Executive Branch: State and Local Governments
Important Terms / Concepts / Topics
Formal / structural power of state and local chief executives
What is a Plural Executive
Progressive movement and boards and commissions
What is the long ballot?
Comparative power of the Texas, California, and Kentucky governors and U.S. President
regarding appointment and removal authority
Types of government structures -- weak mayor, strong mayor, commission – and key
difference between each
Governors vs. Presidents
Americans tend to think of governors as mini-presidents
In complete control of executive branch
Primary person to identify policy priorities
In a very few states this is true
In most states, including Texas, it is not
Governors have different powers from presidents
Appointment
Does the governor select members of his / her own administration?
Budget
Is the governor responsible for drafting the annual budget?
Tenure
How long is the governor’s term and how many terms may she or he serve?
Veto
What is the governor’s power to veto legislation?
Gubernatorial Power
Over the administrative branch
Can the governor be the chief executive, making sure state agencies are well run?
Vis-a-Vis the legislature
What is the governor’s influence over the state’s policy agenda?
Appointment – Texas’s Plural Executive
Executive article of the U.S. Constitution:
Executive article of the Texas Constitution:
Texas: A Fragmented Government
No single, elected official is ultimately responsible for the executive branch of state
government.
Texas has one of the weaker governors in the country.
No formal appointive cabinet.
Several major state agencies are headed by independently elected officeholders.
Other state agencies and universities are headed by boards and commissions appointed by
the governor.
Texas Separately Elected Executive Branch Officials:
Run their own election campaigns
May or may not be of the same party as the governor
Negotiate separately with the legislature over policies and budgets
May run against the governor in the next campaign
Attorney General = “Governor in waiting”
List of Some Texas Separately elected Executives:
Appointive and Removal Powers of the Governor
Governor appoints members of over 200 Boards and Commissions that oversee agencies
created by state law
Most board members serve six-year staggered terms.
Appointment requires approval of two-thirds approval in the senate
Cannot necessarily fire own appointees
The Texas Long Ballot
Texas Officials elected in 2006
Budget Power
BUT . . . . . .
Tenure: Texas governor can serve for an unlimited number of 4-year terms
Veto: Texas and most governors have an item veto
California:
The California Plural Executive
Separately elected lieutenant governor
Attorney General
State Controller
State treasurer
Secretary of State
Superintendent of Public Instruction
State Insurance Commissioner
Board of Equalization
About 339 boards and commissions
California Medium Executive Ballot
Kentucky
Historically, one of the most powerful executive positions in the United States.
Governor has broad appointment power
names many state commissioners and department heads without the need for legislative
approval.
Also empowered to reorganize the state government or reduce it in size.
City Executive Power
Four general types of home-rule cities to choose from:
Weak mayor-council
Council-manager
Strong mayor-council
City commissioner
Forms of City Governments
Nearly all cities have both a mayor and a city council
The distinction between the various mayor-council forms is who exercises the city’s
executive power
The hiring, monitoring, and firing of agency leaders
Police chief
Fire chief
Parks and Recreation Director
Etc