State and Local Government in Texas

Current Texas Constitution was adopted in 1876. Like many other states, it clearly stipulates the separation of powers. Bill state to the individual far more than his counterpart federal, and contains provisions unique to Texas.

Government

Texas has a plural executive branch system to limit the power of the governor. In addition to Secretary of State, voters elect officials independently making candidates directly accountable to the public, not the governor. This electoral system has led to some executive power divided between the parties. When Republican President George W. Bush served as governor of Texas, the state was Democratic vice-governor, Bob Bullock. Senior positions at the branch consists of a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Comptroller of Public Accounts, Land Commissioner, Attorney General, Commissioner for Agriculture, a three-member Texas Railroad Commission of the State Board of Education and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The judicial system of Texas is one of the most complex in the United States, with many layers and overlapping jurisdictions. Texas has two courts of last resort: the Supreme Court of Texas, in civil cases, and Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Except for some municipal benches, partisan elections select judges at all levels of the judiciary, the governor fills vacancies by appointment. Texas leads the country in executions, 442 as of October 2009 (see death penalty in Texas).

Politics

As in other "Solid South" states, whites angered the Republican Party after the Civil War in the U.S., and the Democratic Party dominated Texas politics since the end of Reconstruction until the end of the twentieth century. When President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, he allegedly said: "We lost the South for a generation."

Since 1980, the majority of voters in Texas supported Republican presidential candidate. In 2000 and 2004, Republican George W. Bush won Texas with 60.1% of ...