17.2 Structure of Government, Lawmaking, Local Government & the Courts

Overview & Exam Relevance

This section continues Competency 005 (Government and Citizenship). It covers how the national, Texas, and local governments are organized and how they work:

• the three branches at the federal and state levels;
• how laws are made;
• how the U.S. and Texas constitutions are amended;
• how cities, counties, and school districts are governed and financed; and
• landmark Supreme Court cases that shaped individual rights.

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The Three Branches: Federal Structure versus Texas State Government

While the Texas government mirrors the federal three-branch architecture, it incorporates distinct constitutional differences designed intentionally by its 19th-century framers to restrict governmental power.

FEDERAL VERSUS TEXAS GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE
┌────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Branch             │ Federal Government                   │ Texas State Government               │
├────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ **Legislative**    │ Bicameral U.S. Congress              │ Bicameral Texas Legislature          │
│                    │ • Senate (100 members, 6-yr terms)   │ • Senate (31 members, 4-yr terms)    │
│                    │ • House (435 members, 2-yr terms)    │ • House (150 members, 2-yr terms)   │
│                    │ • Meets continuously year-round      │ • **Biennial Sessions**: 140 days    │
│                    │                                      │   only in odd-numbered years         │
├────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ **Executive**      │ **Unitary Executive**                │ **Plural Executive**                 │
│                    │ • President leads executive branch   │ • Power fragmented across separately │
│                    │ • Cabinet appointed by President and │   elected officials: Lt. Governor,   │
│                    │   confirmed by Senate                │   Attorney General, Comptroller, etc.│
├────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ **Judicial**       │ **Unified Court Hierarchy**          │ **Dual High Court System**           │
│                    │ • One U.S. Supreme Court (9 justices)│ • Texas Supreme Court (Civil cases)  │
│                    │ • Justices appointed for life        │ • Court of Criminal Appeals (Criminal)│
│                    │                                      │ • Judges elected in partisan votes   │
└────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────────────┘

1. The Legislative Branch

• Federal Level (U.S. Congress): Bicameral body established under Article I of the U.S. Constitution. Composed of the Senate (equal representation with 2 senators per state; 100 total; 6-year terms) and the House of Representatives (representation apportioned by population; 435 total; 2-year terms). Congress meets annually in regular sessions year-round. All bills generating revenue must originate in the House of Representatives.
• Texas State Level (Texas Legislature): Bicameral body established under Article III of the Texas Constitution. Composed of the Texas Senate (31 senators; 4-year staggered terms) and the Texas House of Representatives (150 representatives; 2-year terms). Led by the Speaker of the House (elected by House members) and the Lieutenant Governor (elected statewide, presiding over the Senate).
  • Biennial Sessions: The Texas Legislature meets in regular session only once every two years (biennially), convening on the second Tuesday in January of odd-numbered years for exactly 140 calendar days. When the 140 days expire, the legislature must adjourn.
  • Special Sessions: Only the Governor has the constitutional authority to call the legislature into a special session. Special sessions are limited to a maximum of 30 calendar days, and the legislature may only consider agenda items specifically designated by the Governor.

2. The Executive Branch: Unitary versus Plural Executive

• Federal Level (Unitary Executive): Established under Article II. The President of the United States exercises centralized executive authority. The President appoints cabinet secretaries (e.g., Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense) and agency administrators subject to Senate confirmation, retaining the power to dismiss cabinet officers at will.
• Texas State Level (Plural Executive): Established under Article IV of the Texas Constitution of 1876. Following the Reconstruction era, Texans reacted fiercely against the autocratic, centralized rule of Republican Governor Edmund J. Davis. To ensure no single official could ever consolidate executive tyranny, the framers intentionally fragmented executive power across independently elected statewide officials who answer directly to the voters, not to the Governor:
  1. The Governor: Chief executive officer. Holds the power to sign or veto bills (including the line-item veto to strike specific spending items from state appropriations bills without vetoing the entire budget), call 30-day special legislative sessions, command the Texas National Guard, and appoint members of regulatory boards and university regents with Senate confirmation.
  2. The Lieutenant Governor: Presides as the President of the Texas Senate. Wields immense legislative authority, appointing all Senate committee chairs, assigning bills to committees, and controlling floor debate. Often described as the most legislatively powerful executive officer in Texas state government.
  3. The Attorney General: The state's chief legal officer. Represents Texas in state and federal litigation, defends state statutes against constitutional challenges, and issues formal legal advisory opinions to state agencies.
  4. The Comptroller of Public Accounts: Chief tax collector, accountant, and financial manager for the state. Under the Texas Constitution's balanced budget mandate, the Texas Legislature cannot pass a biennial budget that exceeds the revenue amount certified in advance by the Comptroller.
  5. The Commissioner of the General Land Office (GLO): Manages state-owned lands, mineral rights, and offshore energy leases that generate revenue for the Texas Permanent School Fund (PSF), which supports K-12 public education.
  6. The Commissioner of Agriculture: Enforces state agricultural statutes, promotes agribusiness, oversees pesticide regulations, and certifies commercial weights and measures (including gas pump accuracy).
  7. The Texas Railroad Commission (RRC): A three-member elected board with 6-year staggered terms that regulates the state's oil, natural gas, pipeline, and mining industries (it no longer regulates railroads).

