising media markets
– Television and radio ads run by geographic
region
• Even in online ad era, most money is spent on TV ads
Campaigns: Texas Media Markets
1. Abilene-Sweetwater
2. Amarillo
3. Austin
4. Beaumont-Port Arthur
5. Corpus Christi
6. Dallas–Fort Worth
7. El Paso
8. Houston
9. Laredo
10. Lubbock
11. Odessa-Midland
12. Rio Grande Valley
13. San Angelo
14. San Antonio
15. Sherman-Ada
16. Shreveport
17. Tyler-Longview
18. Victoria
19. Waco-Temple-Bryan
20. Wichita Falls & Lawton
WHO ARE TEXANS?
2010 Election Results, by County
Margin of victory
Dallas
> 30%
Fort Worth
20 – 29%
10 – 19%
0.1 – 9%
Rick Perry (R)
0.1 – 9%
10 – 19%
20 – 29%
> 30%
Bill White (D)
Houston
San Antonio
SOURCE: Texas Secretary of State
Austin
WHO ARE TEXANS?
Vote Share
= Rick Perry
= Bill White
Urban
46%
52%
Suburban
62%
35%
Rural & Small City
63%
34%
SOURCE: Texas Secretary of State
Governor Impeachment Process
• State constitution does not specify reasons for
impeachment
• Majority of Texas House must vote to impeach
• Trial held by state Senate
• Texas Supreme Court chief justice presides
• Two-thirds of state senators present must vote
to convict
Succession
• Lieutenant governor becomes governor if
governor resigns, dies, or impeached
– 1999 Gov. George W. Bush resigned to run for the
presidency, Lt. Governor Perry became governor
• Lt. governor becomes acting governor when
governor is out of state or incapacitated
Compensation
• Annual salary
$115,345
• Governor’s mansion
• State limousine
• Use state-owned
aircraft
• Personal staff
Governor’s Staff
• About 250 staffers
– Most are responsible for policy work.
• Topical experts, legislative lobbying
– Some are on the political side.
• Schedulers, press secretaries
–Not allowed to campaign; just like any other
office
–State never pays for campaign events or
work
Executive Powers of the Governor
• Significant appointment power
• In four-year term, governors make about
3,000 appointments
• Approximately 200 boards, commissions, and
agencies oversee important state functions
– Ex: University regents, Public Utility Commission
Executive Powers of the Governor
Executive Powers of the Governor
• Appointees must be approved by the Senate.
– Take office immediately after governor appoints
• Thus, in practice, Senate rejects more than it
ratifies.
• Senatorial courtesy
– Senator from the appointee’s district must approve
of the appointment.
Budget Power
• The governor has a line-item veto.
– Yet cannot impound or transfer funds
– Once money has been appropriated by the
legislature, it must be spent.
• Governor has little authority over budgetary
process other than the ability to veto.
– Budgetary duties belong to others in the plural
executive and legislature.
Military Power
• Governor is commander in chief of Texas
National Guard
– Unless under the president’s command
• Wars and other crises, presidents call upon
National Guard units
• Can declare martial law
• Has been employed under extremely
devastating natural disasters (hurricanes) and
riots
–Not used in over 70 years
Executive Powers of the Governor
Legislative Powers of the Governor
• Message power
– State of the State address
• Outlines priorities for the next two years
• Tries to set agenda and outline a budget
– Media attention to governor speeches and events
• Governors also lobby
– International, national, and state policy makers
• Personally or via staffers
• Advance policy agenda articulated during campaign
Legislative Powers of the Governor
• Veto power
– Post-adjournment veto (“strong veto”)
• Veto after legislature ends session, preventing
override
– Line-item veto
• Gov. can veto specific elements of
appropriations bills.
– Use depends on governor, legislature partisanship
• When governor and legislature majority are same party,
fewer policy disagreements, hence fewer vetoes.
Legislative Powers of the Governor
• Governor authority to call special sessions of
the state legislature
• Legislature can be called to convene in
special session at any time of the year
– Sessions last 30 days
• Governor sets legislative policy agenda
– Deal only with issues/policies governor identifies
– Governor can recall unlimited number of sessions
Judicial Powers of the Governor
• State judge vacancies filled by the governor
– All state judges are elected, but many retire or
otherwise leave office during their tenure.
