The three branches of
Texas State government
Structured much like the Federal
Government
3 branches of state government
Legislative Branch
• The legislative branch MAKES the laws.
• The main lawmaking body of this branch is known as the
Legislature, or Congress.
• Congress is bicameral, meaning it is made up of two
parts: the House of Representatives and the Senate.
• Congress comes in session once every two years.
Texas Legislative Branch
•4 year terms
•Elected
•31 Members
•Must be at least 26 years
of age
•Chief Official: Vice
President or Lieutenant
Governor, referred to as
“President of the Senate”
•2 year terms
•Elected
•150 Members
•Must be at least 21
years of age
•Chief Official:
Speaker of the House
Legislative powers
The Texas Legislature has the power to:
• Make laws and propose amendments.
• Maintain state budget
• Impeach the governor
Making laws
• Proposed laws called BILLS are
introduced in the House or Senate, then
after being sent to committee for
consensus, a vote is held.
• If approved, the Bill is sent to the governor
for approval…..
To become a LAW
• If signed by governor, the Bill becomes a
LAW.
• If vetoed- it is not law
• If the governor vetoes a bill, the
Legislature can override the veto with twothirds (2/3) vote.
Financing
The Texas Legislature is responsible for
maintaining a balanced state budget.
It does this through
• Taxes
• Licenses
• fees
impeachment
• The Texas
Legislature has the
sole power of
impeachment
(removing someone
from office.)
• Only one Texas
governor has been
impeached- James
”Pa” Ferguson
Executive Branch
• Carries out the
laws
• Conducts the
business of the
state
The Governor
• The Governor is the
highest member of the
executive branch
• Also includes the:
–
–
–
–
Governor Greg Abbott
Lieutenant Governor
Secretary of State
Attorney General
Comptroller of Public
Accounts
– Commissioner of the
General Land Office
– Commissioner of
Agriculture
Executive terms of Service
• The length of term for
the governor of Texas
is four years.
• However, there is no
limit to the number of
terms one can serve.
• He or she may not
hold any other job
while in office.
Executive branch
The Governor has the
power to
• Veto laws (this can be
overridden in the Legislative
Branch with a 2/3 vote.)
• call special sessions of
the legislature for
emergency state
business.
• declare martial law in
case of a state
emergency.
Judicial Branch duties
• Interprets the laws of
the state (decides if
they are Constitutional)
• Specifically they…
– Settles disputes
between citizens
– Hear cases and render
verdicts
– Sees that Texas laws
and trials are fair
– Oversees law
enforcement
Judicial branch consists of
•
•
•
•
•
Texas Supreme Court
Court of Criminal Appeals
District Courts
County Courts
Justice of the Peace Courts
Texas Supreme Court
• The name of the highest court in Texas to
hear civil or juvenile cases is the Supreme
Court
• Nine justices (8 members and 1 chief) sit on
the Texas Supreme Court.
Court of Appeals
• The Court of Appeals is the highest court
in Texas to hear criminal cases.
• Determines whether trials held in trial
courts were fair.
Judicial Term of Office
• The length of the term of office for the
judges of the higher level state courts is
six years.