Quiz for PolitiCs TeSt 3

Although not granted strong appointive powers by the Constitution, the growth of the bureaucracy has increased the number of appointive positions available for the Governor; this has become a substantial power for modern Governors. The Governor now appoints several executive administrators, including the Secretary of State, Adjutant General, Commissioner of Health & Human Services, Insurance Commissioner, and the heads of numerous boards and commissions

The simple approach to make the bureaucracy directly accountable to the people through the democratic process is called elective accountability. In Texas, this was meant to be accomplished through the direct election by the people of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Treasurer, Comptroller of Public Accounts, Commissioner of the General Land Office, Commissioner of Agriculture, the Railroad Commission, and the Texas Education Agency.

The iron triangle model is commonly used to provide a conceptual understanding of the coalition and mutual support that exists between legislative committees, administrative agencies and economic special interest groups

The need of administrative agencies for the governor's support depends on the extent of the governor's formal & informal powers, and how successful the agency has been in finding other powerful political allies. The governor's cooperation is important because of his or her appointive power to policy making boards and commissions. The governor's support gives the agency greater bargaining power with the legislators and interest groups in achieving its goals. Although the Texas governor has few direct administrative powers, he or she can influence and shape agency programs & success through veto power and appointments to policymaking boards and commission.

The constitutional requirement that most ranking administrators, in addition to the governor, be directly elected (instead of appointed by the Governor), was a deliberate effort by the framers of the Constitution of 1786 to decentralize executive administrative power and prevent any one official from gaining control of the government. Thus, Texas has a plural executive, meaning the governor shares executive power with several other independently elected executives and boards, including the Attorney General, the Comptroller, the Railroad Commission and the Texas Education Agency.

The comptroller is elected for a term of four years, with no limit
on the number of terms that may be served. The functions of the comptroller's office encompass either
directly or indirectly almost all financial activities of state government. The comptroller is the chief tax
collector and chief pre-audit accounting officer in the Texas government. The constitution requires
that the comptroller certify the approximate biennial income for the state because the state legislature,
by constitutional restriction, may not appropriate more funds than are anticipated as income for any
biennial session (ie, must have a ‘balanced budget’).

: Appointed by the governor with confirmation by the Senate, the Secretary of State is keeper of the seal of the state and serves as the Chief Election Officer for Texas. The Secretary also provides a repository for official, business and commercial records required to be filed with the office, and publishes government rules & regulations and commissions of notaries public.

Each attempt to de-politicize the bureaucracy simply means that one kind of politics is substituted for another. Most political observers today agree that the Texas bureaucracy is deeply engaged in politics.

: Appointed by the governor with confirmation by the Senate, the Secretary of State is keeper of the seal of the state and serves as the Chief Election Officer for Texas. The Secretary also provides a repository for official, business and commercial records required to be filed with the office, and publishes government rules & regulations and commissions of notaries public.

The iron triangle model is commonly used to provide a conceptual understanding of the coalition and mutual support that exists between legislative committees, administrative agencies and economic special interest groups

The simple approach to make the bureaucracy directly accountable to the people through the democratic process is called elective accountability. In Texas, this was meant to be accomplished through the direct election by the people of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Treasurer, Comptroller of Public Accounts, Commissioner of the General Land Office, Commissioner of Agriculture, the Railroad Commission, and the Texas Education Agency.

One of the most important state regulatory boards in the US, the Railroad Commission is a constitutionally authorized elective board whose three members serve overlapping six year terms. The board is partisan, meaning members must first win their party primary, and has over 800 employees. The Commission regulates oil & gas drilling, pumping, pipelines, utilities and waste disposal, as well as intrastate railroad transportation.

The most natural allies for a bureaucratic agency are its clientele interest groups, the groups that benefit directly from agency programs. The agency reciprocates by protecting its clients within the administration. At the national level, examples of such close-knit alliances of interest group & agency are defense contractors and the Department of Defense, agribusiness and the Department of Agriculture, and drug manufactures and the Food and Drug Administration. Agency employees develop shared attitudes, an esprit de corps and a sense of communality with the employees of the agency's constituency interest groups.

The iron triangle model is commonly used to provide a conceptual understanding of the coalition and mutual support that exists between legislative committees, administrative agencies and economic special interest groups

Although not granted strong appointive powers by the Constitution, the growth of the bureaucracy has increased the number of appointive positions available for the Governor; this has become a substantial power for modern Governors. The Governor now appoints several executive administrators, including the Secretary of State, Adjutant General, Commissioner of Health & Human Services, Insurance Commissioner, and the heads of numerous boards and commissions

Bureaucratic power is enhanced by the support of powerful legislators, often including the chairperson of the committee that exercises legislative oversight over the agency. The agency is dependent on legislative allies for laws that expand its powers, increase the scope of its duties, protect it from unfriendly interests, and appropriate the funds for its operation.

The most natural allies for a bureaucratic agency are its clientele interest groups, the groups that benefit directly from agency programs. The agency reciprocates by protecting its clients within the administration. At the national level, examples of such close-knit alliances of interest group & agency are defense contractors and the Department of Defense, agribusiness and the Department of Agriculture, and drug manufactures and the Food and Drug Administration. Agency employees develop shared attitudes, an esprit de corps and a sense of communality with the employees of the agency's constituency interest groups.

The constitutional requirement that most ranking administrators, in addition to the governor, be directly elected (instead of appointed by the Governor), was a deliberate effort by the framers of the Constitution of 1786 to decentralize executive administrative power and prevent any one official from gaining control of the government. Thus, Texas has a plural executive, meaning the governor shares executive power with several other independently elected executives and boards, including the Attorney General, the Comptroller, the Railroad Commission and the Texas Education Agency.

The iron triangle model is commonly used to provide a conceptual understanding of the coalition and mutual support that exists between legislative committees, administrative agencies and economic special interest groups

Bureaucrats make policy in the process of administrating the law. They write rules and regulations known as administrative law which interpret and define the meaning of the law, and stipulate the process for its environment. These rules & regulations to a large extent define the substance of the law, as well as determine its effect on the public.

Although not granted strong appointive powers by the Constitution, the growth of the bureaucracy has increased the number of appointive positions available for the Governor; this has become a substantial power for modern Governors. The Governor now appoints several executive administrators, including the Secretary of State, Adjutant General, Commissioner of Health & Human Services, Insurance Commissioner, and the heads of numerous boards and commissions

One of the most important state regulatory boards in the US, the Railroad Commission is a constitutionally authorized elective board whose three members serve overlapping six year terms. The board is partisan, meaning members must first win their party primary, and has over 800 employees. The Commission regulates oil & gas drilling, pumping, pipelines, utilities and waste disposal, as well as intrastate railroad transportation.

: Appointed by the governor with confirmation by the Senate, the Secretary of State is keeper of the seal of the state and serves as the Chief Election Officer for Texas. The Secretary also provides a repository for official, business and commercial records required to be filed with the office, and publishes government rules & regulations and commissions of notaries public.

The constitutional requirement that most ranking administrators, in addition to the governor, be directly elected (instead of appointed by the Governor), was a deliberate effort by the framers of the Constitution of 1786 to decentralize executive administrative power and prevent any one official from gaining control of the government. Thus, Texas has a plural executive, meaning the governor shares executive power with several other independently elected executives and boards, including the Attorney General, the Comptroller, the Railroad Commission and the Texas Education Agency.