CHAPTER 4: TEXAS

GOVERNORS
LONE STAR POLITICS
Texas Governors - Introduction
In the 87th legislative session, Republicans sought to pass legislation to eliminate local
governments’ ability to offer certain voting options, including drive-through voting that some
counties employed at the height of the pandemic.
◦ Texas Democrats opposed to the legislation staged a walkout to deny the legislature a quorum.
◦ In response, Governor Abbott used the line-item veto to strike the entire legislative budget.

The frustration of Republicans attempting to pass legislation was met with equal ire from
Democrats opposed to that legislation. The frustration on both sides was underscored by the effect
of the veto.
◦ It likely didn’t hurt the 181 members of the state legislature, whose meager salaries are protected by the
constitution and who largely do not rely on the low state salary.
◦ It would hurt an estimated 2,000 state workers who worked as staffers in the legislative reference library,
the state auditor’s office, or on the sunset advisory commission.

It is difficult to argue that there is any checks and balances if a governor can veto an entire branch
of government.
◦ Republican state senator Seliger proposed amending the constitution to remove the governor’s line-item
veto authority, describing Abbott’s veto as “absolutely destructive of the separation of powers, between the
three branches of government.”
Texas Governors
In December 2018, when the Secretary of State Rolando Pablos announced his resignation, Governor Abbott
appointed David Whitley, who had worked for Abbott for 14 years.
◦ Whitley acted as secretary of state during the 2019 legislative session, pending Senate approval. Whitley managed to
upset the Texas Senate when he sent a list to local election officials of 90,000 names of people he suspected to be illegal
and ineligible to vote. The list was found to be flawed since it included tens of thousands of naturalized citizens who were
eligible to vote. The result was 3 federal lawsuits that cost Texas taxpayer’s $450,000.
◦ Whitley’s confirmation stalled when the governor was unable to get the required votes in the Texas Senate. When the
session closed without Whitley’s confirmation, the governor vetoed 4 uncontroversial bills, in what Democrats regarded
as retaliation.
◦ Though a controversial confirmation, Whitley lasted until May 27th, 2019. Ruth R. Hughs served from 2019 – 2021. John B.
Scott served from 2021 – 2022 with Jane Nelson being the current 115th Secretary of State for Texas since January 5th,
2023.

The governor of Texas, while originally created as a weak office, was given some tools to check the legislative
branch. One of the sharpest tools in the governor’s toolbox is the veto.
◦ The job of the legislature is to pass laws, but the governor is empowered to veto, or reject, any law he or she disapproves
of. The legislature can override a veto if members can get 2/3rds of both chambers to agree. Since 1979, the last time a
governor’s veto was overridden, 845 vetoes have been issued.

Governor Abbott has not been shy about using the veto, averaging 51 vetoes in his first 3 legislative sessions.
◦ In 2017, Republican representative Larson accused Abbott of vetoing 5 bills supported by Larson in retaliation for
proposed ethics reform that would prevent a governor from appointing anyone who had donated $2,500 or more to the
governor’s campaign.
◦ When Larson & other Republican supporters of the ethics legislation came up for reelection in 2018, Abbott actively
campaigned against them. A governor working to unseat 3 sitting members of his own party is unprecedented, even in
The Office of the Governor
Texans have long distrusted government power & executive authority, going all the way back to the American
colonists’ experiences under the British king and the vast powers exercised by colonial governors during the
colonial era.
◦ Distrust of governors in Texas was reinforced by Texans’ experience under Mexican president Antonio López de Santa Anna.
◦ Early Texans built their lives from scratch in a harsh frontier environment, in which the government was viewed more as an
impediment to survival than a facilitator of the public good. This attitude was amplified by what occurred in Texas after the
Civil War, when the Reconstruction era featured a relatively strong governor and a government perceived as “illegitimate.”
◦ The Texas Constitution of 1876 deliberately weakened the executive, granting the governor little formal power, shortening
the governor’s term to two years, allowing the governor to make relatively few appointments, and instituting other elected
executives that rivaled the governor’s power. Over time, The power of the Texas governor has grown both formally and
informally.

The governor of Texas tends to be a national political figure simply by virtue of governing such a large state. The
Texas governorship is highly visible and can serve as a stepping-stone to appointments to state and federal posts
and election to national office, including the presidency itself.
◦ Former Governor Preston Smith served as chair of what is now the Higher Education Coordinating Board.
◦ After his term as governor, Price Daniel was selected by President Lyndon B. Johnson to head the Office of Emergency
Preparedness and was later appointed to the Supreme Court of Texas.
◦ After serving as governor of the state, John Connally became secretary of the treasury during Richard Nixon’s
administration.
◦ Pappy O’Daniel resigned the governorship to become a U.S. senator.
◦ Rick Perry was appointed as secretary of energy.
◦ Most notable, of course, is George W. Bush, who left the governor’s office to assume the presidency of the United States.
Qualifications
The Texas Constitution specifies three requirements to be governor in the state:
◦ The governor must be at least thirty years of age,
◦ Have resided at least five years in the state of Texas,
◦ And be a U.S. citizen.

