Module #22-Chapter 22- Texas: The Executive Branch

Lieutenant Governor

Is a member of the executive branch, Officially, he's also president of the senate. -He serves as acting governor when the governor is out of state and is first in line of succession should the governor be unable to perform his duties. He's a "heartbeat away" from being governor of Texas.

-Texas Railroad Commission

A publicly elected three-memeber body that regulates railroads, trucking, mining, and oil and gas production within the state.

Appointed and Ex-Officio Agency Directors, Boards, and Commissions

Although the voters elect the most powerful executive officers, the governor appoints the directors of a handful of state agencies as well as the members of more then 120 boards and commissions charged with overseeing various aspects of business and public life in Texas. -Unlike most other agencies in the executive branch, which are headed by publicly elected officials, these offices are firmly under the authority of the governor. ~Office of State-Federal Relations ~Office of Housing and Community Affairs ~Texas Film Commission ~Texas Music Office

-State Board of Education

An elected 15-memeber body charged with overseeing Texas's system of public education at the primary and secondary levels.

The Public Utilities Commission (PUC)

Has three members the governor appoints to staggered six-year terms. -The PUC oversees rates and enforces rules and laws related to electricity and telecommunications.

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC)

Regulates all aspects of the production, distribution, and sale of alcoholic drinks in the state. ~One of the TABC's most visible activities is enforcement of the legal drinking age of 21.

-Plural Executive

A form of state government in which many or most top executive branch officials win office through popular election, creating officeholders with significant independence from the governor.

-Balanced Budget Requirement

A constitutional requirement that the state's spending in each fiscal year not exceed its revenues or income.

Commissioner of Agriculture

An elected commissioner heads the Department of Agriculture and enforces all of Texas's agricultural laws. -During the commissioner's four-year term, he covers matters ranging from food inspection and animal quarantine laws to licensing to disease and pest control to promoting exports. -THe agriculture commissioner is the only statewide elected official whose position is not enshrined in the Texas Constitution, as the department was created by legislative state in 1907. -Texas is the second leading overall agricultural producer int he United States, behind only California.

-Lieutenant Governor

An elected executive official who is both first in line to succeed the governor and the president of the senate, where the office's chief power and authority reside.

-Commissioner of Agriculture

An elected official who implements and enforces the state's agricultural laws.

-Ex-Officio Members

Board or commission members who automatically serve because of some other position they occupy.

Texas Railroad Commission (TRRC)

Composed of three elected members who serve staggered six-year terms, has traditionally been one of the most powerful bodies in the state government. -While it oversees a variety of economic sectors including trucking and mining, the TRRC's primary responsibility us the regulation of the oil and gas industry. ~With the historical importance of oil and gas to the Texas economy, regulatory duties related to this industry have made the TRRC one of the state's most important executive bodies. -Populists andi industrialists eventually struck a compromise by which large-scale petroleum and natural gas corporations were allowed to grow, but oil and gas pipelines were placed under the regulatory authority of the Railroad Commission.

22.2 I. The Elected Members of the Executive Branch

High-Ranking executive branch officials like the attorney general and comptroller are elected by the voters rather than appointed by the governor. -As we've discussed, the plural executive is an artifact of the 1876 constitution intended to take powers normally retained by the chief executive alone and disperse them among many independently elected officials. ~In this section we'll look at each of those officials and their duties.

22.1 Introduction

I. High-ranking executive branch officials like the attorney general and comptroller are elected by the voters rather than appointed by the governor. II. Lower-level officials like the secretary of state and members of various boards and commissions are appointed by the governor. III. The bureaucracy in Texas is large in absolute terms but small relative to the size of the state's population. -The *plural executive* limits the power of the governor, distributing power usually associated with a chief executive among many elected political leaders. ~The only constitutional executive officer the governor appoints is the secretary of state. ~The others are elected independently, do not campaign for office as a unified slate, do not have to answer to the governor, and do not work together as a cabinet in the way that federal executive officials serve the U.S. president. -This arrangement produces an executive branch whose officials guard their jurisdiction (authority), their power, and their prerogatives (rights, privilege). ~Each defends her own turf, and the governor lacks any formal power to dictate or referee. ~The governor is often the nominal head of his party in the state, but this does not typically offset the institutional political base that other executives possess. [It is left to the governor to find ways to get his appointees to follow his lead on policy.]

