POLS 207 1st Edition Lecture 15 Outline of Last Lecture I Government and the Bureaucracy II Characteristics of a Bureaucracy III Sources of Bureaucratic Power a Implementation Regulation Adjudication Discretion Bureaucratic Goals IV Variations in Bureaucracy Among States V Bureaucracy Democracy and Responsiveness Patronage versus the Merit System VI Role of the Centralized Personnel Management VII The Issue of Representativeness in Bureaucracy VIII Reading Homework Notes Outline of Current Lecture I Texas and the Clean Air Act of 1971 II Actors and Procedures in Bureaucratic Implementation a The Legislature Sunset Review The Governor Legislative Budget Board LBB Interest Groups and Bureaucrats III Agencies with Elected Officials and Agencies with Appointed Executives IV Boards and Commissions a Elected Ex Officio Appointed Current Lecture Test Review 3 20 Wednesday HCC 204 from 8 9 GET A SCANTRON 8x11 Review 4 Readings Party Chapter Section State Party Organizations 168 174 Legislative Chapter Section Leadership and Role Playing 230 232 Governor Chapter Up Close Three Scandal Ridden Governors 267 269 Bureaucratic Politics 303 306 o Up Close How to Win at the Budget Game o Politics of Budgeting Texas and the Clean Air Act of 1971 Texas in the 1970s had to comply with the Clean Air Act goal to limit pollutants from factories and plants in the state What about the factories already built or being built o They were grandfathered and allowed to continue to pollute at old limits o only new plants had to abide by the law 2 reasons for the Grandfather Plants o plants did not know the limits were going to be put in place not fair o in future they would be shut down or renovated to fit the new limits so figured the old plants would not be a problem for much longer Actors and Procedures In Bureaucratic Implementation actor The Legislature o continues to monitor implementation through oversight role o make sure the bureaucracy is implementing the policy the way it is supposed to be o the legislature can amend laws they have written o at end of 1990s they will revisit the Grandfather plants 40 pollutants are still coming from the old plants which they thought would be gone by now o so legislature decides some of old plants must meet the new requirements all utility plants must now meet the new requirements all other plants are requested to do voluntary procedure Sunset Review o Texas is in session 140 days every other year so not a lot of time to monitor bureaucracy o sunset review periodic review of state agencies every 12 years o actors Sunset Advisory Commission agency being reviewed Legislature and Governor o HOW the process works o the agency being reviewed offices reviewed every 12 years agency writes a self report then staff of Sunset Advisory Commission writes a report The 2 reports on how well the agency is performing are then reviewed examined by the Sunset Advisory Commission which brings in relative groups into the hearings at the end the Sunset Advisory Commission makes a recommendation everything is fine keep the agency agency needs some work keep it but make changes get rid of it since not functioning well This whole step is done while the legislature is out of session so saves time o the recommendation goes to the state Legislature must re authorize the agency to exist or else if no action is taken the agency goes away aka the sun sets on the agency therefore sunset review requires the legislature to play a role finally the governor must sign or veto o CRITICISM 1 The process is not that effective few agencies have the sun set on them the ones that are shut down are small inconsequential in Texas about 10 Texas Navy Stonewall Jackson Memorial Court However it provides an opportunity every 12 years for the agency sunset advisory commission and legislature to review the agency making them more accountable actor Legislative Budget Board LBB o writes the budget that gets debating in legislature of Texas actor The Governor o Texas Governor is one of the weakest in the country in terms of control of bureaucracy limited appointment powers plural executive actor Interest Groups o lobby the legislature can take bureaucracy to court important in raising public awareness Environmental Interest Groups raised awareness about all the pollutants still coming from the Grandfather Plants about 40 one member Neil Carmen conducted the study publicized it and raised awareness the legislature then addressed the issue actor Bureaucrats o personal goals and professional goals make them push for more responsibilities o they influence how regulation is written how deal with others the factories etc o Texas NRCC in 1980 when asked about data for pollution this group said they did not have any idea how much pollution was coming from Grandfather plants did not want to worry about it but Neil Carmen from an outside interest group took their data and found out about 40 of pollutants were still coming from Grandfather Plants Agencies with Elected Officials Attorney General o deals with consumer protection goes to court for the state Comptroller of Public Accounts o audit expenditures monitor spending of agencies review tax systems safeguard retirement funds invest money o in 1990s Comptroller took up the Treasurer s role o another big role Texas has a balanced budget requirement so comptroller must certify the biennial budget certified by the legislature as being balanced o sales tax 1 source of state revenue Commissioner of the General Land Office o Texas has over 20 million acres of land which is monitored by General Land Office o do you lease for grazing how do you handle oil contracts do you allow timber to be harvested Commissioner of Agriculture o agriculture is good example of a competing interest promote and regulate to promote agriculture industry business to regulate the safety of agriculture production Agencies with Appointed Executives Secretary of State o appointed by Governor o responsible for keeping public records overseeing elections certifying ballots etc Boards and Commissions Elected Boards and Commission o Texas Railroad Commission Board of Education o both are elected in the state of Texas o Texas Railroad Commission regulates railroads freight busing and most importantly oil Ex Officio Boards and Commissions o members serve on the board because of some other office they hold o example Legislature Redistricting Board Bond Review Board Appointed Boards and Commissions o Texas Higher
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