Government 2306
Chapter 24 Outline – “The Texas Executive”
I.
The Governor
 Art. IV, Sec. 1 of the 1876 Constitution created a plural executive branch.
 (Def)
 The branch is illustrated fully in Figure 24.1.
 A governor’s personal style of leadership defines the __________ or
_______________ that he/she demonstrates while in office.
 Texas history has shown some have thrived on active _____________,
_________, & _________, while others have been______________, even
_______, and may not have enjoyed being governor…
A.
The Constitution lists few governor requirements.

Governor’s requirements:
i.
ii
iii
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All Texas governors were ____________ between 1874 and 1979.
See Table 24-1.
The last two governors (Bush and Perry) were _____________.
Most governors have been…
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.

There have been two women governors: Miriam A. “Ma”
______________and Ann ______________.
Because governor campaigns have become so ____________,
being ____________ or able to raise large sums of __________
has become important.
Candidates like Gov. ____________ (R), ______________ (R),
and ______________________ (D) spent millions of their own
personal fortunes.
Having previous public service is also a plus in becoming governor.
Gov. __________________ was one of a very few who had _____
previous government experience.
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B.
Texas governors are removed from office thru impeachment.
(Def)
Only Gov. ______________________ has been impeached &
removed from the office of governor.
If the governor ______, __________, or can no longer _________
the office of governor, the _________________ becomes governor.
Some states can remove a governor thru a _______ election, but
not Texas.
The governor’s salary is $_________/year, also a ___________ &
staff, a security detail, travel expenses, and access to state-owned
___________&___________.
The Constitution grants the governor several formal powers.
1.
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i.
ii.
Legislative powers of the governor
The governor can outline his legislative ___________ with his
State of the State address at the beginning of each ________
session.
He/she also has the power to ______________ various
lawmakers/ groups during the session.
She can mobilize these priorities with formal ____________,
covered by the ________, to mobilize public support.
He also has two formal powers, granted in the Texas
Constitution.
Special session (def)
Veto (def)
.
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2.
The veto (or ____________________) is powerful. Only one
veto of the governor has been over-ridden by the legislature in
the past _____ years.
She also has the line item veto (def)
Budgetary powers of the governor

This is a weaker power of the governor possess. The
legislature uses the Legislative Budget Board (LLB)

The governor can propose the ______________of_________
between programs/agencies, with the approval of the _______,
and ________-__________.
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3.

There are >______ boards and commissions that conduct
business in the executive branch
____ of each board’s membership expires every ____ years.
Staggered terms (def)


The governor _________ _________ a predecessor’s
appointees; but his own with the approval of ____ of the Senate.
Most governors have not been too concerned about ________
__________of these agencies; but more interested in general
__________&___________ control over the agencies.
The governor’s appointments require 2/3 vote of approval from
the _________, and the governor is also concerned about a
senator’s opinion of an ___________, especially, if he will be
serving in the senator’s own district.
Senatorial courtesy (def)
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If a vacancy occurs in any court at the __________ _____ or
higher, the governor will __________ a new judge to fill the
vacancy, with the approval of the Senate.
4.
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5.
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Appointive & removal powers of the governor
Judicial power of the governor
The ___-member Board of Pardons and Paroles decides when
prisoners may be __________ __________.
But the governor may grant executive clemency (_________
____________________) toward convicts.
The governor may also grant _____ ___-day stay of execution
for a condemned murderer, w/o the board’s ______________.
With the board’s approval, a governor may grant a _______
pardon, a ___________ pardon, or commute a death sentence
to _______ imprisonment.
The governor is also responsible for carrying out extradition
requests. (Def)
Military powers of the governor
“The governor is the _________________________________
of the military force of the state, except when they are called
into service by the United States.” (Art. IV, Sec 7).
The governor appoints an ___________ _________ to carry out
this duty.
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
B.
The governor can activate the Texas ________________ and
the Texas ___________________________ in times of state
emergency or civil unrest.
The governor also has several informal resources that compensate
for the office’s constitutional weaknesses.

The governor is the most ________ state official and gets
__________ that often belongs to others; but he is also quickly
____________ for problems beyond his control.
The Governor’s staff
1.
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Governors of the 1800s had ___-____ assistants; by 1963, Gov.
Connally had ____ full time staffers and ____ part-timers.
Governor Ann Richards had nearly _____; but the number
reduced to about _____ under both Governors Bush and Perry.
Governors choose staffers who are ________ and share his
basic political ___________.
They are responsible for _____ communications and ________
_______________, which is fundamental for governor success.
Staffers…
i.
ii.
iii.
2.
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The governor and the mass media
A successful governor must learn to be accessible and friendly
to the media.
Governors…
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.