Texas is one of 24 states that does not require the governor to be a citizen of Texas. The governor of the state is
further restricted from holding any other job or receiving outside compensation, a restriction notably absent from the
state’s legislature.

Since 1876, most governors in Texas have been white, Protestant, wealthy men. Twice Texas has elected a woman to
its highest office. In November 1924, Miriam A. “Ma” Ferguson was the first female to be elected as the governor of
Texas. She was sworn in on January 20, 1925, just fifteen days after Wyoming’s Nellie T. Ross, making her the second
female governor in the country.

Texas has had two Roman Catholic governors, Francis Lubbock and Greg Abbott. Nearly all modern governors had
some higher education—mostly in law—and nearly half of Texas governors also had some military experience, ranging
from service in the U.S. Army or U.S. Navy to service in the Texas National Guard or Texas Air Guard. Dolph Briscoe
was a wealthy cattleman and horse trader, & Clements and Bush both owned oil companies.

Many of the state’s governors have risen from the ranks of other Texas offices, including the Texas Legislature, the
Railroad Commission of Texas, and often the lieutenant governor’s office.

Others held national offices prior to becoming governor of the Lone Star State. Notable examples include Bill
Clements, who had been deputy U.S. Secretary of Defense, and John Connally, who ascended to the governorship after
Constitutional Texas
Provisions Governor United States President Other States

Constitutiona Texas U.S. President Other States

l Provisions Governor

Age 30 years 35 years 34 states set the minimum age at 30;

6 states set the age at 18; one state
sets it at 21; 6 states set a 25-year age
limit; Oklahoma has the highest age
limit at 31; and Massachusetts and
Kansas set no age limit

Residence 5 years 14 years Missouri and Oklahoma require 10

years, 10 states require 6–7 years, 29
states require 1–5 years, Rhode Island
requires 30 days, and 8 states have no
residency requirement
Terms 4 years 4 years (limited to 2 48 states establish 4-year term; 36
terms of office or 10 states limit the number of consecutive
years) terms
 Texas Governors
Governor Party Years in Office Legislatures as
Governor
J. Pinckney Henderson Democrat Feb. 19th, 1846 – Dec. 21st, 1st – 2nd
1847
George T. Wood Democrat Dec. 21st, 1847 – Dec. 21st, 2nd – 3rd
1849
Peter Hansbrough Bell Democrat Dec. 21st, 1849 – Nov. 23rd, 3rd – 5th
1853
James W. Henderson Democrat Nov. 23rd, 1853 – Dec. 21st, 5th
1853
Edward Clark Democrat Mar. 16th, 1861 – Nov. 7th, 1861 8th – 9th
Elisha M. Pease Unionist Dec. 21st, 1853 – Dec. 21st, 5th – 7th
Francis R. Lubbock Democrat Nov.
18577 , 1861 – Nov. 5 , 1863
th th
9th – 10th
Pendleton Murrah
Hardin R. Runnels Democrat Nov.
Dec. 5
21 , ,1863
th st
1857– –Jun. 1721
Dec. , 1865
th st
, 10
7th th– 8th
Andrew J. Hamilton Democrat 185917th, 1865 – Aug. 9th, 1866
Jun. 10th – 11th
Sam Houston Democrat Dec. 21
th , 1859 – Mar. th
st
16th, 8th th
James W. Throckmorton Democrat Aug. 9 1866 – Aug. 8 , 1867 11
1861
Elisha M. Pease Republican Aug. 8th, 1867 – Sep. 30th, 1869 11th
Edmund J. Davis Republican Jan. 8th, 1870 – Jan. 15th, 1874 11th – 14th
Richard Coke Democrat Jan. 15th, 1874 – Dec. 1st, 1876 14th – 15th
 Texas Governors
Governor Party Years in Office Legislatures as
Governor
Richard B. Hubbard Democrat Dec. 1st, 1876 – Jan. 21st, 15th – 16th
1879
Oran M. Roberts Democrat Jan. 21st, 1879 – Jan. 16th, 16th – 18th
1883
John Ireland Democrat Jan. 16th, 1883 – Jan. 18th, 18th – 20th
1887
Lawrence Sullivan Ross Democrat Jan. 18th, 1887 – Jan. 20th, 20th – 22nd
1891 th
S.W.T Lanham Democrat Jan. 20 , 1903 – Jan. 15th, 28th – 30th
James Stephen Hogg Democrat Jan.
190720 ,
th
1891 – Jan. 15th, 22nd – 24th
1895 th
Thomas Mitchell Democrat Jan. 15 , 1907 – Jan. 17th, 30th – 32nd
Charles
CampbellA. Culberson Democrat Jan.
191115 ,
th
1895 – Jan. 17th, 24th – 26th
1899 th
Oscar Branch Colquitt Democrat Jan. 17 , 1911 – Jan. 19th, 32nd – 34th
Joseph D. Sayers Democrat Jan.
191517 ,
th
1899 – Jan. 20th, 26th – 28th
1903 th
James E. Ferguson Democrat Jan. 19 , 1915 – Sep. 24th, 34th – 35th
1917
William P. Hobby Democrat Sep. 25th, 1917 – Jan. 18th, 35th – 37th
1921
 Texas Governors
Governor Party Years in Office Legislatures as
Governor
Ross S. Sterling Democrat Jan. 20th, 1931 – Jan. 17th, 42nd – 43rd
1933
Miriam Ferguson Democrat Jan. 17th, 1933 – Jan. 15th, 43rd – 44th
1935
James V. Allred Democrat Jan 15th, 1935 – Jan. 17th, 44th – 46th
1939
W. Lee O’Daniel Democrat Jan. 17th, 1939 – Aug. 4th, 46th – 47th
1941 th
Price Daniel, Sr. Democrat Jan. 15 , 1957 – Jan. 15th, 55th – 58th
Coke R. Stevenson Democrat Aug.
1963 4 , 1941 – Jan. 21 ,
th st
47th – 50th
1947 th
John B. Connally, Jr. Democrat Jan. 15 , 1963 – Jan. 21st, 58th – 61st
Beauford H. Jester Democrat Jan.
196921 , 1947 – July 11 ,
st th
50th – 51st
1949 st
Preston Smith Democrat Jan. 21 , 1969 – Jan. 16th, 61st – 63rd
Robert Allan Shivers Democrat July
197311 , 1949 – Jan. 15 ,
th th
51st – 55th
1957 th
Dolph Briscoe Democrat Jan. 16 , 1973 – Jan. 16th, 63rd – 66th
1979
William P. Clements Republican Jan. 16th, 1979 – Jan. 18th, 66th – 68th
1983
Governor Party Years in Office Legislatures as
Governor
George W. Bush Republican Jan. 17th, 1995 – Dec. 21st, 74th – 76th
2000
Rick Perry Republican Dec. 21st, 2000 – Jan. 20th, 76th – 84th
2015
https://lrl.texas.gov/index.cfm - excellent website for information regarding the th
Texas government, the
Greg Abbott Republican Jan. 20th, 2015 – Jan. 17th, 84 – 86th
executive, judicial, and legislative branches.
2027
Although Texas governors often have other political experience, many view the Texas governorship as
the pinnacle of their career. After serving as U.S. senator, Price Daniel famously declared he would
“rather be governor of Texas than the president of the United States” and returned to Texas to run for
governor. President George W. Bush called Governor Perry from the White House to let him know that
governing Texas was the best job in the world.