Secretary of State

In the Texas political universe, the secretary of state is the highest-ranking official appointed by the governor (with senate approval) rather than elected by the voters. 2 Major Responsibilities: -Overseeing voter registration. -Keeping records of all debt and Uniform Commercial Code filings. ~Every time someone borrows money from a bank or other finical institution in Texas, a copy of the loan agreement is filed with the secretary of state.

22.6 II. Appointees of the Executive Branch

Lower-level officials like the secretary of state and members of various boards and commissions are appointed by the governor.

Comptroller of Public Accounts

The *comptroller of public accounts* is elected to a four-year term. ~She's responsible for tax collection, accounting, and estimating revenue for the state, and acts as custodian of state funds and investments. ~The comptroller is more powerful than she may seem. Constitutional provisions that govern state budgeting and spending give the comptroller influence over the legislative budget process because she is charged with making perspective revenue estimates that lawmakers must heed when creating a budget for the following biennium. -It's also the comptroller's job to both deliver a revenue forecast and to certify that the budget passed by the legislature is within that revenues estimate. -Overriding the comptroller requires a nearly impossible four-fifths majority in both houses of the legislature. The comptroller's taxation and budget responsibilities also include a diverse range of duties and services: -Collecting taxes imposed by the state (ex. sales tax, motor fuel tax, inheritance tax) -Facilitating payment of those taxes by providing forms, schedules, and other taxpayer assistance -Returning abandoned money and property ^Additional power came into the comptroller's hands when the office of treasurer was abolished in 1996. ~At this point, the state banking responsibilities that had belonged to the treasure were added to the comptroller's tax and revenue duties.

Attorney General

The Texas *attorney general (AG),* elected to four-year terms, is the state's top lawyer. ~His legal role is primarily civil. ~Whenever a suit is filed by or against the state, the attorney general's office handles the related legal activities. -Unlike the office's counterpart at the national level, the attorney general in Texas doesn't often deal with crime. ~Nevertheless, candidates for the office usually still emphasize crime issues and their law-and-order credentials when they campaign for iccd because of the public's association between the two. ~In reality, city and county level officials handle most law enforcement and criminal matters. -The attorney general's role is limited to supporting and advising these officials and promoting awareness on crime and safety issues. [He may assist in a criminal case at the request of local prosecutors if it involves a state interest.] -As Texas's chief legal officer, the attorney general has a significant impact on public policy. ~When he issues opinions on the legality or constitutionality of proposed or enacted laws, or on the actions or policies of government agencies, his opinions have the force of law (unless they are altered or overturned by the legislature or a court). -Opinions thus affect existing law. While they can become a powerful public platform for the attorney general to further his political ambitions, many opinions are largely technical and mundane (dull). ~The AG can become involved in a wide range of high-profile public policy issues, keeping the office in the public eye. -Greg Abbott: the longest-serving attorney general in state history (2002-2015), offers a fascinating case study of the AG at work. ~Abbott spent much of his tenure as attorney general challenging the federal government in court, particularly the Obama administration. ~Abbot sued the federal government 27 times ~Bolstering (strengthen) his conservative credentials, Abbott argued before the U.S. Supreme Court to defend a monument tot he Ten Commandments on the state capitol grounds, ultimately winning the case. -While this description may make it appear to be a rather political position, below the highest level at the attorney general's office (induing the Ag and his district appointees) are a number of divisions overseeing a range of activities and generally staffed by civil servants who function fairly autonomously from the news-grabbing activities of their boss. -Because the office also defends the state against suits, AGs are not able to choose all of their battles---rather, they often find themselves reacting (on the state's behalf) to the actions of others. ~This is why the attorney general is sometimes described as the state's lawyer.

