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The Executive of the Government of Texas
Texas is a U.S State whose operation follows its constitution that describes the function
and structure of the government of Texas. Moreover, Texas Democratic state government
operates using the Dillon rule with governments at the municipal and county levels. Before 1845,
the Texas government mainly functioned in accordance with the Anglo-American tradition
before its annexing by the United States. Hence, the U.S. federalism changed the system of
governance of Texas since it was only restricted to the States' authorities as enumerated. The
national government received greater gains than the state government. For instance, when
Gregory Lee Johnson burnt the American flag Texas could not prosecute him. The principle of
separation of powers in Texas attributes to both Mexican and Anglo influences. Unlike the U.S.
Constitution, Article I section I of the 1876 Texas constitution that is still in place provides the
separation of powers statement. The separation of power statement divides the Texas
government into three distinct branches; judiciary, legislature, and the executive. In addition,
Texas Government has the local government consisting of county, municipal, and special
districts (Dickey). This paper will explicitly explain the executive branch of Texas Government
and especially cover the weakness of the Texas Governor’s office.
The Texas constitution shares the powers or rather the authorities of the State government
among the three distinct branches; the judicial, the legislature, and the executive. In accordance
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with the constitution, no individual in any one branch may exercise or perform any power or task
of another branch of the government unless the Constitution authorizes the action. Often, the
executive branch that is under discussion is popularly known as “plural executive” since majority
of the offices in that department of the Texas government attribute their sovereignty from the
electorate.
According to Article IV, section 1 of the Texas constitution under the executive
department states “The executive department of the State shall consist of a governor, who shall
be the Chief Executive Officer of the State, a Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State.
Comptroller of Public Accounts, Commissioner of General Land Office, and Attorney General”.
This section clearly points out the political authorities that form Texas’ executive branch who are
elected by Texas voters with an exception of Secretary of State whose appointment is the
Governor’s responsibility. Moreover, the three Commissioners of the Railroad Commission and
the Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture are among other Texas’ State officials
elected by Texan voters.
Nonetheless, the organization and structure of the Texas executive arm has significant
differences from that of the U.S federal executive. For instance, the U.S federal executive branch
greatly depends on the president’s powers and leadership. However, in Texas the executive
authority is “plural”, this means that sharing of powers is evident amongst different officials in
the executive department. Furthermore, these officials are neither answerable to the governor,
nor perform tasks together the way the U.S cabinet would (TCI). Figure 1 below shows the entire
structure of the judicial, executive, and the legislature of the Government of Texas.
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Figure 1 Government Structure of Texas
Why is the executive branch important? Answering this question in our discussion will
leave us satisfied of the function of the executive arm of the Texas government. Texas’ executive
branch performs roles similar to that of the U.S federal government, which is implementation or
execution of the laws created by the legislature. Separation of powers among various offices in
the executive department is common in Texas; this is because its constitution was written
reflecting a doubt of the centralized power. Furthermore, the executive has some influences in
the policymaking process. Often, the Texas governor will aim to achieve his legislative agenda
by trying to influence both the legislature and public opinion. The executive boards,
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commissions, and agencies provide sufficient information to the lawmakers that assists shape
bills, or help the legislatures in their legislative process.
In 1845, the state’s constitution created the office of governor. Texas citizens
democratically elect the governor of Texas the second most populated U.S state for a four-year
term in office as the chief executive officer. Texas Constitution through separation of powers
stipulates the duties of each political authority in the state. For example, the statutory and
constitutional duties of the governor include: appointing qualified and viable Texans to state
offices, declaring special state election, vetoing and signing bills, and being the state’s military
forces’ commander-in-chief among other duties (Office of the Governor).
Consequently, the Texas’ governor office is popularly known as the “weak” office, this is
in comparison to the governors’ offices in other states or the president of the United States of
America. Power describes the strength of any office, thus, the lower the authority of an office the
weaker is the office. This scenario is evident in Texas since the constitution allocates the
governor comparatively few authorities and powers. The Texas governor holds less budgetary
authority than the lieutenant governor led Legislative Budget Board (LLB). For example, the
Texas governor has the authority transfer funds between state agencies, but the LLB must
approve the transfer in accordance with the budget execution authority. This is just an example
of how the power of Texas governor’s office is less than that of the governors in the United
States.
The office of Texas Governor or rather the Texas governor has various weaknesses and
limitations. Around 1876, Texan writers of the new Texas Constitution had in thought their
experience and encounter of the 1869 imposition of reconstruction time following the civil war.
Hence, this historical condition contributed to the weakness of Texas governor. The 1869 Texas
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Constitution that had granted the governor extensive executive powers, contributed to oppression
of political and economic elite of Texas by the governor. Therefore, the authors of the 1879 new
Texas Constitution dispersed the governor’s powers amongst a large array of executive officials
as a way of reining future governors of Texas (Yun).
In conclusion, the office of the Governor in Texas State of the United states has lower
powers compared to governors’ offices of other states in the U.S. The Texas constitution
jeopardizes most powers of its governor simply through sharing of powers among the executive.
Power division leaves the governor with powers that only make him ensure and spearhead
faithful implementation of Texan laws. Thus, separation of powers is a potential threat to powers
of a former authoritative position.
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Reference
Dickey, Brandi. Chapter 2 federalism and the texas constitution. 22 January 2014. 2 May 2015
<http://www.slideshare.net/dhohnhol/chapter-2-federalism-and-the-texas-constitution>.
Office of the Governor. Governor's Duties, Requirements & Powers. 2015. 2 May 2015
<http://gov.texas.gov/about/duties>.
TCI. Government Alive! Power, Politics, and You. 2013. 5 May 2015
<http://info.teachtci.com/resources/gov/topic22.aspx>.
Texas Transparency. Texas State Government at a Glance. 2013. 5 May 2015
<http://www.texastransparency.org/State_Finance/Texas_Government.php>.
Yun, Samuel. THE WEAKNESS OF TEXAS GOVERNOR. 2015. 5 May 2015
<https://quizlet.com/24657405/the-weakness-of-texas-governor-flash-cards/>.