Agenda

• Today

    - Lecture Today: The Texas Executive
    - Discussion Today: Texas Special Legislative Session

• Next Monday

    - Module 2 Quiz
    - Discussion of Texas Education Policy
    - Be sure to have read - "From vouchers to a cellphone ban, this year’s lawmaking session brought transformative changes to Texas schools" 

Upcoming Dates

• Module 2 Quiz, July 27 in class
• Module 2 Study Guide - due July 24 - 11:59 PM
• Journals - due Monday, July 27 in class
• Connect Assignments - due Monday, July 27, 11:59 PM

The Executive Branch US and Texas: Constitutional Basis

• US Constitution Article II

    - establishes the presidency
    - lists presidential powers
    - structure of presidency - unitary

• Texas Constitution Article IV

    - establishes the executive
    - lists executive powers
    - structure of executive - plural

Texas Constitution vs US Constitution

• US President

    - Elected Chief Executive
    - President and Vice-President only elected executive branch officials
    - Since 12th Amendment, President and Vice-President elected together (as a pair, from one party)

• Texas Executive: 6 elected executive officials

    - All elected on their own right possibly different parties

The Texas Plural Executive - Governor

• Governor - Greg Abbott
• Lieutenant Governor - ??

The Texas Plural Executive - Lieutenant Governor

• Governor - Greg Abbott
• Lieutenant Governor - Dan Patrick

The Texas Plural Executive

Know the offices and names

• Governor - Greg Abbott
• Lieutenant Governor - Dan Patrick
• Attorney General - Ken Paxton (outgoing)

The Texas Plural Executive

Know the offices; names may be extra credit

• Comptroller of Public Accounts - Kelly Hancock (outgoing July 31)

    - Replaced Glenn Hegar
    - Will be replaced by Don Huffines

• Commissioner of the General Land Office - Dawn Buckingham, M.D.

    - Succeeded George P. Bush
    - Bush ran for Attorney General, leaving the office and was defeated by Ken Paxton

• Commissioner of Agriculture - Sid Miller (outgoing)

Kelly Hancock

• Elected position normally
• State law prohibits a sitting State Senator
• Hancock resigned from the Senate
• Glenn Hegar hired him as Chief Clerk
• Hegar resigned
• Hancock ran for full term, lost in the primary
• Don Huffines will be new comptroller

Governor’s Office

• Election

    - 4 year terms
    - In even numbered federal midterm years
    - no term limits

• Major powers

    - Appoints ~3,000 state regulatory boards, commissions, and judicial seats
    - Veto of bills passed by legislature
    - Line item veto of spending bills
    - Calls special legislative sessions of 30 days and sets the agenda
    - Executive orders to state agencies
    - Limited clemency power with approval of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles
    - CINC of Texas Army and Air National Guard, Texas State Guard

Lieutenant Governor

• Election

    - 4 year terms
    - Even numbered federal midterm years
    - no term limits

• Executive Powers

    - Acting Governor when Governor is out of state
    - Becomes Governor on death, resignation or removal from office of Governor

• Legislative Powers

    - President of the Texas State Senate
    - Appoints Committee Chairs
    - Schedules bills
    - Chair of the Legislative Budget Board
    - Chair of the Legislative Council 

Attorney General

• Election

    - 4 year terms
    - Even numbered federal midterm years
    - no term limits

• Powers

    - Represents Texas in court
    - Sues the federal government (Greg Abbott)
    - Legal counsel to state agencies
    - Clarifies the law with binding advisory opinions
    - Enforces child support
    - Consumer protection
    - Assists local prosecutors in criminal prosecutions
    - Limited power to prosecute certain criminal cases

Comptroller of Public Accounts

• Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company - $165 billion

• Legislative Powers

   - Biennial revenue estimate
   - Pay-as-you-go constraint: Must certify budget

Executive Powers

    - Tax administration
    - Local Revenue distribution
    - State accountant
    - Unclaimed property
    - Economic reporting

Land Commissioner

• Powers

    - Leasing Land for Revenue (for Permanent School Fund)
    - Beach maintenance
    - Erosion and spill response
    - Texas Veterans Land Board
    - Veterans Homes and Cemeteries
    - Distributing Disaster Funds
    - Official custodian of The Alama

Agriculture Commissioner

• Powers

    - Weights and measures - calibrating fuel pumps, commercial scale testing
    - Pesticide and environmental safety - licensing applicators, enforcing spraying laws
    - Consumer protection and nutrition - School lunch administration, organic certification
    - Market development - "GO TEXAN" Program, international trade initiatives
    - Assisting farmers and agribusiness - disaster relief, livestock disease containment

The Texas Plural Executive: Non-Article IV Officials

• Railroad Commission - Christi Craddick (chair), Ryan Sitton, Wayne Christian

The Texas Plural Executive: Non-Article IV Officials

• Railroad Commission - Jim Wright (chair), Christi Craddick, Wayne Christian

• Regulates the oil and gas industry in Texas, which

• would be the fourth largest COUNTRY in the world for oil and gas production

    - The United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Texas

• No authority over railroads

• Elected to staggered six-year terms

The Texas Plural Executive: Non-Article IV Officials

• State Board of Education - 15 members

    - Setting curriculum standards
    - Reviewing and adopting instructional materials
    - Establishing graduation requirements
    - Overseeing the Texas Permanent School Fund
    - Appointing board members to military reservation and special school districts
    - Providing final review of rules proposed by the State Board for Educator Certification
    - Reviewing the commissioner's proposed award of new charter schools, with authority to veto a recommended applicant.

The Texas Plural Executive

• Governor - Greg Abbott
• Lieutenant Governor - Dan Patrick
• Attorney General - Ken Paxton (outgoing)

Know the top 3

• Comptroller of Public Accounts - Kelly Hancock
• Commissioner of the General Land Office - Dawn Buckingham, M.D.
• Commissioner of Agriculture - Sid Miller (outgoing)

Authorship and License

• Author: Tom Hanna

• Website: tomhanna.me

• License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.