Texans have occasionally displayed a willingness to elect governors with no political experience.
◦ James “Pa” Ferguson had no political experience when he was elected governor in 1914. His popularity was
based more on his self-styled image as “Farmer Jim,” who represented tenant farmers & poor workers across
the state. He also impressed audiences by quoting Shakespeare, Jefferson, or Hamilton whenever the
opportunity presented itself.
◦ Governor Wilbert Lee “Pappy” O’Daniel worked at a flour mill and hosted a weekly radio show during which he
sold flour; featured his band, the Light Crust Doughboys; and expressed his opinions. Despite his lack of
experience, his popularity on the radio helped him win the governor’s office—twice—and afterward, a U.S.
congressional seat. As governor, however, he proved unproductive, delivering none of his campaign promises
of blocking a state sales tax, ending capital punishment, and instituting a state pension for elderly Texans.
Ann Richards
As governor of Texas, Ann Richards reflected both new and old Texas, embracing the transformation of the state
while remaining rooted in its traditions and challenged the historical male dominance of state offices.

Richards moved up quickly in the ranks of state politics. After teaching junior high school social studies while
raising her family, she entered government in 1976, winning a seat on the Travis County Commissioners Court.
In 1982, she won election as state treasurer and became the first woman elected to statewide office in Texas in
fifty years.

She campaigned for the governor’s office in 1990, calling for a “new” Texas that would offer opportunities to
more residents. While in office, Richards worked aggressively to bring more women and minorities into state
government. She appointed the first black regent to the University of Texas (UT) Board of Regents and brought
more black, Hispanic, and female officers into the ranks of the legendary Texas Rangers.

Like many of the men who came before her, Richards also had flaws, including a battle with alcoholism that
ended in rehab and a strained marriage that ended in divorce. She increased the size of the Texas prison system
and limited the number of prisoners granted parole. She also championed education and environmental causes.
Richards looked to modernize the way in which departments were administered and led the state in insurance
reform and ethics reform.

Beaten by George W. Bush in her bid for reelection, Richards remained in the spotlight, making frequent media
appearances and working as a political consultant. Richards died of esophageal cancer on September 13, 2006.

Today in the United States, there are a record nine female governors. In total, 45 women have served as
governor since the country’s founding.
Qualifications
In 1994, George W. Bush ran for governor with no prior experience in office. Bush did have the benefit of
name recognition from his father’s presidency & enjoyed a conservative reputation in a conservative state.
◦ As governor, Bush was known for his ability to forge bipartisan coalitions. He successfully supported several
education initiatives and state tax cuts and was a relatively popular governor.

Since Reconstruction, Texas has elected four Republican governors, beginning with Bill Clements, who
finally broke the Democrats’ century-long winning streak in 1978. The dissolution of the Democratic Party
monopoly is one of the most significant changes experienced by the state in recent years.
◦ The change is particularly noteworthy because it brought with it an almost complete reversal in party affiliation.
Although party identification in Texas has changed, Texans have long displayed a preference for conservative
governments and limited social policy, regardless of party affiliation.