The proper use of media _________ his/her power and
influence.
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3.
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The governor and the political party
Since Texas has become a _________ state, the party may
provide greater _____________ to the governor.
(See Figure 24-2)
Gov. _________________ courted _________ Republicans in
the legislature by supporting…
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
Gov. Perry worked to
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
4.
The governor and interest groups

A candidate for the office of governor must solicit the _____
__________&________________from various interest groups.
 These groups expect the candidate to __________their causes,
if he/she is ____________.
 This means supporting ______that will benefit the group and
executive ________________ of such laws that will benefit the
group.
 A state law against _________ ______________ in 2002, was a
good example.
The increase in state employees has increased from 505,000 (
II.
Other Offices of the Executive Branch
 Art. IV, Sec. 1 of the 1876 Constitution, created a ________ ___________
branch including the _____________ and several _________, elected
executive branch officials.
 Art. IV requires most of these to be at least ____ years old and a Texas
___________ for ____ years.
A.
The most visible members of the plural executive are independently
elected officials.
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
1.
Since Texas has become a ____________ state, there is the
potential for ___________between the governor and the other
elected executives, even among officials of the same ________.
Lieutenant Governor

.
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(Def)
The lieutenant governor was only replaced the governor on four
occasions:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
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2.
It is not even necessary that the _____ be a member of the same
political _________ as the governor, because each runs in an
____________________statewide race.
Because of his key, political role in the Texas Senate, he is
considered the _________________________________________.
As we have seen earlier, he controls legislation in the Senate thru
various _______________, ______________ & _______________
of the future of pending legislation.
Also he is chairman of the powerful _________________________
(LBB).
Rick Perry served only one session as LG, before being elevated to
the governor’s office, thru the resignation of _________________.
Republican LG, ____________________ as served in this capacity
since 2002.
Attorney General

(Def)
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The AG primarily deals in _______ cases; most famous was a 1996
lawsuit against ___________ companies, which netted $___ billion
dollars for public ______________in tobacco-related problems and
education.
AG _________________, acted alone in accepting this large
settlement, but 4 years later, he was sentenced to federal prison for
mail fraud and filing a false income tax return.
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3.
Comptroller of Public Accounts
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(Def)
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Texas government works on the pay-as-you-go principle. (Def)

For this reason, the comptroller is responsible for providing revenue
_____________ on state budgets drafted by the legislature.
The budget must receive the comptroller’s _________________.
In 1991, the comptroller also conducted management audits of the
local school districts and other state agencies.
Thru these oversight actions the comptroller saved billions of
dollars for budget writers and local school boards.
In 2003 the responsibility was given to the ____________________
GOP _____________________ is the current Comptroller of Public
Accounts
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4.
Commissioner of the General Land Office

(Def)

Texas owns __________ acres of public land and the __________
rights to these lands.
Revenues from these lands go to ___________________________
and ______________________________________ for education.
LC, _____________ (D), who served for 16 years, until 1998,
worked to clean up public beach property, along the Gulf coast.
He was followed into office by _______________ (R) and then,
_____________________ (R) who developed new nursing homes
for veterans and new veterans’ cemeteries. (our current LC)
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5.
Commissioner of Agriculture
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(Def)
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He/she is also responsible for…
I.
ii.
iii.
iv.
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AC __________________ (R) worked to reduce the sales of soft
drinks and junk foods in public schools
Our current AC is ___________________ from Palestine.
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6.
Secretary of State

(Def)

He reviews county and local ____________procedures, develops
statewide policy for voter______________and receives and
tabulates elections _____________.
Esperanza __________________ is our current Secretary of State.
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7.
State Treasurer
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C.
(Def)
The plural executive also is composed of numerous boards and
commissions.
 Two of the .______+ boards and commissions in Texas have
popularly elected members; they are the Railroad Commission and
the State Board of Education.
1.
The Texas Railroad Commission.
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(Def)
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The commission once regulated railroad and trucking intrastate
operations in Texas, but today, mostly _____&_______ production.
Many criticize the commission members because its members work
closely at the pleasure of the oil and gas interest groups.
These interest groups provide _______________ for the election
and re-election of the members, so they are under the __________
of those that they are supposed to ______________.
The commission is also seen as a “_________________” to higher
elected offices in government.
Of 15 people who served on the commission between 1980 and
2002, 15 served on the commission but only 4 completed a full sixyear term!
Many critics want this commission to become a part of the_______
_____________________ and/or __________________________
______________________
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2.
State Board of Education
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Before 1984 the 27 members of the Board were elected from the 27
various congressional districts across.
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III.
In 1984, the board was reduced to ____ members, appointed by
the governor and approved by the Senate; this was done because
of ____ ______________ performance.
The _______________ had more control over the board while
needed reforms were being made.
In 1986, control was returned to the people, who elect 15 members
from districts drawn by the legislature.
The powers of the board were reduced to…
i.
ii.
iii.
Day-to-Day administration of public education in Texas is done by
the ______________________, with a ______________________,
appointed by the governor.
The Texas Bureaucracy
 There are about 250 state agencies and universities, with >300,000 full
and part time employees, who carry out programs and policies approved
and funded by the legislature and the governor.
 Also, 950,000 full and part time workers are employed by school districts,
cities, counties, and special districts in Texas.
 This is our state bureaucracy. (Def) the agencies of government and their
employees responsible for carrying out policies and providing public
services approved by elected officials.
A.
The number of state and local government employees has grown in the
past few decades.
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-The number of state employees has increased from __________
(1974) to _____________ (2007).
We must remember that state population increases are important
Also, the rapid increase of local government employees, as more
responsibilities have shifted from the _______to________ levels.
_____________ of government has also occurred as governments
contract with private companies to carry out some services.
Examples show that when privatization occurs services MAY
become less important than the profit-motive and efficiency of
private businesses.
See Table 24-2, p. 872.
Even so, there have been great expansion of programs at all levels
of government in recent years, but Texas still ranks low in ______
________expenditures. In 2004, Texas ranked ______ in per
capita spending by state government, alone.
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The big problem is the fact that Texas citizens expect a wide range
of ___________ from the government as the population grows, and
the state government cannot afford these increases because of the
________________ & _______________________.
State government ______________ and more _______government
responsibility are the result.
See Table 24-, p. 873.
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