The Office of Lieutenant Governor is part of the executive branch. The Lieutenant Governor serves as acting governor when the Governor is out of the state or incapacitated, and is the first in the line of succession should the Governor be unable to perform his or her duties.
The Lieutenant Governor's primary powers lie in the office's authority and influence in the legislature as President of the Texas Senate. The Lieutenant Governor serving as President of the Texas Senate appoints the committees of the Senate and assigns bills to specific Senate committees, a considerable power since committees generally control governmental policy legislation.
The Lieutenant Governor also casts the deciding vote in the Senate in case of a tie vote, and serves as chairman of the Legislative Budget Board and the Legislative Council. He or she is vice-chairman of the Legislative Audit Committee and the Legislative Education Board, and when the Legislative Redistricting Board convenes (if the legislature is unable to approve a redistricting plan for both houses), the Lieutenant Governor serves as one of the five members. These official roles, coupled with the legislative influence of the office, make the Texas Lieutenant Governorship significantly more powerful from Lieutenant Governors in most other states.
The Lieutenant Governor has exerted growing influence in lawmaking and in administration and public policy since World War II. This may result partly from two changes to the office over the course of the 20th century.
First, the length of the term of office was constitutionally extended from two to four years beginning with the election of 1974. Second, lieutenant governors have served ever more numerous terms since the 1890s. The increased longevity in office can significantly increase the informal influence and legislative expertise of lieutenant governors, and enables them to consolidate their control over the committees. The current lieutenant governor, Republican David Dewhurst, has served in the office since was first elected in 2002.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Attorney General
The Texas Attorney General (AG) is the chief lawyer for the state government and is elected to a four-year term. Unlike the office's counterpart at the national level, the Attorney General's legal role is primarily civil rather than criminal. Any time a suit is filed against or by the state, the AG's office handles the related legal activities.
Though candidates for Attorney General usually emphasize crime issues to bonify their law and order credentials when they campaign for office, most law enforcement and criminal matters are handled at the city and county level. The Attorney General's role is limited to providing support and advice to these officials and promoting public awareness on crime and safety issues. The Attorney General may also assist in a particular criminal case at the request of local prosecutors if the case involves a state interest.
The Attorney General can have a significant impact on public policy when he or she issues opinions on the legality or constitutionality of proposed or enacted laws or on the actions or policies of government agencies. Any state or local government office can request a legal opinion from the Attorney General, and the resulting opinion has the effect of law unless it is altered or overturned by the legislature or a court. Opinions thus have an impact on existing law and can become a powerful public platform for the Attorney General to further his or her political ambition. Many opinions, though, are largely technical and mundane.
The Attorney General can become involved in a wide range of high-profile public policy issues, which often puts the office in the public eye. Among the issues various office holders have promoted in recent years are environmental issues, health protection, civil rights, and consumer issues such as product safety, deceptive advertising, election fraud and commercial fraud protection. In most of these cases, action on particular issues reflected the priorities of specific officeholders.
Because the office also defends the state against suits, attorneys general are not able to choose all of their battles and can find themselves defending policies they would not otherwise choose to defend. Recent attorneys general have been involved in defending state law and policies on public school financing, Texas's method of selecting judges, the constitutionality of the state prison system, and state redistricting plans.
Attorney General Greg Abbott (R) was elected to the office in 2002, succeeding fellow Republican John Cornyn, who successfully ran for the U.S. Senate in the same election after being elected AG in 1998. Abbot was reelected in 2006 with 59.5 percent of the vote.
Though candidates for Attorney General usually emphasize crime issues to bonify their law and order credentials when they campaign for office, most law enforcement and criminal matters are handled at the city and county level. The Attorney General's role is limited to providing support and advice to these officials and promoting public awareness on crime and safety issues. The Attorney General may also assist in a particular criminal case at the request of local prosecutors if the case involves a state interest.
The Attorney General can have a significant impact on public policy when he or she issues opinions on the legality or constitutionality of proposed or enacted laws or on the actions or policies of government agencies. Any state or local government office can request a legal opinion from the Attorney General, and the resulting opinion has the effect of law unless it is altered or overturned by the legislature or a court. Opinions thus have an impact on existing law and can become a powerful public platform for the Attorney General to further his or her political ambition. Many opinions, though, are largely technical and mundane.
The Attorney General can become involved in a wide range of high-profile public policy issues, which often puts the office in the public eye. Among the issues various office holders have promoted in recent years are environmental issues, health protection, civil rights, and consumer issues such as product safety, deceptive advertising, election fraud and commercial fraud protection. In most of these cases, action on particular issues reflected the priorities of specific officeholders.
