Texas Governor and Executive Branch Chapter 5 The

Texas Governor and Executive Branch Chapter 5

The Texas Governor – Constitutional Requirements n n n 30 years of age U. S. citizen Texas resident – five years immediately preceding election Tenure – four years, no limit on reelection Succession – lieutenant governor, then Senate picks a lieutenant governor

The Texas Governors

Texas Governor– Social and Political Characteristics n Education and religion q q n All recent governors had college degrees (since 1940 s) All Protestants Race, gender, and age q q q All Anglos Two women Average is 49

Texas Governor – Social and Political Characteristics n Political Party and Ideology q q n Three Republicans elected since 1876 Mostly conservative Prior Political Experience q q Lawyers or businesspeople Penultimate office – lieutenant governor (6) and attorney general (5)

Texas Governor – Roles and Powers n Chief Executive q Appointment powers n n q q Boards and commissions Executives – Secretary of State, Adjutant General, etc. Removal powers Limitations n n n Senate confirmation – 2/3 vote Senatorial courtesy Board members serve long, staggered terms Boards appoint executive director Technical qualifications for some appointments

Texas Governor – Roles and Powers

Texas Governor – Roles and Powers n Chief Executive (continued) q Executive Orders n n n Most executive orders involve appointments of members of Boards and Commissions. When can executive orders be issued? What is the authority for them? Governor Perry has used executive orders to create policy that the legislature either refused to adopt or the governor felt would not adopt. q q Executive order mandating 65 percent of spending by school districts be for instructional purposes. Executive order mandating HPV vaccinations for females prior to the 6 th grade.

Texas Governor – Roles and Powers n Chief Legislator q Messages n n q State of the State Budget Special Farewell q Special or Called Sessions n n n Vetoes n n n Regular Post Adjournment Line-item n 30 -day maximum Governor sets agenda Legislature can only consider agenda items No limit on number of special or called sessions

Texas Governor – Roles and Powers n Judicial Powers q q Appoint Judges Executive Clemency n n 30 -day stay of execution Pardon (full or conditional) Commute sentence Pardon or commutation requires Board of Pardons and Paroles Recommendation

Texas Governor – Roles and Powers n Military Powers q q Commander-in-Chief Appoints Adjutant General

Texas Governor – Comparative Powers n Schlesinger’s Scale, 1960 -1969 q q n n Tenure (2) Appointments (1) Budget (1) Veto (3) Texas governor among weakest governors Increased by Thad Beyle’s addition of informal powers

Texas Governor – Comparative Powers

Texas Governor – Informal Powers n Personality q Personality types: Barber n n n Persuasion q q n Meetings with legislators Meetings with executive officials Public Opinion Leadership q q n Active or Passive Positive or Negative Television shows Press conferences Relations with Legislators

Presidential Character: Barber Style: The president’s habitual way of performing his three political roles: rhetorical, personal relations, and homework. Worldview: The president’s primary, politically relevant beliefs, particularly his conceptions of social causality, human nature, and the central moral conflicts of the time. Character: The way a president orients himself toward life.

Presidential Character: Barber Positive Negative Active Passive Active – Positive Passive – Positive FDR JFK RWR Active – Negative Passive – Negative LBJ RMN DDE

Presidential Character: Barber Active – Positive: is confident, flexible, and focuses on producing results through rational mastery. Power sought to produce results. Active – Negative: emphasizes ambitious striving, aggressiveness, and a struggle for power in a hostile environment. Power sought for personal reasons, overcoming low selfesteem.

Presidential Character: Barber Passive – Positive: is receptive, compliant, other-directed whose superficial hopefulness masks inner doubts. Power sought to be liked by others. Passive – Negative: withdraws from conflict and uncertainty, thinks in terms of vague principles of duty and regular procedure. Power sought because of others’ expectations.

Join the Debate: Cabinet n Arguments for a Cabinet q q q n Tool necessary to direct the executive branch Plural executive detrimental to good policy Strong governor necessary in contemporary Texas Arguments against a Cabinet q q q It violates the Texas tradition of small, limited government Plural executive stimulates innovation Governor’s power has been extended recently

Introduction n Characteristics of a Bureaucracy q q Large Organization Hierarchical Structure Specialization by Functions Merit System

Bureaucracy’s Functions n n Policy process involves policymaking, policy implementation, and policy evaluation Bureaucracy implements policy q Translates legislative intent into working public policy through making rules, regulating private practices, and providing services

Organizing the Bureaucracy n Agencies headed by a single person q q n Agencies headed by part-time, unpaid board members or commission members q n Elected – Agriculture Commissioner Appointed – directly or indirectly Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission Agencies run by a full-time paid commission q q Elected - RRC Appointed - PUC

