Texas Administration

Texas Administration

  • This is the Texas bureaucracy—the agencies that carry out the government policy/political policy. Bureaucracy is also a type of organization associated with red tape—strict rules and regulations, specialization—only certain officials can do certain tasks, and hierarchy—arrangement of power/pyramid arrangement of power. The bureaucrats—employees of a government agency implement—put into effect/action the government programs. The government agency can be a department, board, or commission. Public administration is the carrying out of the government policy AND is the various agencies that are responsible for the activities.

Texas has four types of administrative agencies. The first type is those with elected executives. The second type is those with appointed executives. The third type is those with elected boards or commissions. The last is those with appointed boards or commissions.

  1. Elected Executives

    1. Attorney General

    2. Comptroller of Public Accounts

    3. Commissioner of the General Land Office

    4. Commissioner of Agriculture

  2. Appointed Executives

    1. Secretary of State

    2. Health and Human Services Commission

  3. Elected Boards and commissions

    1. Railroad Commission

    2. State Board of Education

  4. Appointed Boards and Commissions

    1. Public Utility Commission

  5. Sources of Bureaucratic Power

    1. Clientele- The group the agency serves.

    2. Legislature- The agencies have as much contact with the legislature as possible with the intention to keep their current funding.

    3. Executive- The governor appoints many agencies heads. The agencies do all they can win the governor’s support.

    4. Public- The agencies do all they can to win and keep public support for their existence.

    5. Leadership- The agencies want their executive to be stable because that gains them funding. The executive must also be willing to lobby and to be an expert who provides information to the legislature and executive.

  6. Involvement in Policymaking Process

    1. Implementation of the laws.

      1. The agencies have administrative discretion—freedom to use their own judgment as to how the laws will be carried out. When the agency makes rules it is called quasi-legislative function. When the agency decides how the rules will be enforced or decides the punishment for breaking the rules, it is called quasi-judicial function.

    2. Influencing legislation

      1. The agencies are responsible for drafting the bills, furnishing information about the bill, and lobbying for its passage.

Control of the Bureaucracy

  1. Sunset Act

    1. This Act created a review board composed of Representatives and Senators and private citizens to review many of the agencies within a 12 year term. The board has successfully required revisions in the way the agency operates, ended overlapping of duties, and has closed agencies

  2. Sunshine Act

    1. This Act requires open records and open meetings. The agencies must publish and give the secretary of state agendas for all meetings and have meetings open to the public.

  3. Whistle-Blower Protection

    1. The Texas law has proven to be ineffective in protecting whistle-blowers.