POLS 207 2nd Edition Lecture 13 Outline of Last Lecture I Strategy of Redistricting for the Majority Party II Another Look at Dividing a Circle District Splintering Cracking Packing III Role of Court Review IV Redistricting in Texas V Characteristics Facts and Details about the Texas State Legislature VI Ranking State Legislature Functionality Accountability Informed Independence Representativeness VII Why is Nebraska a unicameral legislature VIII Governors Qualifications and Salary Outline of Current Lecture I Succession to the Governor s Office if Vacant II Removal from Office Impeachment and Recall III Roles of the Governor IV Powers of the Governor a Formal Tenure of Office Appointment Power Vetoes Budget Power Reorganization Powers b Informal Popularity Access to Media Leadership Qualities V Governor of Texas A Weak Governor VI Other Executive and Branch Officials Current Lecture The Governor s Office Succession to Office Who assumes governorship if it is vacant for any reason o Lt Governor steps up in 43 out of the 50 states if the governorship is vacant o dies illness steps down travels out of the state Question How are Lt Governors selected o Joint Lt Governor and Governor in 24 states they are elected jointly like at the national level with President and VP o in 19 states they are elected separately including TEXAS may have Lt G and G from 2 parties Texas elects Lt G and G separately Removal from Office Impeachment o Where every state except Oregon has an impeachment process o The process most typical is like that at the national level impeachment takes place in the state House the lower chamber which puts forth formal charges against the governor why that person should be removed then the Senate the upper house holds the trial and votes on removing the governor impeachment does not mean governor is removed just the first step senators set their own standards for what proof must be given what crimes are worth removing the governor etc o Texas impeachment in the US is rare only 17 governors total impeached and 7 removed Texas has had 1 governor impeached James Jim Ferguson removed in 1915 1917 political impeachment he got into fight with Board of Regents he was removed Recall of the Governor o another way of removing the governor that is less common o only 18 states have Recall Provisions 18 states allow the governor to be recalled o Comparable to popular initiative o start with petition of public get enough signatures to have recall election vote in election is remove or don t remove governor o used very rarely o only about 4 governors have ever faced a Recall Election only 2 of those were removed o Governor Gray Davis 2003 is most recent governor removed from Recall Election in California who was then fulfilled by Arnold S o 1820s Governor resigned before facing the election o Recall Election recently in Wisconsin failed Roles of the Governor 1 Policy Leader Policymaker a to set the agenda to identify problems to suggest solutions to problems 2 Chief Legislator a informal role in which must build ties with state legislator to get their agenda implemented b If governor says the biggest problem is education finance and suggests a solution can he implement the solution no must work with legislator to get his laws implemented 3 Chief Administrator a head of executive branch and bureaucracy state agencies that are implementing laws 4 Ceremonial Duties a attends openings of new factories ceremonial events b welcomes other important officials that come to the state c helps get press coverage to connect with constituents when comes times to reelection 5 Intergovernmental Coordinator a 2 relationships i State to National Gov 1 Governor helps the state deal with the national gov asks national gov for help 2 National Governors Association lobbies in DC to shape national policy 3 asks national gov for federal emergency help in natural disasters ii State to State 1 if need help between states governors make contacts between states Powers of the Governor To Carry Out Responsibilities Formal and Informal Formal Powers o formal powers powers listed in state constitution o formal powers differ from state to state because each state makes its own constitution o in general formal powers do not differ from one governor to the next in the same state unless there are constitutional amendments o 1 Tenure of Office Involves 2 main things the of years in office standard is 4 years need time to get things done the of times the governor can hold office be reelected 2 terms 3 terms unlimited terms favored by governors in order to build ties get things done most common tenure of office same as president o 2 terms with 4 years each term o 2 Appointment Power importance of strong appointment powers people chosen are allies of the governors the appointees are then in debt to the governor for their position appointment powers governor s ability to appoint other officials president of US has a singular executive elected with VP then appoints his cabinet the plural executive multiple executive branch officials who are elected separately elect Lt Governor Attorney General Railroad Commissioner etc separate weakens the government because officials are not necessarily allies to the governor or owe him their position they are independent officials some states have a combination of both appointed and elected officials TEXAS elects some separately but in general it varies greatly from state to state o 3 Governor Veto Power Three main forms of Vetoes Package Veto normal veto o the governor rejects the entire veto o legislator can override a veto takes 2 3rds a majority sometimes a supermajority which is very hard to do o biggest weakness governor has to reject the entire bill what if he agrees with entire bill except one thing does not allow a governor to cut out one section doesn t let governor target specific parts Line Item Veto o allows a governor to remove a line from the bill o to reject a portion of the bill without having to reject the entire bill o major restriction they are typically only allowed to be used in appropriation spending budget bills o brought about to deal with budget to get rid of wasteful spending o legislators often add pork barrel projects so governors remove these if they are a waste o can be overridden by the legislator usually just need simple majority since smaller part of the bill is being considered o president does NOT have the line item veto had the power in 1990s but
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