Elected State Officials n Attorney General q q q Chief counsel for state of Texas Represent state agencies in litigation Assists local prosecutors on request, if state interest is involved Issues advisory opinions Opportunities for public policy leadership Greg Abbott

Elected State Officials n Comptroller of Public Accounts q q q State’s money manager – collects and disburses funds Budget estimates Revenue forecasting E-Texas performance reviews (until 2004) School performance reviews (until 2004) Susan Combs

Elected State Officials n Land Commissioner q q q Manages and leases state property – 20 million acres Veterans land home loan programs Jerry Patterson

Elected State Officials n Agriculture Commissioner q q Created by legislature rather than constitution Promotes Texas agriculture Regulatory policies – weights and measures, safety of grain warehouses, pest control, and egg and seed labeling Todd Staples

Elected State Officials n Railroad Commissioners q q q Three members that serve staggered six-year terms Regulation of oil production Regulation of transportation Regulation of mining Elizabeth Ames Jones, Michael Williams, and Victor Carrillo are current members

Elected State Officials n State Board of Education (SBOE) q q Fifteen-member board elected from districts commissioner of education appointed by the governor – Robert Scott Texas Education Agency implements policy SBOE sets education policy for the state

Appointed State Officials n Secretary of State q q q Keeps the states records – election data, state laws and regulations, public notifications, and corporate charters State Register Esperanza “Hope” Andrade

Appointed State Officials n Public Utility Commissioners (PUC) q q q Three member commission who serve staggered six-year terms Regulates telephone companies Regulates electric power transmission and distribution, but rates are deregulated

Appointed State Officials n Texas Commission on Environmental Quality q q Three commissioners who serve staggered sixyear terms Regulate businesses to maintain air and water quality standards Battles pit environmentalists against businesses Commission has generally sided with business interests

Appointed State Officials n Insurance Commissioner q q q Appointed by governor four-year term Monitors the health of the insurance industry Regulates rates and service

Appointed State Officials n Public Counsels q q q Advocates for the public before governmental bodies Department of Insurance Public Utility Commission

Appointed State Officials n Commissioner of Health and Human Services q q q In 2004, commissioner became head of four new agencies, consolidating a number of agencies: Department of Family and Protective Services replaced the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services took over Texas Rehabilitation Commission, Commission for the Blind, Commission for the Deaf, and Interagency Council on Early Childhood Intervention

Appointed State Officials q q Department of Aging and Disability Services took over mental retardation services from the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, community care and nursing home services from the Department of Human Services, and services of the Department of Aging Department of State Health Services absorbed the Department of Health, Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, and Health Care Information Council. Mental health clients from DMHMR.

Appointed State Officials n Health and Human Services Commission will be a fifth agency responsible for Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), family violence services, refugee services, nutrition programs, and early childhood coordination programs

Controlling the Bureaucracy n n Legislative Oversight Sunset Process q q Sunset Act passed in 1977 Sunset Advisory Commission Sunset review process Results – July 2008 n 398 agencies reviewed* 316 continued – 80% q 33 abolished – 8% q 21 abolished and functions transferred – 5% q 14 merged/separated – 4% * Some agencies reviewed were not subject to continuation or abolishment or had their Sunset date removed. q

Across-the-Board Recommendations n n Public membership on state agency boards – at least one-third of members Prohibitions on agency conflicts of interest – members engaged in lobbying Unbiased appointments to agency boards – appointments without regard to race, color, disability, sex, religion, age, or national origin Governor designates chairs of agency boards –accountability of board to public officials

Across-the-Board Recommendations n n Specific grounds for removal of agency board members – specific reasons Information on Standards of Conduct for agency board members and employees – aware of state laws Board member training – allow effective operation of the board Information on complaints – protect public and ensure adequate procedures

Controlling the Bureaucracy n Revolving Door q q Individuals who are governmental regulators are selected from the industries that they regulate. When their government service is completed, they return to the industry from which they came. Ethics rules restrict some bureaucrats from lobbying for the industry for a period of time. Legislators are not subject to any limits.

Controlling the Bureaucracy n Captured Agencies q q Agencies that are meant to regulate an economic activity in society in the public interest become captured by that economic interest. Examples include the Texas Railroad Commission and the Texas Residential Construction Commission.

Controlling the Bureaucracy

Executive Branch and Democracy n n n Executive branch members are elected Open meetings, deliberation, and the Administrative Procedures Act Executive branch control of bureaucracy Existence of iron triangles in bureaucracies suggests elitism rather than democracy Sunset process