GOVT 2306: Texas Government (Exam 1)

Political Culture

A patterned set of ideas, values, and ways of thinking about government and politics. The collection of beliefs and attitudes toward government and the political process held by a community or a nation. Deeply held values that cut across ethnic, economic, gender and other lines. The political culture is the GLUE to our society.

American Political Culture (Cherished Values)

Liberty (Freedom) - they mean the same thing

Equality (minimum equality)

Individualism (rights and responsibilities)

Democracy

Justice

Rule of Law

Economic Freedom (Capitalism: all about economic competition and making money - supply and demand)

Which American value is cherished the most?

Freedom

When will a country have the potential to disintegrate?

When the political subculture is stronger than the culture of the country.

Ex: USSR, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Iraq

Does the surge of immigration threaten American political culture?

No, it strengthens our political culture because people come to America because they cherish our political culture values.

Political Subculture (3)

Three subcultures (regional):

1. Individualist subculture

2. Moralistic subculture

3. Traditionalistic subculture

Individual Subculture

- All about the individual rights and responsibilities

- Believe we are far too dependent on the government

- Its up to companies to succeed, not the government

- Promote limited government, say government is too BIG

- Political participation open to everyone who follows the rules

- Expect politicians to be corrupt

Moralistic Subculture

Exact opposite to individualistic subculture

- All about the community, achievement of general welfare

- Promotes active government

- In favor of the raising of minimum wage

- Responsibility of all members of community

- Do not tolerate political corruption

- Political parties are useful as long as they support the community

Traditionalistic Subculture

- Ultimate goal is to maintain social order

- Elites control money, economy, and government

- Political participation limited to those at the top (elites)

- May turn to political corruption in order to ensure political structure

- Political parties are undesirable

- ONE PARTY - which is controlled by the elites

Moralistic Subculture Region

-New England/Northeastern States

- Northern Midwest

- Far West (Washington, Oregon, California)

Individualistic Subculture Region

- Middle Atlantic states

- Central and southern Midwest

- West

Traditionalistic Subculture Region

- South (conservative democrats for many years)

Political Subculture in Texas (2)

Traditionalistic subculture - East Texas

- Southern tradition (plantation/wealthy families)

- Wealthy powerful elites

- Conservative

- One party system (democrats)

- Limited political participation (low voter turnout)

- Legal voting barriers

Individualistic subculture - West Texas

- Frontier (Wild West)

- Limited government

- Individual responsibility

- Hostile towards government

- Accept corruption to a degree

East Texas

- Old South

- Old, wealthy families

- Cotton (in the past)

- Cattle, poultry, timber (today)

Gulf Coast

- Oil

- Petrochemical industry

- Ports

West Texas

- Conservative

- Evangelical Baptist (Bible Belt)

- Livestock

- Oil-Producing

Panhandle

- Livestock (Food Belt)

- Agriculture

North Texas (i.e. Dallas-Fort Worth)

- Banking, insurance, defense, and aerospace industries

- White Collar

Central Texas

- Government

- Education

- High-tech (Austin-Silicon Valley of Texas)

- Austin (liberal)

Hill Country

- German culture

- Politically and socially conservative

- Migration slowing changing cultural identity

South and Southwest Texas

- Binational: Latino and Anglo-American cultures

- Vegetables and citrus fruits

- NAFTA (The North American Free Trade Agreement)

- Maquiladoras: border city factories

- Issues: immigration and drug trafficking

Struggle for Equal Rights

Traditionally in Texas - White, male dominated culture

Women's Rights

Spanish legal heritage:

- Community property rights

Suffrage:

- 1918 Texas primary

- 19th Amendment (1920)

Marital Property Act of 1967

- Insurance, banking, real estate, contracts, divorce, child custody, and property rights

Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the Texas Constitution (1972)

- Abortion rights

African American Rights

- Texas Constitution of 1866 (abolish slavery)

- 15th Amendment (1875): right to vote

- White primaries: Smith v. Allwright (1944) decided unconstitutional

- 1873 - 1979 (Texas was democratic)

- Poll taxes voted unconstitutional

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

- "Separate-but-equal" doctrine

- Leads to Jim Crow Laws

Sweatt v. Painter (1950)

"Separate but TRULY equal"

Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas (1954)