Since statehood, just twenty-three out of forty-eight governors were born in Texas. Texas’s first native-born
governor was the state’s twentieth, James Stephen “Jim” Hogg, elected in 1890. Hogg was a Democrat who
brought progressivism to the state.
◦ Texans appreciated him for protecting the interests of ordinary people rather than those of big business.
◦ Hogg was best known for creating the railroad commission, passing antitrust legislation, and attempting to limit the
influence of lobbyists in the state.

Although nearly all the state’s governors have been white men, twice Texas has elected women to its
highest office.
◦ In November 1924, Miriam A. “Ma” Ferguson was elected the first female governor of Texas and the second female
governor in the country, being sworn in on January 20 th, 1925, just 15 days after Wyoming’s Nellie T. Ross.
Qualifications
After Pa Ferguson was impeached and prevented from holding office in the state, Ma Ferguson ran as a proxy
for her husband. She went on to appoint Texas’s first female secretary of state, Emma C. Meharg.
◦ Ma Ferguson’s administration confronted the Ku Klux Klan (she passed an antimask law that the courts subsequently
overturned), contested prohibition laws, and called for fiscally conservative economic policy.
◦ It was accusations of corruption, though, that Ma Ferguson’s administration became known for. During her
administration, more than 2,000 pardons were granted, leaving the impression that pardons were for sale under the
Fergusons.
◦ Ma lost her bid for reelection in the next two gubernatorial races but was elected governor again in 1932, becoming the
first governor in Texas to serve two nonconsecutive terms.

In 1990, Ann Richards became the second woman elected governor of Texas. Richards personified the iconic
Texas image: cowboy boots, straight talk, and a reputation for being tough.
◦ She had previous experience on the Travis County Commissioners Court and as the Texas state treasurer.
◦ A former teacher, Governor Richards decentralized education policy, encouraged economic growth, and promoted
women and minorities during her administration.
◦ In contrast to Ma Ferguson, Richards became a symbol of women’s progress in the state, famously displaying a T-shirt of
the state capitol with the caption “A woman’s place is in the dome.”

Although Hispanics have increasingly added their voices to the state’s dialogue and are both the largest and
fastest-growing minority in Texas, the state has yet to elect a Hispanic governor. In 2002, wealthy oil tycoon
Tony Sanchez made an unsuccessful bid for the governor’s office.
◦ Tony Sanchez earned only 40% of the vote against Rick Perry. In 2018, Lupe Valdez ran for governor. Valdez lost to Greg
Abbott, earning 42.5% of the vote. Valdez, a former sheriff, would have been the first openly gay Latina had she been
Terms
Today, Texas governors serve four-year terms with no limit on the number of terms. Governors in forty-eight states
serve four-year terms; fourteen states, including Texas, have no term limits. A preference for short terms, usually one
or two years, was common in early American politics, reflecting a distrust of executive power.

The Texas Constitution of 1876 originally established a relatively short term of just two years for the governor. Texas
political culture was marked by a distrust of government and governors, so Texans long believed that governors
should not linger in office too long. Most governors in Texas were elected to two terms, serving a total of four years.

In 1972, the Texas Constitution was amended to increase the governor’s term to four years. Even though Texas has
no term limits, few governors have been elected to two terms since that time.
◦ Dolph Briscoe served six years after he was initially elected to a two-year term, which began in 1973, before the amendment
took effect, and was reelected to a second term under the new rules.
◦ Governors elected after Briscoe won only a single four-year term until George W. Bush. Bush was the first governor to be elected
to a second four-year term, although he resigned in 2000 to become president after having been governor for only six years.
◦ While Texans have shown a consistent preference for regular turnover of their governors, everything changed with Rick Perry,
who finished out Bush’s term and then ran successful bids for reelection in 2002 and 2006. In 2010, Governor Perry, already the
longest-serving governor in Texas, won a third term, serving as governor for an unprecedented fourteen years.
◦ Governor Greg Abbott followed in Perry’s footsteps, winning a third term in 2022. On March 1st, 2024, Governor Abbott
announced his candidacy for reelection to a fourth term in 2026. If Governor Abbott wins the election, he will conclude the fourth
term on January 21st, 2031 with 16 years, surpassing Governor Perry as the longest-serving Texas Governor.

Today, Texas is one of fourteen states that have no limits on the number of terms their governors can serve. The
absence of term limits and four-year terms create a potential source of power for Texas’s governors. The
constitutional design of the governorship attempts to limit the power of a single governor by staggering gubernatorial
appointments across multiple terms.
Succession
If a governor is unable to fulfill his or her term, the Texas Constitution outlines an explicit line of
succession.
◦ A set order, usually spelled out in the constitution, denoting which officeholder takes over when the sitting
governor resigns, dies, or is impeached.