– 95 percent of judges are re-elected, thus judges
appointed by governor likely to remain in office
• Governors can give 30-day stay of execution
– Any other change to any sentence must first be
recommended by the Board of Pardons and
Paroles
The Plural Executive
Multiple independently elected positions
Do not report to governor, may be of any party
• Governor
• Lieutenant Governor
• Attorney General
• Comptroller Public Accounts
• Land Commissioner
• Agriculture Commissioner
• Secretary of State*
• Railroad Commission (3)
(governor appoints)
Elected Officials in Texas with
Executive Responsibilities
Campaign Contributions in 2010
and the Plural Executive
The Plural Executive
• Secretary of state
• Chief election officer
– In charge of registration
– Collects election data from county judges and
clerks
• Maintains other state records, but largest role is
with elections
– Not comparable at all to U.S. secretary of state
The Plural Executive
• Lieutenant governor
– Powers in state constitution and state senate rules
• Presides over Texas Senate
• Performs as acting governor when governor is
unable to perform duties
• Chairs Legislative Budget Board
• Breaks tie votes in Senate
• Appoints Senate committees and chairs
The Plural Executive
• Attorney general (AG)
– State’s highest civil attorney
• In charge of all civil cases where state is a
party in the lawsuit
– When state is sued, or when state sues
• Can issue opinions for agencies that have the
impact and force of law
• Collects child support
The Plural Executive
• Commissioner of General Land Office (GLO)
– Texas owns or has mineral interests in 20.3 million
acres of land, plus all underwater lands 10 miles
out from the coast.
• Responsible for 18,000+ producing oil wells
• Responsible for awarding drilling exploration
rights on state land
• Protects environmental quality of state land
and water
The Plural Executive
• Commissioner of agriculture
– Enforces agricultural laws including quarantine
laws, food inspection, disease and pest control
programs, weights and measures
The Plural Executive
• Comptroller of public accounts
• Invests state money
– Pension funds, debt, current accounts
• Oversees taxation
– Collection, current totals, projections
• Estimates state revenues
– Influences how much legislature can budget
Boards, Commissions, and
Regulatory Agencies
• Bureaucracy: complex structure of offices,
tasks and rules employed by large-scale
institutions to coordinate tasks and personnel
• At this point, Gov. Perry has appointed every
single state bureaucratic appointee to every
position the state constitution allows.
– Over 10 years as governor, unprecedented
opportunities to appoint and influence state policy
Boards, Commissions, and
Regulatory Agencies
• Multimember appointed boards
– Appointed by governor and approved by Senate
– Examples: Dept. of Parks & Wildlife, Dept. of
Correction, Public Utilities Commission
• Single executive boards
– Appointed by governor, approved by Senate
• Example: Dept. of Insurance has just one
commissioner
Boards, Commissions, and
Regulatory Agencies
• Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC)
– Six-year terms, one member elected every other
year
– Regulate trucking, rail freight, oil and natural gas
industries
• Controlled production to maintain price stability
• Today, the RRC no longer regulates railroads!
Boards, Commissions, and
Regulatory Agencies
• State Board of Education (SBOE)
– 15 members serving four-year terms
– Elected in geographic districts representing
different state regions
• Recommend commissioner of education
candidates to governor
– Education commissioner oversees Texas
Education Agency (TEA)
Sunset Advisory Commission
• Sunset Advisory Commission (SAC)
– Evaluates utility of state agencies
• Once every 12 years, each agency can be
abolished unless legislature votes to renew it.
• Agencies must justify their existence.
– Detail how they meet legislative mandates.
• 58 agencies have expired under the SAC
Thinking Critically about the
Executive in Texas
Public Opinion Poll
Should Texas governors have term limits similar
to the president of the United States (maximum
of two, four-year terms)?
a) Yes, no one should serve too long.
b) No, voters should be able to choose
whichever candidate they prefer.
Public Opinion Poll
Do you think the public perceives the office of
governor as a strong or weak office/position in
Texas government?
a) Strong
b) Weak
Public Opinion Poll
Should some plural executive offices be
eliminated, with those responsibilities belonging
to the governor instead?
a) Yes, too many executive positions is an
inefficient way to run the state.
b) No, voters should continue to have influence
on all of these separate functions.
Public Opinion Poll
Should candidates for governor and lieutenant
governor run on a ticket, similar to presidential
and vice presidential candidates?
a) Yes, it would provide more cooperation at the
top levels of government.
b) No, the public should be able to choose
individuals for each office.
Public Opinion Poll
Which of the following in the plural executive do
you think has the most important duties?
a) Lt. governor
b) Attorney general
c) Comptroller of public accounts
d) Land commissioner
e) Railroad commission