Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Define the qualifications, roles, responsibilities, powers, and procedures associated with the office of the governor of Texas
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
This section discusses the qualifications, roles, responsibilities, powers, and procedures associated with the office of the Governor of Texas
Article IV, Section 4 of the Texas Constitution sets the following qualifications for Governor:
The governor makes policy recommendations that lawmakers in both the state House and Senate chambers may sponsor and introduce as bills. The governor also appoints the Secretary of State, as well as members of boards and commissions who oversee the heads of state agencies and departments. As the state's chief budget officer, governors submit an executive budget to the legislature as a plan for revenue and expenditure for the next biennium.
The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature. The Governor has line-item veto power, enabling the governor to veto individual components (or lines) of a bill. The Governor of Texas’ line-item veto power applies only to spending measures, only to a bill that “contains several items of appropriation.” When a bill contains several items of appropriation, the Governor “may object to one or more of such items, and approve the other portion of the bill.” Ibid. Thus, the Governor may line-item veto one or more “items of appropriation” without vetoing the entire appropriations bill.
The governor must sign or veto legislation within 10 days of transmittal (excluding Sunday), or it becomes law without his or her signature. There is no “pocket veto” for the Governor of Texas. For legislation transmitted with less than 10 days left in the session, the governor has 20 days after adjournment to act, or the legislation becomes law without being signed. This latter provision allows a Governor to veto legislation after the Legislature has adjourned, with no opportunity for the Legislature to override a veto. In practice, a Governor’s vetoes are rarely challenged.
Two-thirds of members present in both chambers must vote to override a veto. If all members are in attendance, this is 100 of the 150 members in the Texas House of Representatives and 21 of the 31 members in the Texas State Senate. Texas is one of 36 states that requires a two-thirds vote from both of its legislative chambers to override a veto.
The governor has the authority to grant clemency upon the written recommendation of a majority of the Board of Pardons and Paroles.
Clemency includes full pardons after conviction or successful completion of a term of deferred adjudication community supervision, conditional pardons, pardons based on innocence, commutations of sentence, and reprieves. In capital cases, clemency includes commutation of sentence to life in prison and a reprieve for execution. The governor may also grant a one-time reprieve of execution, not to exceed (30) days, without a Board recommendation.
The authority to make governmental appointments is one of the most significant powers given to the governor of Texas by the state’s Constitution.
During a four-year term, the Governor will make about 3,000 appointments.
Most appointments are:
The majority of these appointments are volunteer positions, representative of our citizen government. Most appointees are entitled to standard travel expenses and/or per diem to attend meetings and conduct business of the board or commission.
The Governor has relatively limited budgetary powers. The Governor is required to submit an executive budget, but the Legislature typically ignores the Governor’s budget, preferring to take the lead itself on budgetary matters.
A Governor may attempt to influence the budgetary process through the power of persuasion, but this power is limited.
In the end, a Governor’s primary budget power is the power to veto or threaten to veto legislation.
Get to know Texas Governor Greg Abbott (https://gov.texas.gov/governor-abbott), the 48th Governor of the State of Texas.
CC LICENSED CONTENT, ORIGINAL
Revision and Adaptation: Authored by: Kris S. Seago. License: CC BY: Attribution
CC LICENSED CONTENT, ADAPTATION
Revision and Adaptation: Qualifications and Roles of the Texas Governor. Authored by: Andrew Teas. License: CC BY: Attribution
PUBLIC DOMAIN CONTENT
Duties, Requirements & Powers. Authored by: Office of the Texas Governor. Located at: https://gov.texas.gov/governor- abbott/duties License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright