State Government Exam 2

What is a plural executive?

When several key executive offices are individually and separately elected by the voters, rather than the governor or president.

List the six members of the Texas plural executive.

• Governor - Greg Abbott

• Lieutenant Governor - Dan Patrick

• Attorney General - Ken Paxton

• Comptroller for Public Accounts - Kelly Hancock

• Commissioner of the General Land Office - Dawn Buckingham

• Commissioner of Agriculture - Syd Miller

How many positions in the Plural executive are mandated by the Texas Constitution (1876)

Five out of six

How many are created by statutory law passed by the Texas Legislature?

Only one

Which positions are statutory and which positions are constitutionally required?

All but one are constitutionally required, the Commissioner of Agriculture is created by statutory law.

List the reasons why Texas uses a plural executive.

• Historical Factors

• Frontier experience

• Theoretical Reasons

• Pragmatic Considerations

• Democratic Theory

What are some historical factors associated with using the plural executive in Texas?

• The framers of the Republic of Texas government, carried forth the idea that a powerful executive branch is bad from the American and Texas revolution. Santa Anna (Ruler of Mexico) and Texan experience under Mexican rule instilled a fear in Texans of a strong executive branch.

What is the connection between the frontier experience and the use of the plural executive in Texas?

• The rural, frontier experience builds in Texans an independent mindedness, with little need for government. We do not seek or desire a strong executive. It’s different from the lived experiences on the frontier

What is the theoretical reason for using the plural executive in Texas?

• The desire to spread executive power across multiple offices to prevent concentration of power in the hands of one person/the governor.

What is the pragmatic reason for using the plural executive in Texas?

• If we have a weak legislature, we also need to weaken the executive branch. We do this by installing multiple, directly elected offices, balancing the weak legislature with a weak executive. We do not design political systems to act quickly, because a quick legislature can take your rights away.

How does the plural executive make Texas’s state government more democratic?

• More offices directly elected by the voters = more accountability

What is the term in office for members of Texas’s executive branch? Are there term limits?

4 year terms in office since the 1980s, prior to that it was a 2 year term. There are no term limits since Texas does not term limit it’s executive branch.

What is a Governor’s cabinet? Does Texas have a Governor’s Cabinet?

Key policy advisors + heads of key executive departments/agencies. Texas does not have a governor’s cabinet.

In the states of the U.S., what are the four different ways that Cabinets have legal or constitutional status?

1. Required by state constitution, ex: New Mexico

2. Required by state law, ex: Arkansas

3. A tradition; custom, but not required. Can be abolished, ex: Nevada

4. No governor’s cabinet, not in the history of the state. Ex: Texas

What are the key duties of the Texas Attorney General?

• Chief legal officer of Texas

• Determines state strategies for court cases

• Appoints the Solicitor general, key/chief lawyer of the state of Texas. (Their presence in a courtroom indicates the state’s interest in a case)

• Issues advisory opinions to Texas state government agencies, an important function

• The state agency in charge of consumer protection, the attorney general office conducts investigations on behalf of citizens.

What are the key duties of the Texas Comptroller for Public Accounts?

• Oversees the state government budget

• Prepares the revenue estimates for Texas legislature

• Reviews regularly patterns of spending and taxing by Texas state government

• Oversees collection of state taxes

• Disburses state revenue to state government agencies

What are the key duties of the Commissioner of Agriculture?

• Oversees agriculture policy and programs in Texas

  • School nutrition

  • “Go Texan” campaign

  • Low interest loans to farmers during disasters

• Weights and measures

• Regulation of pesticides and certain chemicals

What are the key duties of the Commissioner of the General Land Office?

• Oversees state lands

  • Leases for mineral rights for oil, natural gas, etc. development on state

  • Leases for wind power production on state lands. Texas has been the largest wind producer in the country for years, beating states like California

  • Offshore wind, oil, and gas leases

  • Money from these leases is given to public school and university state funds

• Oversees programs for veterans

• Oversees the Alamo in San Antonio

What is the secretary of state? How is the secretary of state chosen in Texas?

The secretary of state is an appointed position. The secretary of state is appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by Texas senate. They are not part of the plural executive or the political ambition ladder.

What are the key duties of the Secretary of State?

• International affairs - The state of Texas cannot enter treaties, but they can have representation.

  • Chief protocol officer - Handles foreign relation protocol, what happens when the president of another country comes to Texas.

  • Represent Texas on boards that govern the U.S. Mexico Border

• Oversee elections and voting in Texas

• Regulates business and not-for-profits in Texas.