Desegregate public schools - only dealt with public schools

Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas II (1955)

Desegregate schools "with all deliberate speed"

Gay and Lesbian Rights

Lawrence v. Texas (2003):

--- Sodomy laws violated right to privacy

--- Intimate consensual sexual conduct protected by US Constitution

--- Sodomy laws are unconstitutional

Texas Constitutional Amendment (2005):

--- Bans recognizing same-sex marriages and civil unions

--- Denies hospital visitation rights, medical decision authority, community property rights, and survivors' benefits

Full Faith and Credit Clause (US Constitution):

--- One state must honor another state's laws, records, and judicial decisions

Defense of Marriage Act - 1996:

--- Marriage is a legal union between a man and a women

--- One state does not have to recognize same-sex marriages of another state

--- DOMA declared to be unconstitutional (2013)

Same-sex marriage legalized (2015)

Sovereignty

Supreme Authority; Ultimate Right to Rule

Autonomy

Self-governance

Three Systems of Government

1. Unitary System of Government

2. Confederal System of Government

3. Federal system of Government

Unitary System of Government

- A governmental system in which the national government alone is sovereign (Ultimate Authority)

- State or regional governments derive authority from the central government

Confederal System of Government

- A loose association of independent states that establish a national government that only coordinates, not controls, the actions of the sovereign states

- The national (control) government derives its authority from the state governments

(Articles of Confederation was a utter disaster)

Federalism (Federal System of Government)

- Two (or more) sovereign governments share power over the same territory (land) and people

- A governmental system in which authority is divided between two sovereign levels of government ( nation and state)

- Power is given by the people through the Constitution to both national and state governments; they don't draw their power from one or the other, but both get power from the same source (the people)

Five Powers

1. Delegated powers

2. Reserved powers

3. Concurrent powers

4. Expressed or enumerated powers

5. Implied powers

Delegated (exclusive; inherent) Powers

For the national government only:

- Coin Money

- Declare War

- Treaty

- Interstate commerce

Reserved Powers

For state governments only:

- Establish local governments

- Ratify amendments

- Minimum drinking age

- Conduct elections

- Intrastate commerce

- Marriage laws

Concurrent Powers

For both national and state governments:

- Levy taxes

- Make laws

- Charter banks and corporations

Expressed (enumerated; explicit) Powers

Written/spelled out powers

Implied Powers

Powers not written; assumed powers:

- Judicial Review

Tools of the National Government

1. Necessary and Proper Clause (Elastic Clause) - Implied Powers

2. Supremacy Clause (McCulloch v. Maryland (1819))

3. Commerce Clause: Congress ONLY regulates Interstate Commerce (Gibbons v. Ogden)

4. 14th Amendment (1868) - NO STATE

5. Grants-in-aid (Federal Funds) - $$$:

- Minimum drinking age

- Blood alcohol content

When federal government gives money, there are strings attached

Three Types of Federal Grants

1. Categorical Grant (US government's favorite) - target specific purposes with restrictions

2. Block Grant - broader purpose: "any purpose related to..."

3. Revenue Sharing - any purpose (complete discretion)

Tools of the State Governments

10th Amendment - reserved powers

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

Gray Areas within Federalism

- Gun-free school zones (federal law) voted unconstitutional

- Obamacare (individual mandate) voted constitutional

Dual Federalism (1789-1930s)

Four essential parts:

1. National government rules by enumerated powers ONLY

2. National government has a limited set of constitutional purposes

3. Each government is sovereign in its own sphere

4. Tension: Layer Cake Federalism, importance of States' rights, and emphasis on 10th amendment

Ex: Doctrine of Nullification, Dred Scott - slavery is a state issue (throws country into Civil War), right to secede, limited Federal government programs

Cooperative Federalism (1930s-present)

National government and state government need to work together

1. National government and state governments function in a joint manner

2. National government and state governments share power

3. Cooperation

- Marble-Cake Federalism

- Strong, more active national government

- Emphasis on Elastic Clause (Necessary and Proper Clause)

Ex: Federal minimum wage/child labor laws, federal social welfare programs, federal civil rights act, and federal environment regulations

New Federalism (1970)

Advocated by President Nixon:

