Pols 2312 1st Edition Lecture 12Current LectureCompeting Bases of Power within the Executive Branch: - The Plural Executive o Lt. Governoro Attorney General o Comptroller o Ag Commissioner o Railroad Commission o Land Commissioner o Board of Education Rick Perry: - Elected to the State House in 1984 - Elected Ag Commissioner in 1990 - Elected Lt. Governor in 1998 - Became Governor when G.W. Bush assumed the presidency. - In February 2007, Governor Perry issued an “Executive Order” mandating that female school children be vaccinated for HPV prior to being allowed to 6th grade. Budgetary Powers: - Governor must issue a “budget message”- Line-item veto: Governor can veto individual aspects of the state budget. - Can look at a law and instead of taking out the whole law they can take out a portion of it. Veto: - A blunt instrument Checks and Balances:- By a 2/3rds vote in both chambers, the legislature may override the Governor’s veto (this is extremely rare)- Post-adjournment vetoes- The State House may impeach, and the Senate convict, the Governor- Rosemary Lehmberg (Travis County D.A.)- Travis County D.A. and Texas Public Integrity Unit- Perry Veto Threat: $7.5 millionLegislatures and Democracy: - Popular Sovereignty - Legislature Supremacy - Constituent Service - Oversight Texas State Legislature: - Bicameral (like every other state except for Nebraska)- House: 150 Members, 2-year terms- 31 Members of the State Senate- State Senators are elected to staggered 4-year terms- Each House district has around 170,000 residents; each Senate district around 800,000 residents- Presumably, smaller districts mean that legislators in the House are somewhat more responsive to more localized issues.- Senators, in turn, are presumably focused on somewhat broader issues and coalition-buildingFairly minimal formal qualifications: - House: U.S. Citizen, registered voter, minimum 21 years of age, state residency for two years, district residency for one year- Senate: Citizenship, 26 years of age, state residence for 5 years, district residence for 1 year- Pay: $7,200 per year, plus a per diem for every day that the legislature is in session…Why pay so low?- A vision of how government should be and how it should be