Is the Secretary of state part of the political ambition ladder? Why or why not?

The Secretary of State is not apart of the political ambition ladder because the position is appointed by the governor rather than elected by the public. It is not a progressive, independently elected step toward a higher office (like governor), making it less advantageous for long-term political ambition.

What is an elected board or commission in Texas? What is an appointed board?

A group of officials chosen by voters to oversee specific public entities, exercising administrative or legislative authority outside the direct appointment of the governor. Ex: School district boards of trustees, county commissioner courts, and special districts. An appointed board is a board or commission associated with a state agency appointed by the governor.

How much of the Texas workforce is employed by the state government?

Nearly 15% of the Texas workforce

What are the most common areas of employment for the Texas State Government?

Health and Human services, criminal justice/law enforcement, and transportation.

List reasons why the Texas governor is considered constitutionally weak?

• Shared power in the Texas Plural executive

• Many checks on the governor’s power

• Lacks control over the state budget process

List reasons why the governor is considered politically strong.

• Leadership role

• Agenda setting

• Popular mandate

• Political ambition ladder

• Charismatic personalities

• Impact of COVID-19

• Long tenure of recent governors

How does Texas’s standing in population and economic activity increase the political power of the governor?

It makes the governor the leader of the second largest state by population and second largest state economically.

How does the governor’s party leadership help enhance the governor’s power?

• Legislators from the governor’s party expect the governor to lead their party

• Desire to work with the governor on bills and state budget

• Governor’s role in the legislative process

  • Must sign all bills into law

  • Negotiating on bills

  • Working to get the state budget passed

How does agenda setting help increase the governor’s political power?

• Setting priorities about what the TX government should focus on, what it should do

• Lays out a vision for Texas

• Types of bills the legislature should pass

  • State of the state address

  • Interim

How does the claim of a popular mandate help the governor’s political power?

Because the governor is elected directly (by the voters), they are given a statewide mission to accomplish their agenda.

• The bigger the governor’s margin of victory, the stronger the mandate.

• Governor is the highest office directly elected, making them the voice of the Texas people

• Governor is usually elected with over 50% of the vote.

What is the political ambition ladder? Which positions are part of the political ambition ladder?

• Those serving in statewide office typically come through the ranks of other position in the executive branch and from the legislature. People on the PAL wait their turn to move to higher office.

• Positions a part of the ladder are the Governor, the Texas plural executive, local offices, and the state legislature.

How does the political ambition ladder enhance the power of the governor?

Because the governor is the highest the ladder goes, the governor sits at the top of the ladder. It seems to be strained, certainly at the top.

What role does having a charismatic personality play in increasing the power of Texas governor?

• Many states elect charismatic figures as governor

• For Texas, we have a lack of strong political parties, leading Texas voters to elect based on personality rather than party. Having a personality that stands out helps governors cross party lines.

Why does Texas produce charismatic governor’s according to V.O. Key?

Texas is so big that developing highly integrated, well-organized, institutionalized, political parties is difficult. A Charismatic candidate removes this need.

How did the long tenure of Rick Perry and Greg Abbot as governor enhance the powers of the Texas governor?

In the past, governors served no more than 6 years. Legislators know governors come and go, but legislators will remain in office longer. So they could usually just ignore the governor. Rick Perry and Greg Abbott cannot be ignored because they continue to get re-elected.

Result: Legislators must pay attention to the governor, therefore the governor’s power increases.

How did executive orders in Texas and other states during the COVID-19 pandemic expand executive power?

Many, if not all state governors, addressed COVID-19 by executive orders. It allowed governors to use executive orders to address the policies. Cumulatively, the power of the executive grew relative to legislatures during COVID-19

How did the creation of the business courts, as trial level original jurisdiction courts, increase the governor’s power?

All of these courts are appointed by the Texas governor.

List the legislative powers of the Texas governor.

• Signs bills into law

• Veto

• Emergency Measure

• Call a special session of the Texas legislature.

• Executive orders

What is the veto?

• To reject a bill passed by the Texas legislature and return it to the legislature w/ reasons for the veto

What is an override of a veto?

A 2/3rd vote of each chamber of the Texas legislature that overturns the veto.

How often are governor’s vetos overridden?

3% of the governor’s vetoes in Texas are overturned.

What is limited line item veto?

A line item veto is a type of veto that takes some parts of a bill to be returned to the legislature, but signs parts of the same bill into law. Only budget bills (taxes & spending) may be line item vetoed.