If the governor resigns, is impeached and convicted, or dies while in office, the following is the line
of succession:
◦ Lieutenant Governor
◦ President Pro Tempore of the Texas Senate
◦ Speaker of the Texas House
◦ Attorney General

Thus, after the 2000 presidential election, when George W. Bush resigned the governorship to
assume the presidency, Lieutenant Governor Rick Perry assumed the office, and the Texas Senate
elected Bill Ratliff as the new lieutenant governor. Ratliff became the first lieutenant governor in the
history of the state to be selected by the Texas Senate rather than by winning the position in a
statewide election.

When the governor is out of the state, the lieutenant governor is acting governor. Thus, when
George W. Bush was campaigning for president, Rick Perry gained considerable hands-on
Compensation
Originally, the Constitution of 1876 specified the governor’s salary, which meant that a pay raise required a
constitutional amendment approved by a majority of voters.

In 1954, however, the constitution was amended to allow the Texas Legislature to set the governor’s salary.
◦ Currently, the Texas governor is paid $153,750, which puts the state above the average of $147,201 for all governors.
New York has the highest-paid governor at $225,000, while Maine has the lowest-paid governor at $70,000.
◦ Currently, Governor Lamont of Connecticut, Governor Pritzker of Illinois, and Governor Burgum of North Dakota forgo
their salary, and Nevada Governor Sisolak pledged to donate his entire four-year salary to the state’s K–12 schools.
◦ The highest paid state public official is Texas A&M’s football coach who earns $9 million annually. The Texas Secretary
of State earns relatively close to $200,000 a year, more than the Governor of Texas.

Compensation for the Texas governor includes several perks in addition to salary. He or she is allocated a
travel allowance and use of a state limousine, state helicopter, and state airplane. All fifty states provide an
automobile for their governor; another thirty-seven provide a state airplane, and twenty-two provide a state
helicopter. Texas is one of forty-seven states that also provides a governor’s residence.

Texas maintains a governor’s mansion around the corner from the capitol. The governor of Texas is also given
a security detail for their protection, which provides security for traveling purposes, state business related or
not.
◦ Texas paid nearly $4 million each for both George W. Bush’s and Rick Perry’s bids for the presidency.
◦ Governor Abbott spent $1 million in security expenses in his first term; his costliest trip was to Hawaii, which included
a $71,000 security detail.
◦ In recent sessions, the legislature considered, but failed to pass, legislation that would require officeholders to
Impeachment
The Texas Constitution vests the power of impeachment in the Texas Legislature.
◦ Formal procedure to indict and remove an elected official from office for misdeeds.

According to the constitution, the legislature can impeach the Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General,
Commissioner of the General Land Office, Comptroller, & the judges of the Supreme Court of Texas, Court of
Appeals, & District Court.

To impeach the governor, the Texas House of Representatives must approve the articles of impeachment by a
simple majority. Impeachment by the Texas House indicates that there is enough evidence to proceed with a
trial. Impeachments are then tried in the Texas Senate, where conviction requires a two-thirds vote. While the
Texas Constitution outlines a procedure for impeaching the governor, it is silent on what constitutes an
impeachable offense.

Pa Ferguson remains the only governor in the state’s history to have been impeached and removed from office.
◦ Ferguson balked when the UT Board of Regents refused to let him handpick university presidents or fire university
professors who opposed his governorship. When asked why he wanted to fire the professors, Governor Ferguson famously
quipped, “I am governor of Texas, I don’t have to give any reasons.”
◦ To indicate his disapproval with the board, Ferguson vetoed the university’s appropriations. The Texas Legislature voted
to impeach & remove Ferguson for misappropriation of public funds, and he was barred from holding a state office again.

Ferguson resigned as Governor the day before the impeachment verdict was announced. Despite his conviction,
Ferguson attempted to run for Texas governor in 1924. In spite of that, Ferguson continued to exert significant
influence on politics in the state as he subsequently convinced his wife Miriam to run for governor in his place.
Powers of the Governor
The Constitution of 1876 originally created a formally weak governor, which relied on the
officeholder’s ability to generate support informally for a policy agenda. This Constitution was
designed to severely limit the power of the governor. Thus, originally, the Texas governor’s
appointment power, veto power, & budget power were relatively limited.
◦ Over time, though, each of these powers has expanded, sometimes a reflection of a natural drift of
executive power, sometimes a formal expansion of power from the legislative branch. Today, the power of
the governor has substantially increased.

The governor’s executive roles involve directing the state bureaucracy to administer the laws
passed by the state legislature, direct the bureaucracy by appointing members of state agencies
and commissions, issue executing orders or emergency declarations, and exert influence on the
state’s budget to emphasize particular priorities.
◦ The success of the governor in guiding the bureaucracy is also directly tied to his or her appointment power:
◦ The ability to select individuals who will occupy key positions within the bureaucracy.

Gubernatorial appointees will be much more responsive to the governor’s policy goals than officials
who are elected independently of the governor and with their own policy agendas. The current
Texas constitution originally gave the governor almost no appointment power.
◦ The design of the Constitution of 1876 was to severely limit the power of the governor by creating an
independent bureaucracy. Thus, Texas has a plural executive:
◦ An executive branch in which the functions have been divided among several, mostly elected, officeholders
Powers of the Governor
On the other hand, while the governor initially enjoyed limited influence over many statewide officials, as the
legislature has created new boards and agencies, it has often granted the governor new appointment powers.
◦ Nearly all Texas governors have disproportionately appointed white males; Governor Ann Richards remains a notable
exception as she appointed Hispanics & blacks at rates that mirrored their population numbers, & 45% of her appointees
were female.

