Local Government In Texas

The state bureaucracy administers/implements the laws of Texas. It is run by executives whose job is to see that the laws of the state are implemented according to the will and intent of the Legislature. Ideally, these executive branch officials or bureaucrats are to administer their duties and implement the laws in a neutral manner, uninfluenced by politics. In reality, state bureaucrats are important players in not just implementation, but also policy making. In Texas, there is no overall central governing or controlling authority. Government authority in Texas is very decentralized, and rests within many independent state agencies.

In the State of Texas, the Council-Manager form of government is preferred by all of the major cities, except for Houston who prefer the Mayor-Council form of government. Under the Council-Manager form of government, the voters are at the top of the hierarchical structure. In this capacity, the voters elect a small City Council, including a mayor, who is the presiding officer over the City Council. Although the Mayor is symbolically the “Head of State”, he or she is not the head of government. The Mayor and City Council have the authority to appoint four of the city’s government officials: the City Manager, the City Attorney, the City Clerk and the Municipal Judge (some cities elect this position). Moreover, although weak in this form of government, the Mayor has a vote on many issues impacting the city; however, lacks any type of veto authority (except in a few cities), which means that laws are passed by on a majority-rule voting system of the total City Council Members, meaning all City Council Members must vote in order to pass a law. Most importantly, the Mayor and City Council primary role lies in the establishment of a strategic vision for the city. Once this is accomplished, the Mayor and the City Council are responsible for generating a strong mission statement that aligns with a set of clear goals, resulting in effective government policy guidance for execution by the City Manager to run the city. Collectively, the Mayor and City Council hire the City Manager who has full management authority, to execute the Mayor’s and City Council’s vision for the city. However, a City

The main function of the judicial branch in Texas is the same as the federal judicial branch: to interpret the laws. By doing this the Texas judicial branch settles disputes, determines whether those who have been charged with violating the law are guilty or innocent, and settles the

Texas is the second most populous state as well as the second largest state in the United States of America (Brown, Langenegger, Garcia, Lewis, & Biles, 2014). With a huge number of people currently calling Texas their home, it would make sense to draw the conclusion that the Texas government must make this state a great place to live by serving its citizens to the best of its abilities. However, it is best not to make assumptions and in order to ascertain whether the local government actually fulfills this role we must look at multiple aspects of the government.

Traditionalistic political cultures, according to Daniel Elazar, are typically found in the Selected Answer: d.

The most common Governmental figure in Texas is the Governor. This power is nothing more than that of a celebrity status. Although the Governor has the power to appoint independent boards and commissions, the senate has to confirm these appointments. This is called senatorial courtesy What is meant when this job is more like a celebrity is because of the Governor‘s ceremonial roles as acting as Chief of State. This increases the Governor‘s popularity and prestige, and broadens the image of the office. One important power or role that the Governor is responsible for is coordinating relations between Texas and other states. This can definitely be an important factor. For example, the need of federal aid during the time of an emergency can require the help of other states. The Governor also acts as the Chief Budget officer of the state. Even though the presiding officer presides over this office, the Governor does have some control. This is a very effective example of a good trustworthy system.

Branches of Texas Government In order for a government to make important decisions successfully for its citizens, there needs to be different branches with specific tasks. Texas uses the three branches, legislative, executive and judicial, within its government to create a balance of power. Each branch has the ability to monitor the powers of the other branches, so that one branch does not become overly powerful. The system of checks and balances was created and is an important part of the constitution because it resolves many fears of an overbearing government.

The Texas Government must remain in the confines of the Texas Constitution which ultimately means to follow the four major functions. These four major functions define a constitution and its meaning therefore leaving the Texas Government with the same predicament and views, due to the same principles they both share within each other. Regardless of the sudden changes in current laws and policies the Texas Constitution must remain with its natural basics that a constitution settles in.

This paper will discuss about the three branches of government of Texas. The government of Texas has its operations under the constitution of Texas (Maxwell, Crain, & Santos, 2013). It consists of a unitary democratic state of government that applies the Dillon Rule as the County and municipal levels. The branches of the Texas government consist of the executive branch, which consist of the governor, Lieutenant governor and many others in that docket.

There are many ways that the Texas government differs from the federal system. The main way that they differed is the certain laws and they can pass. There’s certain things each department can do and the other one can’t. I believe that the Texas government another word for the constitution of Texas. Send me this basically means this is mainly for cities in Texas. Meanwhile while the federal system which is basically the US Constitution covers the whole world. Texas have their own government and all rules and regulations that they have to follow. The federal system is basically dividing of power between central national government and the local state government. The federal system focus on the larger countries. While Texas government mostly

Our government here in Texas has three major parts that play a significant part in our decision making process. These levels

According to 2002 Census of Government figures, Texas has 1,196 cities, 254 counties, 1,089 school districts, and 2,245 special districts. During the past 20 years, the num- ber of special districts has steadily increased, due mainly to the rapid creation of water districts in unincorporated areas. Conversely, the number of school districts has steadily de- clined, as smaller systems have consolidated with larger ones. The number of counties has remained constant for 100 years, while the number of cities is increasing at an av- erage of about 10 per year.

Maria Macias #1883712 2017SP GOVT 2306-73434 Local Control in Texas May 2, 2017 Local Control in Texas Do you know the difference in power between state legislature and local control? Let me begin by giving you some background information. 1 According to Konni Burton, “Counties, cities, and all manner of special purpose districts (which include our independent school districts) are creations of the state government. They exist at the sole discretion of the state; receive their responsibilities, powers, and restrictions from the state; and are subject to the direction of the state.” (Burton) In Texas, there are many municipalities which are known as “home-rule” cities which have a “population of more than 5,000 that has, in accordance

In Texas, each county is governed by a five-member Commissioners Court, which consists of a County Judge (elected at-large) and four Commissioners (elected from single-member precincts). The County Judge has no veto authority over the decisions of the Court; they have one vote along with the other Commissioners. In smaller counties, the County Judge also performs judicial functions, while in larger counties their role is limited to the Court. Elections are based on the political parties, Democrat, Republican, Independent and sometimes Libertarian. Counties do not have home rule authority because their authority is strictly limited by the State. Texas counties, merely exist to deliver specific types of services at the local level as prescribed by state law, but cannot enact or enforce local ordinances.

The state and the local government do have shared powers between them. They are both responsible for paying and funding public services, including paying for most roads, public school systems, clean water sources, organizing fire and police services, and arranging elections for their citizens. They are also responsible for providing welfare and transportation for its citizens (The USA Online, n.d.). State and local governments also have the power to set education policies for schools. Although local governments such as cities, counties, towns and townships regulate and control the schools to set new policies, the states are the dominant policy makers and are the ones who make decisions on important issues (Bowman and Kearney,