Chapter 5

The Plural Executive

• Six elected offices

• Secretary of state not elected

• Each elected independently

• Plural executive

• Lieutenant Governor

  • Assume temporary governorship if absence

    • face similar requirements as governors

    • serve as presiding officer of the Texas senate

  • Not well-compensated

  • Requirements

  • Current lieutenant governor

    • conservative

    • Republican

    • school choice

• Attorney General

  • Off-year election

  • Involved in range of topics

  • Advises governor’s office, legislature, state agencies

  • Appoints solicitor general

  • Consumer protection division

  • Governor’s veto power opinion

  • Ken Paxton, current attorney general

  • Connected to variety of scandals

• Comptroller of Public Accounts

  • How much sales tax does the city get v the state

    • Qualifications vary by state

    • Texas comptroller elected

    • Significant roles

    • Reasons for being unpopular

    • Current comptroller

    • Texas economy’s rise and fall

• Agriculture Commissioner

  • Created by law, not constitution

    • character of law but not originally in the constitution

  • Four-year term

  • Responsibilities

    • oversee ag law

    • school lunch programs

    • certifies gas

  • Current commissioner

• Land Commissioner

  • Legacy in Texas

  • Commissioner of the General Land Office

  • Qualifications

  • Permanent School Fund (PSF)

    • come from the sale of land or resources on or under the land

    • the money is invested into stocks and such but the idea is you spend the growth but not the principal

    • sent to all the school districts in the state

  • Scope of commissioner’s duties

    • figures out how to manage land to bring benefit for the State

  • Smaller component offices and agencies

  • Role in wind energy production

  • Current commissioner

• Political Ambition Ladder

  • manner of which a person climbs up the political ladder

    • Anticipation of higher political career

    • Political ambition ladder

    • Rick Perry’s long tenure

    • Conflict among the plural executive

• Secretary of State

  • Responsibilities

    • the one member that is not elected

    • chosen by governor

    • running state elections

    • deal with foreign govt

    • keep state records

    • making sure people have the appropriate licenses and registrations

  • Functions

  • More diverse than other offices

Boards and Commissions

• Bureaucracy

  • part of the executive branch

  • led not by individuals but by groups of people

  • “boards” or “commissions”

    • Hierarchical structure'

      • chain of command

      • work is distributed in a way to get the job done

    • Division of Labor

    • Standard operating procedures

      • one of the negative things we see is a lack of creativity

    • Advancement by merit

    • Nearly 300 boards and commissions in Texas

• Texas Department of transportation

  • Known as TxDOT

  • Construction and maintenance of roads

  • Governed by Texas Transportation Commission

  • Largest ongoing projects

  • Strategic plan

  • Funding process

  • Structure

• Texas Health and Human Services

  • Umbrella agency

  • Manages welfare programs

  • Large agency subdivided into divisions

  • Important tracker of COVID-19

  • vital statistics - who’s alive and who died x-x

• Railroad Commission of Texas

  • Regulate railroads for protection

  • Executive director and other key staff

  • Energy policy

  • Typical department organization

  • Regulates energy and environmental factors

  • Frequent debate over this commission

• Texas Department of Criminal Justice

  • Oversees correctional facilities

  • Supervises processes for released offenders

  • Department members

  • Five key divisions

  • Executive director

  • Texas Board of pardons and Paroles

• State Board of Education

  • Board member organization

  • Elected board

  • Redistricting process

  • Roles of SBOE

  • Led by governor-appointed commissioner

  • SBOE occasionally makes national news

  • Offices of the TEA

  • Leaders of the TEA

• Public Utility Commission of Texas

  • Appointed regulatory commission

  • Commission members

  • Expanding scope

  • Run by executive director and subdivisions

• Staffing the State Government

  • Amount of state employees

  • Patronage system

  • Merit-based civil service system

Bureaucratic Accountability

• Tenuous executive control

• Sunshine laws

  • openness in the govt

• Sunset review process

  • 12 people

    • regulation

Winners and Losers

• Citizens have direct control

• Key positions are elected

• Wins for ambitious politicians

• Merit system and professionalism