3. The Judicial Branch: Unified versus Dual High Court System

• Federal Level (Unified Supreme Court): Established under Article III. Federal judicial power resides in one ultimate appellate tribunal: the Supreme Court of the United States (consisting of 9 justices). Federal judges are nominated by the President, confirmed by the Senate, and hold lifetime tenure during good behavior to preserve judicial independence from political pressure.
• Texas State Level (Dual High Court System): Established under Article V. Texas is one of only two states in the nation (alongside Oklahoma) with a bifurcated or dual high court system:
  1. The Supreme Court of Texas: Composed of a Chief Justice and 8 justices (9 total). It is the court of last resort for all civil appeals and juvenile justice cases in the state.
  2. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: Composed of a Presiding Judge and 8 judges (9 total). It is the court of last resort for all criminal appeals in the state, exercising mandatory direct appellate review over all capital murder cases resulting in the death penalty.
  • Partisan Judicial Elections: Unlike federal judges, who receive lifetime appointments, most Texas judges (including the Supreme Court, the Court of Criminal Appeals, the courts of appeals, and district courts) are chosen in partisan elections for four- or six-year terms. The governor fills vacancies by appointment until the next election, and some judges, such as many municipal judges, are appointed locally.

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How a Bill Becomes a Law

Federal process

1. A member of Congress introduces a bill (revenue bills must start in the House).
2. A committee studies the bill, holds hearings, and may revise it.
3. The full chamber debates and votes.
4. The other chamber repeats the process. If the versions differ, a conference committee writes a compromise that both chambers must pass.
5. The president signs the bill into law or vetoes it. Congress can override a veto with a two-thirds vote in both houses. A bill becomes law without the president's signature after 10 days (excluding Sundays) while Congress is in session. If Congress adjourns during that period and the president does not sign, the bill dies (a pocket veto).

Texas process: The steps are similar. The governor may sign, veto, or allow a bill to become law without a signature, and has a line-item veto over spending items in appropriations bills, a power the president does not have. The Legislature can override a veto with a two-thirds vote in both chambers.

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Amending the U.S. and Texas Constitutions

The difficult federal process keeps the U.S. Constitution short and stable. The Texas Constitution is long and detailed, so changes often require amendments that voters approve.

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Local Government in Texas

• Counties: Texas has 254 counties, each governed by a commissioners court made up of the county judge and four commissioners. Counties maintain roads, run courts and jails, keep records, and conduct elections.
• Cities: Cities use a mayor-council or council-manager form of government. Cities with more than 5,000 residents may adopt a home-rule charter that sets their own structure.
• School districts: Independent school districts are governed by an elected board of trustees that hires the superintendent, adopts the budget, and sets the tax rate.
• Special districts: Water, hospital, community college, and other special districts provide a single service.
• Financing: Local governments are financed mainly by property taxes, local sales taxes, fees, and state and federal funds.

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Landmark Supreme Court Cases

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Classroom Scenario Application

Classroom Context: During a 5th-grade unit on Texas state government, Mr. Harrison asks his class to compare the powers of the Texas Governor with those of the President of the United States.

Student Misconception: A student, Sophia, remarks: "The Texas Governor is just like the U.S. President because whenever the Governor gets elected, he picks his own team of cabinet officers—like the Attorney General and the Lieutenant Governor—to run the executive departments, and he can fire them whenever he wants."

Diagnostic Error Analysis: The student has erroneously transposed the federal Unitary Executive model onto Texas government. In the federal executive, the President appoints cabinet secretaries who serve at the President's pleasure. In contrast, the Texas Constitution of 1876 established a Plural Executive. Texans deliberately fragmented executive power by having the voters independently elect the Lieutenant Governor, the Attorney General, the Comptroller of Public Accounts, the Land Commissioner, and the Agriculture Commissioner. The Governor has zero power to appoint or remove these executive officials, who often belong to rival political factions.

Targeted Instructional Response:

1. Visual Comparison: Mr. Harrison displays a side-by-side organizational chart comparing the Federal Executive branch with the Texas Executive branch.
2. Interactive Analysis: He guides the class to trace where each official's power comes from:
   • Presidential Cabinet: President nominates $\rightarrow$ Senate confirms $\rightarrow$ Cabinet reports to President.
   • Texas Plural Executive: Texas Voters $\rightarrow$ Elect Governor; Texas Voters $\rightarrow$ Elect Lieutenant Governor; Texas Voters $\rightarrow$ Elect Attorney General; Texas Voters $\rightarrow$ Elect Comptroller.
3. Civic Inquiry Discussion: Mr. Harrison prompts the class: "Why did the authors of the 1876 Texas Constitution want voters to elect each of these officers separately rather than letting the Governor pick them?" Through discussion of the Reconstruction era and Governor E.J. Davis, students deduce that the plural executive is an intentional structural check designed to prevent centralized executive tyranny and enforce limited government.