Compare And Contrast The Formal And Informal Powers Of Texas Governor

Summer Lab Assignment: Option 1 In this paper, I will compare the formal powers of the Texas Governor and Texas Lieutenant Governor. Also, a conclusion will be drawn about who has more power and why. The governor of Texas is perceived to be a weak governor (compared with others across the fifty states) which stems from conditions dating back to the new Texas Constitution. The reason for this is that Texas had to disperse power (after the Civil War) among the lieutenant governor, the governor, and the speaker in order to keep a balance of powers. The Governor of Texas has powers in four separate areas: Executive powers, Legislative powers, Judicial Powers and Law enforcement/Military powers. The governor has appointive and executive powers, which involve the ability to make appointments (over 1000 positions) to various boards or commissions for six year terms. Texas’ Governor’s removal powers are very weak; in addition to not being able to remove appointees from predecessors, the governor can only remove people from personally appointed positions with a
This is considered one of the most powerful aspects of the office because prior to going to the senate floor, bills must go through a senate committee. Lieutenant Governor decides when a bill comes up on the floor for a vote. Almost all of the Lieutenant Governors powers derive from rules passed by senate at the beginning of each legislative session. The Lieutenant governor really has only as much power as he or she can get from the state senate or legislators. The Lieutenant Governor is also the leader of the Legislative Budget Board which has considerable power over the state’s budget and policies. Other, well known aspects of the office of Lieutenant Governor is that he/she gets to be governor if the governor dies, or leaves the