POLS 207 1st Edition Lecture 15 Outline of Last Lecture I. Government and the BureaucracyII. Characteristics of a Bureaucracy III. Sources of Bureaucratic Powera. Implementation, Regulation, Adjudication, Discretion, Bureaucratic Goals IV. Variations in Bureaucracy Among StatesV. Bureaucracy, Democracy, and Responsiveness (Patronage versus the Merit System)VI. Role of the Centralized Personnel ManagementVII. The Issue of Representativeness in Bureaucracy VIII. Reading Homework NotesOutline of Current Lecture: I. Texas and the Clean Air Act of 1971II. Actors and Procedures in Bureaucratic Implementationa. The Legislature, Sunset Review, The Governor, Legislative Budget Board (LBB), Interest Groups, and Bureaucrats III. Agencies with Elected Officials and Agencies with Appointed ExecutivesIV. Boards and Commissionsa. Elected, Ex-Officio, AppointedCurrent LectureTest 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 Gameo 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 fairo 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 beo the legislature can amend laws they have writteno 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 nowo 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 Reviewo Texas is in session 140 days every other year, so not a lot of time to monitor bureaucracyo 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 Groupso 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 Accountso 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 mustcertify the biennial budget certified by the legislature as being balancedo sales tax = #1 source of state revenue - Commissioner of the General Land Officeo Texas has over 20 million acres of land, which is monitored by General Land Officeo 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 Commissiono Texas Railroad Commission, Board of Education o both are elected in the
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