Texas Executive Branch & Gubernatorial Powers – Lecture Review”

Comprehensive vocabulary cards covering the Texas plural executive, gubernatorial qualifications and powers, lieutenant governor roles, other statewide officers, historical trivia, and legal limitations, drawn from the lecture transcript.

Plural Executive

A power-sharing structure in which multiple independently elected officials share the executive authority, limiting the governor’s power (established 1876).

Article 4, Section 1 (TX Constitution)

Portion of the 1876 constitution that formally creates Texas’s plural executive and lists its primary elected officers.

Governor of Texas

Chief executive officer and ceremonial head of state who manages the executive branch and shares powers with other elected officials.

Qualifications for Texas Governor

At least 30 years old, U.S. citizen, Texas resident for 5 years prior to election; no education or prior office required.

Texas Governor’s Term

Four-year term with no term limits (in effect since the 1869 constitution and retained in 1876).

Appointment Power

Governor’s authority to name dozens of officials to boards, commissions, and to the office of Secretary of State.

Special Session

Thirty-day legislative session that only the governor can call when the legislature is not in regular session.

State of the State Address

Annual speech in which the Texas governor reports to the legislature on conditions and priorities.

Pardon Power (Texas)

Governor may issue a single 30-day stay of sentence; full pardons/commutations require Board of Pardons and Paroles approval.

Board of Pardons and Paroles

Body that must approve any pardon or commutation the Texas governor wishes to grant (except the one 30-day stay).

30-Day Stay of Sentence

Limited executive reprieve the Texas governor may grant unilaterally to delay a convict’s punishment for up to one month.

Commander-in-Chief (State Level)

Role of the governor as head of the Texas Army & Air National Guard and emergency management.

Disaster Declaration

Formal statement by the governor that authorizes state resources and may request federal assistance after emergencies.

Lieutenant Governor of Texas

Elected official who presides over the Senate, shapes the budget, appoints committees, and acts as governor when needed.

President of the Senate (TX)

Constitutional role of the lieutenant governor, giving control over committee assignments, calendars, and procedural rulings.

Legislative Budget Board (LBB)

Bipartisan body chaired by the lieutenant governor that drafts and oversees the state budget.

Comptroller of Public Accounts

Elected official who manages state finances, revenue forecasting, and tax collection (duties absorbed from abolished treasurer in 1996).

Land Commissioner

Elected head of the General Land Office responsible for state lands, mineral leasing, and veterans’ land programs.

Attorney General (TX)

Elected chief legal officer who represents the state in court and shares law-enforcement oversight with the governor.

Secretary of State (TX)

Appointed official who serves as chief record keeper and overseer of state elections.

Texas Railroad Commission

Three-member elected body that regulates oil, gas, and energy industries (no longer concerned with railroads).

State Board of Education

Fifteen-member elected board that sets curriculum standards and manages textbook adoption for public schools.

Adjutant General (TX)

Governor-appointed senior officer commanding the Texas National Guard; first woman in the post was Maj. Gen. Tracy Norris (2019).

National Guard Act (1903)

Federal law that reorganized state militias into today’s National Guard system of part-time professional forces.

Miriam "Ma" Ferguson

Elected in 1925 as Texas’s first female governor and America’s second; nickname derived from initials "M.A."

Nellie Tayloe Ross

Wyoming politician who, in 1925, became the first woman to serve as governor of any U.S. state (48 hours before Ferguson).

Rick Perry

First Texas A&M graduate to become governor; served a record 15 years (2000–2015) before becoming U.S. Secretary of Energy.

Greg Abbott

Current Texas governor; one of the nation’s few governors with a disability (paralyzed from the waist down).

Plural Executive’s Purpose

Prevents concentration of power by dispersing executive responsibilities among several independently elected officials.

Annual Salary (2022 figure)

$153,750 plus residence in the Governor’s Mansion, security detail, official vehicle, and other benefits.

State Treasurership Abolition

1996 constitutional amendment that eliminated the elected treasurer and reassigned duties to the comptroller.

Females & Voting in Texas

Women could vote and hold office in Texas decades before the 19th Amendment, enabling early election of female officials.

Baylor University’s Gubernatorial Record

Texas college with the largest number of alumni who later became governor.

Pardon Abuse Examples

Controversies such as KY governor pardoning a relative, CA governor commuting all death sentences, or Pres. Clinton’s pardon of Mark Rich illustrate risks of unchecked pardon power.

State Emergency Federal Aid Request

Legal requirement that a governor must ask the president for disaster assistance; federal government cannot self-deploy uninvited.

Evacuation Order Authority

Power of the governor to direct state police and National Guard to enforce mandatory evacuations during disasters.

Natural Disaster Leadership Test

Public measure of a governor’s effectiveness based on decisions before, during, and after crises like hurricanes or wildfires.

Qualifications for Lieutenant Governor

Identical to those for governor: 30 years old, U.S. citizen, Texas resident five years; four-year terms with no limits.

Succession

Process by which the lieutenant governor becomes acting governor when the governor is out of state, incapacitated, impeached, or deceased.

Committee Appointment Power (Senate)

Authority of the lieutenant governor to assign senators to committees, heavily influencing legislative outcomes.

Budget Veto/Rewrite Potential

Informal but powerful ability of the lieutenant governor, via the LBB, to reject or redraft the legislature’s proposed budget.

Boards & Commissions (Appointed)

Large network of agencies—some appointed by the governor, others by the lieutenant governor—that administer Texas government functions.

Texas Governor’s Mansion

Historic residence in Austin provided to the sitting governor as part of job benefits.

First Partner

Informal title often used for the governor’s spouse, reflecting ceremonial duties comparable to First Lady/First Gentleman.

State Militia (Pre-1903)

Volunteer citizen soldiers who supplied their own arms; replaced by the modern National Guard after reforms by Theodore Roosevelt.