Gubernatorial appointees usually share the governor’s basic political philosophies and tend to be loyal to the
governor. Governors also make appointments based on patronage.
◦ The act of giving preferential treatment to political supporters when choosing appointments or awarding government
contracts.
◦ Approximately one-third of Perry’s appointees had made campaign donations, contributing on average $3,769; Perry had
received an additional $3 million from his appointees’ employers.
◦ As governor, Perry earned a reputation for appointing big donors to university regent positions. The Texas Tribune reports that
about half the regents appointed by Perry donated money to his campaign, with the average contribution being $64,000.
◦ In 2010, two Texas Tech regents alleged that Perry’s office pressured them to resign once they announced they were
supporting Kay Bailey Hutchison in her failed attempt to win the Republican primary.
◦ Former governor George W. Bush also appointed some of his most generous contributors to the UT Board of Regents.
◦ Among Governor Abbott’s first 900 appointments, nearly a third have gone to individuals who made campaign contributions.

The governor’s single most significant appointment is that of secretary of state.

◦ Although the governor also appoints other important positions, including the adjutant general, the health & human services
commissioner, & the state education commissioner. The governor will make approx. 3,000 appointments over a four-year
term.
Powers of the Governor
The governor’s appointment of board members typically occurs where the legislature has specifically granted the governor
that power. The legislature, at times, has limited the governor’s appointment power. The members of the Railroad
Commission of Texas & the Texas State Board of Education were originally appointed by the governor but today are elected.
The constitution further limited the governor’s appointment power by staggering the terms of appointees. Typically,
members of Texas boards or commissions serve staggered terms of six years that overlap the governor’s term. Every two
years, the governor appoints about 1/3 of an agency’s appointees. This means that a governor will not appoint a majority of
any board or commission until the end of his or her first term.
Only governors who can successfully obtain a second term will eventually appoint all the members of the boards and
commissions in the state. Thus, the longer the tenure of the governor, the more effective the governor is likely to be at
wielding appointment power as a tool to achieve his or her goals.
◦ Governor Perry’s 14 years in office meant that he was the first Texas Governor to go through the entire appointment cycle twice.

The Texas Constitution mandates that all appointments be approved by a 2/3rds vote in the Texas Senate. This is a stricter
requirement than that of presidential appointments, which are approved with only a simple majority vote in the U.S. Senate.
The governor can make a provisional appointment, which is called a recess appointment: A gubernatorial appointment
made while the Texas Senate is not in session; requires Texas Senate approval within ten days of the next legislative
session.
An informal limit to the appointment power stems from a custom called senatorial courtesy. The informal requirement that a
gubernatorial appointee have approval of her or his own state senator in order to obtain support within the Texas Senate.
Removal power: the power of the governor, with 2/3rds consent of the Texas Senate, to remove appointees.
Powers of the Governor
With appointment & removal powers, governors can attempt to direct the bureaucracy by issuing executive orders.
◦ Order issued by the governor to direct existing agencies or coordinate the state’s response to address a particular issue or
crisis.
◦ It was not until 1950 that Governor Allan Shivers issued the first executive order. Since that time, Texas governors have
issued an average of 36 executive orders per year.
◦ Modern governors utilize executive orders to address a particular policy by issuing a directive to a state agency or creating a
specific task force. For instance, as governor, George W. Bush issued executive orders to create a committee to promote
adoption, a task force on illegal gambling, and a citizens’ committee on tax relief.
◦ There is a fine line between using executive orders to direct state bureaucracies to execute laws passed by the legislature
and using executive orders to pass law. This creates a temptation to use executive orders to accomplish policy goals the
governor has been unable to convince the legislature to implement.
◦ Governor Perry’s most controversial executive order required that all sixth-grade girls in Texas public schools receive the
human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. The legislature passed a bill that prevented the vaccine from being required for school
enrollment.
◦ In response to COVID-19, Abbott liberally used executive orders to respond to the rapidly changing crisis, twenty-five
pandemic-related executive orders in 2020 and another eight executive orders in 2021.

The budget power can be viewed as both an executive & legislative power. A governor’s ability to steer the
bureaucracy is significantly influenced by the budget power - the executive’s ability to exert influence on the
state’s budget process.

Twenty-seven states give their governors sole responsibility for drafting the state’s budget. However, in Texas, the
governor’s budgetary powers are notably weak. In 1949, the Texas Legislature created the Legislative Budget
Board (LBB) to seize budgetary power from the executive branch. The legislature works from the budget prepared
Powers of the Governor
The Texas governor can also exert significant influence on the budget process utilizing the line-item
veto.
◦ The ability of the executive to selectively veto only some parts of a bill; in Texas, available only on
appropriations bills.
◦ This use of the line-item veto allows the governor to exert much more control over how money is actually
spent and can form a much sharper weapon if used to strike out a legislator’s pet project.