Because the office also defends the state against suits, attorneys general are not able to choose all of their battles and can find themselves defending policies they would not otherwise choose to defend. Recent attorneys general have been involved in defending state law and policies on public school financing, Texas's method of selecting judges, the constitutionality of the state prison system, and state redistricting plans.
Attorney General Greg Abbott (R) was elected to the office in 2002, succeeding fellow Republican John Cornyn, who successfully ran for the U.S. Senate in the same election after being elected AG in 1998. Abbot was reelected in 2006 with 59.5 percent of the vote.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Elected Offices For Texas And Collin Co.
| Collin County Commissioners' Court Four Commissioners, each elected from a quarter of the county's population, serve with a Presiding County Judge on the Commissioners Court. The Collin County Commissioner's Court approves the annual budget and all county expenditures, sets the county property tax rates, approves the tax roll and determines public works policy such as building programs and conducting elections. The court appoints most non-elected department heads and standing committees and represents the county in state and regional matters. Your Collin County Commissioners' Court Precinct Number can be found on your 2008 Orange Voter's Registration Card within the box titled "Com." More | ||
| Texas Railroad Commission There are three individuals who serve together on the Texas Railroad Commission. Railroad Commissioners serve six year terms, with one commissioner seeking state wide election every two years, including this year. The Texas Railroad Commission is the state agency that regulates the oil and gas industry, gas utilities, pipeline safety, safety in the liquefied petroleum gas industry, and surface coal and uranium mining. As is suggested by its name, the Railroad Commission was initially created to regulate railroads. Pipelines, the oil and gas industry and and gas utilities were added to the commission's jurisdiction by 1920. Effective October 1, 2005, the Railroad Commission of Texas no longer has regulatory authority over railroads, but the Texas legislature has never renamed the agency. Hence, the misnamed agency is a constant source of confusion among most voters . More | ||
| Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals The Texas District Courts of Appeals are distributed in fourteen districts around the state of Texas. The Courts of Appeal have intermediate appellate jurisdiction in both civil and criminal cases appealed from district or county courts. Like the Texas Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals, Justices of the Texas Courts of Appeals are elected to six-year terms by general election. (Graphical Guide to the Court System of Texas) Appeals from Collin, Dallas, Kaufman, Rockwall and Grayson counties (map) are all heard by the 5th District Court of Appeals, which includes one Chief Justice and 12 and twelve additional Justices. More | ||
| Texas Court of Criminal Appeals The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is the court of last resort for all criminal matters in the State of Texas and is composed of a Presiding Judge and eight additional Judges. Each appellate Judge is elected to "court place positions" in staggered six-year terms by state-wide general election. The appeal of all cases in which the death penalty has been assessed go directly to the Court of Criminal Appeals from the trial courts. (Graphical Guide to the Court System of Texas) The appeals of all other criminal cases go to one of the fourteen District Courts of Appeals in Texas, however, their decisions may also be reviewed by the Court of Criminal Appeals. More | ||
| Supreme Court of Texas The Supreme Court of Texas is composed of a Chief Justice plus eight Justices and it is the court of last resort for civil matters in the State of Texas. A different court, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, is the court of last resort for criminal matters. (Graphical Guide to the Court System of Texas) All justices are elected to a "court place position" in state-wide general elections. Other than Place 1, which is reserved as the Chief Justice place position, the Supreme Court place numbers have no special significance. More | ||
| U.S. House of Representatives Districts for Collin Co. The boundaries of the 3rd Texas Congressional District and the 4th Texas Congressional District meet in Collin County. Your Congressional District Number can be found on your 2008 Orange Voter's Registration Card within the box titled "Congress." The 3rd Texas Congressional District includes a large portion of the southwestern corner of Collin County that includes Plano and most of Frisco and McKinney. The 3rd District also encompasses a northeastern corner of Dallas County that includes parts of Richardson, Garland and Dallas. The 4th District includes the northern and eastern parts of Collin county. More | ||
| U.S. Senate Seats for Texas Article One of the Constitution of the United States specifies that each state shall have two Senators. The Constitution assigns special responsibilities to the Senate to advise and exercise its consent on proposals made by the President of the United States for key executive and judicial appointments, including Justices to the Supreme Court, and on the ratification of treaties with foreign countries. The two U.S. Senators from Texas cast two of the fifty votes the Senate needs to advise and exercise its consent on appoints and treaties proposed by the President. More | ||
| President of the United States Candidate In Texas, the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes determines whether the Democratic or Republican slate of 34 electors will cast the electoral votes for president approximately one month after the Nov. 4th general election. In other words, if Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate, receives the most popular votes in Texas, then the Democratic Party's slate of 34 electors is certified to cast the Electoral College votes for president in Texas. A total of 270 out of 538 possible electoral votes are require to elect the President of the United States. More | ||
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