When may the Texas governor use line item veto?

Only budget bills (taxes & spending) may be line item vetoed.

What is a post adjournment veto?

When the governor vetos a bill after the Texas legislature ends its session.

How does post adjournment veto power increase the power of the governor?

Bulk of vetos occur in the 14 days after the legislature was in session so they don’t have time to overturn it, giving the governor more power in the government.

What is an “emergency measure”? How does this ability enhance the power of the governor?

A special authority granted to a governor by state constitution to take immediate, often unilateral action during a crisis. These measures allow the governor to bypass standard legislative processes and regulations, temporarily shifting power from the legislative branch to the executive branch.

What is the “State of the State Message”? Why is it important for governors?

An annual address, delivered by a governor to the state legislature and public, outlining the government’s achievements, current financial condition, and policy priorities for the coming year. It is critical for setting the legislative agenda, defining the governor’s legacy, and signaling key areas.

What is a special session of the legislature? Why is this power important to governors?

A legislative meeting called by a governor outside of the regular legislative session, typically used to address urgent matters. They allow governors to force action on specific priorities, break gridlock, and address issues that arose after the regular session.

What is an executive order? How does this power help the governor be powerful?

An executive order is a formal, written directive issued by a governor that manages operations within the executive branch. It has the force of law when based on existing constitutional authority, allowing the governor to act without requiring new legislative action.

What can the legislature do if it disagrees with an executive order?

It may pass new legislation to nullify or restrict it, cut funding to enforce it, or authorize legal challenges to prove the order violates state laws or the constitution.

What is the appointment power of the governor? List limitations on this power.

The Governor appoints members to approx. 300 boards and commissions. 3-9 members each.

• All appointments have to be confirmed by the TX senate

• Cannot remove people appointed from an earlier/prior governor

• Can only appoint 1/3rd of each board or commission every 2 years.

Why has the governor’s appointment power grown over time?

Due to the growth of number of appointed positions, we went from a handful of boards and commissions to 300, giving a lot more influence and power to the governor.

What are interim appointments to the judiciary? How do these appointments increase the governor’s power?

Governor gets to fill vacancies in the Judiciary until the next election with interim appointments. They allow the governor to bypass popular elections and directly select a temporary judge, which serves as a powerful tool for a governor to shape the judiciary.

What are reprieves, pardons, and commutations?

A judicial power of the governor, where the governor can grant all three of these in order to change a ruling made by the judicial system.

• Commutation - Reduction of sentence

• Pardon - Exemption from punishment

• Reprieve - Delay in sentencing

What are the budgetary powers of the governor?

• Develop a budget proposal

  • Required by law to submit this proposal

• Line item veto for budget items

• Interim budget powers - Power when the legislature is not in session to move some money around, not extensively though.

What is original jurisdiction? What is appellate jurisdiction?

Original Jurisdiction - Court where a case is first tried/heard, where the case begins. Includes jury, lawyers, judge, witnesses, evidence, and the purpose of the trial is to decide whether there has been a violation of the law

Appellate Jurisdiction - Hears cases already decided by an earlier “lower” court. There are no witnesses, no new evidence, no jury. More than 1 judge hears the case; odd # like 3 or 5 or 7. The judges ask questions of the lawyers, they’re no longer neutral members of the trial. The purpose of the trial is to determine if the process at the lower court was correct. Actions:

1. Uphold

2. Overturn

3. Remand

What kinds of rulings may be issued by an appellate court in a case?

They issue rulings that they either:

1. Uphold

2. Overturn

3. Remand

The lower court’s decision. These rulings, often accompanied by written opinions, determine whether the original judgment stands, requires correction, or necessitates a new trial.

What does it mean to remand a case? What is a reversal?

To remand a case is to order the lower court to fix legal errors and conduct a new trial in light of new rulings. The appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further action. A reversal is when a higher court determines a lower court’s judgement was incorrect due to legal errors, overturning the decision.

What is exclusive jurisdiction? What is concurrent jurisdiction?

Exclusive Jurisdiction - A case may be heard by only 1 court. In Texas, there are a set of courts called district courts. They are the only courts that can hear criminal cases where the death penalty is involved. These cases have to begin in district court; they have exclusive jurisdiction in these courts.

Concurrent Jurisdiction - One or more courts may hear a case, when multiple courts have jurisdiction in a case.

How are original jurisdiction court cases different from appellate cases in Texas?

In Texas, original jurisdiction courts hear cases for the first time, involving evidence, witness testimony, and juries.

Conversely, appellate courts review lower court decisions for legal errors, focusing on law rather than new evidence. Original cases establish facts, while appellate cases review the fairness of the initial trial.

What is criminal law? Why does the state bring the case to the courts, not a citizen?

Criminal Law is law when there’s been a violation of public peace. State/government steps in to accuse and prosecute with violation of law.

Where does the burden of proof lie? What is “beyond a reasonable doubt” as a standard for conviction?

The burden of proof lies on the state in Criminal Law, defendants are assumed innocent and the state must prove them guilty. The burden of proof is high, it is called “beyond a reasonable doubt” the weight of the evidence presented against the defendant must be so overwhelming, there is no way a reasonable person would think they are innocent.

What possible punishments may occur in Criminal law?

In Criminal law, possible punishments are fines, imprisonment, and the death penalty. The state reserves the right to take your life if beyond a reasonable doubt you are guilty for a heinous crime.

What is civil law? What is the burden of proof in civil cases?

Civil law is contract law between two private parties, whether than is individuals, corporations, nonprofits, etc. One side brings suit against another because there is a violation of the contract, or that one party has been wronged by the actions of another.

The burden of proof in these cases is merely a preponderance of evidence pointing to a violation. That the accused most likely violated the law/contract, meaning it is more likely than not that a claim is true.

What are punitive damages?

Substantial monetary rewards designed to punish defendants in Civil/Tort law for exceptionally harmful, malicious, or reckless behavior and deter future conduct) awarded in addition to compensatory damages.

What is administrative law?

Rules and regulations processes created by a government agency. Lawyers cannot be in these cases, it’s a matter of the institution or individual to plead their case. These aren’t violations to the law, but violations to administrative rules and regulation that an individual agreed to uphold.

List and explain five ways that Texas’s court are similar to U.S. national courts.

• Both court systems are based on common law

• Most structures of both court systems are created by legislatures

• The supreme courts of both systems set en banc

• Judicial Review, the ability of the courts to review laws passed by the legislature or acts of the executive to determine if the law or act is constitutional.

What is en bank? What is judicial review? Why is it important for the courts?

En banc - All judges hear and rule on all cases in the supreme court. Judicial review is essential for the courts because it establishes them as co-equal branch of government, providing the ultimate authority to interpret the constitution and ensure that legislative and executive actions comply with it

What is common law?

Judge made law, the judge looks at the facts of the case and rules based upon similar cases (precedent) that have already been decided.

1. Application to similar facts, precedent are the previous rules of court.

2. We apply stare decisis, letting the prior rulings of the court be the guide of the case. This is the foundation of Anglo-American law.

What is precedent?

List and explain ways Texas’s court system is different from the U.S. national court system?

How many supreme courts does Texas have? What is the different between the supreme courts in Texas?

What are some examples of specialized courts in Texas?

How are most Texas state court judges selected?

List and explain three systems for selecting judges for state courts used in the U.S.

What is the retention system or “Missouri Plan”?

What are the differences between partisan and nonpartisan systems for selecting state judges?

What are the advantages of using appointment systems to select state judges?

What are the disadvantages of using appoint systems to select state judges?

What are the advantages of using partisan elections to select state judges?

What are the disadvantages of using partisan elections to select state judges?

What are the advantages of using nonpartisan elections to select state judges?

What are the disadvantages of using nonpartisan elections to select state judges?

What are the advantages of using the retention system to select state judges?

What are the disadvantages of using the retention system to select state judges?

How are most state judges selected in Texas? What about new business courts created in 2023?

What are civil liberties? Where constitutionally are civil liberties found in the Texas Constitution (1876)?

What is the connection between civil liberties and liberal democracy?

What is the connection between civil liberties and populist democracy?

How does the U.S. rank globally in terms of the death penalty?

How does Texas rank in terms of inmates on death row? What about total executions since 1972?

What did the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rule in Stroman v. State (2002)?

How does the ruling in Stroman v. State differ from the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions on the death penalty/capital punishment?

What did the U.S. Supreme Court Rule in In re Gault (1967)?

What did the U.S. Supreme Court rule in Roper v. Simmons (2005)?

What did the U.S. Supreme Court rule in Atkins v. Virginia (2002)?

How did the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals respond in Ex parte Jose Garcia Briseños?

What is the Lennie Small test?

What did the U.S. Supreme Court rule in Panetti v. Quarterman (2007)?

Historically, what types of people could be executed in Texas?