Governor Abbott increased the power of the line-item veto, using it to strike out both appropriation
items and the descriptive riders attached to them, a practice that the Texas Supreme Court had
previously ruled unconstitutional.
◦ The Texas Legislature essentially did not challenge Abbott’s expanded veto, de facto increasing the
governor’s veto power.
◦ Abbott used the line-item veto in the 85th legislative session to veto $120 million in appropriations, mostly
cutting funding for environmental initiatives.

The Texas governor is one of thirty-five governors in the country given the power to veto specific
line items in appropriations bills. Another nine governors are given the power to line-item veto any
bill.
Legislative Roles
Although the governor’s primary job is chief executive, the governor can exert significant influence in the
legislation that passes the state. The governor’s legislative power comes from the power to direct the
legislative agenda and to veto legislation, in addition to the power to shape the budget.

Agenda Setting: The ability of the governor to prioritize the problems facing the state, and thereby influence
which policies the legislature will address.
◦ The governor’s authority to address the legislature, declare emergency legislation, and call special sessions each enable
the governor to shape the legislature’s agenda.

State of the State Address: The constitutional requirement that the governor address the state legislature about
the condition of the state; the state of the state address occurs at the beginning of each legislative session and
at the end of the governor’s term. The address can make the governor’s priorities a focal point for the
legislative session.
◦ Governor Abbott delivered his state of the state address, which outlined twenty policy goals he wanted the legislature to
address, including funding his pre-K program, the National Guard, the university research initiative, and the Texas
Enterprise Fund.

Governors can substantially increase the chances of their legislative agenda passing by declaring their
legislative priorities emergency legislation. A designation by the governor that allows the governor to prioritize
legislation; legislation designated as an emergency can be voted on during the first sixty days of the session.
◦ Since Texas has relatively short legislative sessions, the timing of the introduction of legislation is critical to its success or
failure.
◦ The ability to declare proposed legislation an emergency and therefore move it up on the legislature’s agenda
significantly increases the likelihood that the legislation will become law.
Legislative Roles
At the start of the 85th legislature, Abbott’s state of the state address identified twenty items he wanted
lawmakers to pass, including four emergency items.
◦ The legislature eventually passed all but two of Abbott’s policy goals, including all four emergency items. In the last
week of the 85th session, Abbott declared a stalled voter identification bill an emergency. The last-minute pressure
appeared to work, as the legislature managed to eke out a voter ID bill in the last days of the session.
◦ In the 87th legislature, Abbott declared five emergency items, including expanding broadband access, preventing
cities from defunding police, reforming the bail system, providing civil liability protection for businesses that opened
in the pandemic, and ensuring election integrity.

Abbott’s state of the state address at the start of the 86th session designated six items as emergencies,
including school finance and property tax reform. By the end of the session, the legislature had passed
legislation addressing each of these items.

The governor’s power to call the legislature into special session “on extraordinary occasions” represents
another powerful tool to shape the legislature’s policy agenda.
◦ Meetings of a legislature that occur outside the regular legislative session; in Texas, special sessions are called by the
governor and last for up to thirty days. The governor, without interference, determines the agenda of the session.
◦ Texas’s governors can use these sessions to force the legislature to address the governor’s legislative proposals.
◦ Most modern governors use special sessions, although Bush was a notable exception. In his five years in office, Bush
did not call a special session. Perry used special sessions frequently to prioritize legislation.
◦ The special session remains an effective source of power for a governor although one that comes with a hefty price.
Texans pay well over $1 million in tax dollars for each thirty-day session, and governors who use this too often risk
angering voters.
Legislative Roles
One of the most important tools the governor wields to influence legislation is the veto power.
◦ The formal power of the executive to reject bills that have been passed by the legislature; in Texas, a veto can be
overridden only by a two-thirds vote in both houses.

Legislation passed by the legislature can be signed or vetoed by the governor within ten days.
◦ If the governor chooses to veto legislation, the Texas Legislature needs a two-thirds vote in both houses in order to override
the veto. Vetoes rarely achieve the two-thirds support necessary to be overridden.
◦ The last time the legislature successfully overrode a governor’s veto in Texas was in 1979.

After the legislative session is adjourned, the governor gets an additional twenty days to act on all bills still under
consideration. A post-adjournment veto, or a veto that occurs after the legislature has adjourned, is absolute, as
there is no way for the legislature to overturn it.

The veto is one of the most important sources of legislative influence for the Texas governor. A governor who
vetoes a considerable amount of legislation runs the risk of being perceived as weak; a large number of vetoes
indicates that a governor did not exert sufficient influence on proposed legislation earlier in the legislative
process.
◦ Since 1876, Texas governors vetoed an average of twenty-six bills per session. As governor, Perry vetoed more legislation
than previous governors, averaging forty-three bills a session. Perry also holds the record for most vetoes in a single
session, vetoing a record eighty bills in 2001 in what has been dubbed the “Father’s Day massacre.”