- Devolution - national government shifts power to state government

- More power to state and local governments

- Decentralized national government:

a. Converted (lump together) numerous Categorical grants into Block grants.

b. Created Revenue-sharing

New New Federalism (1980s-present)

- More power to state and local governments

- Decentralize national government:

a. Converted numerous Categorical grants into Block grants.

b. Yet, reduced Federal funds to state and local governments

c. Also, terminated Revenue - sharing (1986-87)

Coercive Federalism

- A relationship between the national government and states in which the former directs the policies that the states must adopt

- Preemption: The power of the national government to enact laws that assume total or partial responsibilities for a state government function

- Mandate (order): A requirement for a state to undertake an activity (Ex: Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, American with Disability Act, Asbestos Removal)

Texas State Constitution

- Appox. 80,000 words long

- Close to 474 amendments

- Very long, detailed, and heavily amended Constitution

How many Constitutions has Texas had?

From 1845-2016, Texas has had 5 State Constitutions

Texas State Constitution of 1845

Texas could split into five states (if so desired)

Texas State Constitution of 1861

Secession from the Union and joined Confederacy

Texas State Constitution of 1866

- Readmitted into the Union

- Abolished slavery

- Nullified secession

Texas State Constitution of 1869

- Reconstruction Era (late 1860s-1877s)

- Governor EJ Davis (1870-1873): political corruption, government abuse, and election fraud

EJ Davis

- Union General

- Radical Republican

- Direct control of: elections, voter registration, and state police

- Centralized school system

- State debt - $2 million

- State property taxes increased 1450%

1872 Election

EJ Davis v. R Coke:

- Coke won the election but Davis challenged the victory

- Famous semi-colon case

- Result: Fear of strong, centralized state government

Texas State Constitution of 1876

- 17 Articles

- Art. I: Bill of Rights (30 provisions), prohibits gender discrimination (ERA), prohibits imprisonment for debt

- Art II: Separation of powers (3 branches of government)

- Art III: Legislature: Bicameral legislature (Texas Senate and Texas House), Biennial session - meet once every two years (odd # year) only for 140 days, low salary ($7200) increase would have to be approved by vote, balanced budget provision

- Art IV: Executive branch: Plural executive, very week governor, all independently elected, except for Secretary of State

- Art V: Judicial Branch: Two Highest State Courts (only Texas and Oklahoma), Texas State Supreme Court (civil matters), Texas State court of Criminal Appeals (criminal matters), all state judges are elected

- Art VI: Suffrage (voting) - 21 years - minimum voting age (US Constitution's 26th amendment - 18 years)

- Art VII: Amending the Constitution:

1. Proposal Stage: 2/3rd majority vote (approval) in both chambers of the TX legislature

2. Ratification Stage: Majority of the voters

Texas Constitutional Convention (Con-Con) of 1974

- Effort to revise the Texas State Constitution

- 1972: Voters approve constitutional amendment to have convention

- 1973: Constitutional Revision Committee (37 members) hold public hearings and make recommendations

- Needs 2/3rd majority vote (approval)

- Dominated by special interest groups

- Failed by 3 votes

- Essentially the convention accomplished nothing

Revision Recommendations for Con-Con of 1974

- Reduce Constitution by 75%

- Annual legislature sessions

- One high court

- Legislature salary commission

- 4 yr. term (for governor) - 2 term limit

- Reform local governments

Proposals 1975 Amendments

Overwhelmingly rejected

Approved Amendments since 1975

- 4 year term for governor (no term limits)

- Right-to-work provision

- Racetrack betting

Initiative

A group of citizens write up a proposed law to be signed on petitions by the people, and if enough petitions are signed, it will be placed on the ballot to be voted on

Texas does not allow initiatives

Referendum

Legislature proposes a law and puts it on the ballot to be voted on by the people

In Texas:

No state statutory referendums

Constitutional referendums

Recall

Where the people can vote to remove an elected government official (cannot recall federal government positions)

Texas does not allow recalls

Preemption

The power of the national government to enact laws that assume total or partial responsibilities for a state government function

Mandate

A requirement for a state to undertake an activity

Case associated with Supremacy Clause?

McCulloch v. Maryland stated federal government was supreme

Case associated with Interstate Commerce?

Gibbons v. Ogden stated Congress ONLY regulated interstate commerce