Politics Test 3

Front 1

Bureaucracy and Public Policy

Back 1

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.

Front 2

Clientele Groups:

Back 2

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.

Front 3

the Legislature, the Lieutenant Governor, and the Speaker:

Back 3

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.

Front 4

The Governor

Back 4

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.

Front 5

The Iron Texas Star

Back 5

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

Front 6

administration of the law

Back 6

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.

Front 7

Elective Accountability:

Back 7

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.

Front 8

plural executive

Back 8

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.

Front 9

Attorney General

Back 9

The attorney general is elected for a four year term with no limit on the number of terms that may be served. Holding one of the four most powerful offices in Texas government, the attorney general is the lawyer for all officials, boards, and agencies in state government.
The attorney general performs two major functions for the state. One is to give an Attorney General's Opinion. In the absence of a prior judicial interpretation, the attorney general has the power to interpret law or to give an opinion that a law or practice does or does not violate Texas or U.S. constitutions. The second major function of the attorney general is to represent the state in both civil and criminal litigation.

Front 10

Comptroller of Public Accounts:

Back 10

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’).

Front 11

Railroad Commission

Back 11

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.

Front 12

Texas Education Agency (TEA

Back 12

The TEA oversees and regulates the Texas public school system below college level, and administers state & national education law. The Agency is composed of the State Board of Education (SBOE), with 15 members elected in partisan elections as its policymaking body, the commissioner of education as its chief executive, and more than 850 professional, technical, and clerical employees. The SBOE establishes and implements policy, and oversees the TEA. Historically, public education in Texas has been decentralized, with most educational & administrative policy exercised by local school boards. In recent years, however, the TEA has begun mandating more educational policy and procedures.

Front 13

Appointed Executives

Back 13

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

Front 14

Secretary of State

Back 14

: 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.