State Board of Education (SBOE)

The Texas Constitution designates the State Board of Education (SBOE) to implement the mandate for a free public educations system. -Originally created as an elected body, public school reforms passed in 1984 made it an appointed board until 1987, when Texans voted by a wide margin to return to an elected board. ~It remains this way today, though the governor fills open seats by appointment between elections. -The 15 board members serve four-year terms and represent individual districts that go ether cover the entire state. ~Disagreements over teacher and student testing, charter schools, distribution of funding and other resources, and school curricula are just some of the matters that have made the SBOE a political hotspot in Texas.

22.7 III. State Agencies and the Executive Branch Bureaucracy

The bureaucracy in Texas is large in absolute terms but small relative to the size of the state's population. Part of the executive branch is what we commonly think of as the bureaucracy---a large group of unelected individuals directly involved in running the government. It carries out the government's policies and, by design, takes on large-scale, highly complex work. A perfect bureaucracy has two main characteristics: -It operates according to clear, impersonal rules. -It assigns responsibilities based on technical competence.

22.5 Elected Boards and Commissions

The executive branch includes several boards and commissions made up of a mix of elected and appointed officials. These organizations constitute a sprawling administrative network that neither governors nor the legislature coordinate or completely control. ~As in Rick Perry's case, governors with longer tenures cane exercise greater influence over many of these boards and commissions. But voters alone select the members of two of the most important bodies: -*Texas Railroad Commission* -*State Board of Education*

Commissioner of the Land Office

The land commissioner, as the head of the General Land Office is commonly known, gains his power and significance from Texas's large amount of public land and the resources, particular energy, found in them. -He is elected to a four-year term to administer use of all state-owned lands, which includes monitoring the environmental quality of public lands and waters and leasing them for mining, grazing, and oil and gas production. -The land commissioner authorizes exploration and exploitation (the action of making use of and benefiting from resources) of public lands. ~His decisions affect hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity and in royalties on oil and gas extraction. -As in much of there southern United States, environmental protection in Texas---particularly along the coast---has taken a back seat to business interest, especially when it comes to land usage and development. -Revenue form state lands is very important because Texas collects no income tax, unlike most other states. ~Also, a ley portion of oil and gas royalties funds public education.

Duties

The lieutenant governor's primary powers lie in the office's authority and influence in the legislature. There, he is responsible for a range of important functions: -Appointing the committees of the senate. ~This is a significant power because committees generally control specific policy areas. -Assigning bills to specific senate committees. -Casting the deciding vote in the case of a tie in the senate. -Chairing the Legislative Budget Board and the Legislative Council. -Vice-chairing the Legislative Audit Committee and the Legislative Education Board. -Serving as one of the five members of the Legislative Redistricting Board when it convenes. This only occurs if the legislature is unable to approve a redistricting plan for one of the houses. -The lieutenant governor's influence in lawmaking, administration, and public policy has grown since World War II. ~This resulted, at least in part, form two changes to the office over the course of the 20th century. 1.) The length of the term was constitutionally extended from two to four years beginning with the election of 1974. 2.) It became customary for the lieutenant governor to serve more numerous terms. ^This increased longevity in office can mean more informal influence and legislative expertise for lieutenant governors. It can also let them build and strengthen control over committees that write the laws. -The lieutenant governor's work requires sharp political skills and plenty of diplomacy. ~Because the job involves clarifying and setting the senate's agenda, maintaing a good working relationship with senators and officials throughout the state is essential for the lieutenant governor to achieve his goals. Lieutenant Governor: -David Dewhurst (2003-2015) ~served three terms -Republican Dan Partrick (2015-present) ~defeated Democratic state senator Leticia Van de Putte

-Secretary of State

The only constitutional executive branch official appointed by the governor. This office administers elections and maintains important state records.

-Attorney General (AG)

The state's elected chief lawyer, who is responsible for defending the state in lawsuits and advising other state officials.

-Comptroller of Public Accounts

The state's elected chief tax collector, accountant, estimator of revenues, and treasurer.