In his first 3 legislative sessions, Abbott vetoed an average of 51 bills per session. In the 85th legislature, Abbott
reportedly threatened to veto the budget if the legislature did not add more money for some of the governor’s pet
projects, including the Texas Enterprise Fund and the Governor’s University Research Initiative. The legislature
Judicial Roles
The framers of the Texas Constitution of 1876 sought to limit the power of the governor by making
all state- and county-level judges elected rather than appointed posts. In spite of this, the governor
of Texas often makes a significant number of judicial appointments to fill vacancies in between
elections, subject to senatorial approval.
◦ The current constitution also gave the governor the authority to “grant reprieves, commutations of
punishment and pardons.” This power was curbed after Ma and Pa Ferguson were accused of selling
pardons.

In 1936, a constitutional amendment created the Board of Pardons and Paroles, which was
authorized to recommend clemency or mercy in the state. Upon recommendation of a majority of
the board, the governor has the option of granting clemency. Clemency can range from a full
pardon, or parole, to a conditional pardon.
◦ To release from punishment in a criminal case; in Texas, the governor can grant a pardon only upon the
recommendation of the state’s Board of Pardons and Paroles.
◦ Absent recommendation from the board, the governor can independently grant a one-time, thirty-day stay
of execution in death penalty cases. The governor exercises some influence over the board, as its members
are appointed by the governor with senatorial approval.
Other Rules
The Texas governor fulfills many formal and informal roles. The governor performs a variety of what might
otherwise be viewed as ceremonial duties. Appearances made by the governor as the most visible state
officeholder that can function as a source of power; includes appearances at events and the participation
in formal functions.

Since the September 11, 2001, attacks, the governor’s role as crisis manager has also become increasingly
important.
◦ The responsibility to act as a policymaker, coordinator of resources, and point person in the wake of natural and
man-made disaster. How a governor handles crises increasingly corresponds with his or her degree of constituent
support.
◦ In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, Governor Abbott was front and center to both manage state resources and
press the national government for more federal aid. In 2020, the Governor held near daily press conferences while
managing the state’s response to COVID-19.

Texas’s Confusing Response to COVID-19:

◦ The arrival of COVID-19 strained the system of federalism at every level. The issue of how we respond, including
potential quarantines, travel restrictions, and supply allocations, is critical. Equally important is who should
respond.
◦ The federal government has considerable emergency powers in a national health crisis. Congress has granted the
president authority under the Stafford Act, the National Emergencies Act, and the Defense Production Act to
coordinate a federal response. President Trump issued orders banning foreign nationals who had recently visited
China, then Iran, and eventually Europe from entering the country.
◦ Beyond this, Trump has forgone an overarching national response in favor of allowing states to take the lead. The
Other Rules
Texas’s Confusing Response to COVID-19:
◦ Proponents for local control point to differences in situation between rural & urban areas, including
population density, average age, & health care access, that warrant diverse policies. From this perspective,
local governments are ideal to address COVID-19.
◦ In mid-March 2020, Governor Abbott issued an executive order requiring social distancing. In the weeks that
followed, several large counties, including Collin, Denton, Harris, and Tarrant, went further than the governor
and issued stay-at-home orders.
◦ On March 31, 2020, Governor Abbott escalated his response with an executive order requiring all Texans to
stay at home except for those engaged in essential businesses or activities, such as going to the grocery
store; a $1,000 fine and up to 180 days in jail could be imposed for failure to comply.
◦ Although most Texans might recognize the governor’s powers in a health care emergency, the economic
impact was severe, creating significant backlash. Within a couple of weeks, the Mayor of Colleyville
countered the governor’s directive, allowing restaurants, bars, and beauty salons to reopen with social
distancing.
◦ For a couple of weeks in April, Colleyville residents didn’t know whether to listen to their governor or their
mayor. Down the road, a hairstylist told a judge she would continue to violate a temporary restraining order
by opening her salon, leading to her arrest for contempt of court. State officials, including the governor,
came to her rescue, contradicting the executive orders of the Dallas city manager, a Dallas County judge,
and the governor’s own executive order.
◦ Abbott then informed Texas cities and counties that they could not have stricter restrictions than the state.
State and local officials fumbled over which orders, if any, mattered; even the governments seemed
confused at times about who was in charge.
Military Roles
Finally, the governor of Texas is commander in chief of the Texas National Guard and the Texas State
Guard. The governor appoints the adjutant general to command these units.
◦ The Texas National Guard, which has an army and an air force division, remains under the governor’s control
unless it is being used for national service.
◦ In 2014, Perry called up Texas National Guard troops to control the influx of undocumented children at the Texas
border, at an estimated cost of $12 billion a month.
◦ At the request of President Trump, Governor Abbott increased the state’s National Guard presence at the border
to assist border patrol agents.

If the Texas National Guard is unavailable, the Texas State Guard can be called into action for state
emergencies. The Texas State Guard can be activated only by the governor. Both units were mobilized in
response to COVID-19.

In 2006, the U.S. Congress restricted a governor’s power over National Guard troops during natural
disasters. During the chaos following Hurricane Katrina, President George W. Bush sought federal control
over guardsmen in Louisiana, but Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco refused to hand over power.
◦ Prior to 2006, governors had sole control of the National Guard during a crisis within their state, though the
president could take command of the guard for national service and domestically in times of insurrection.
◦ After Hurricane Katrina, Congress expanded the president’s domestic power and now allows the president to take
control of troops during “natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack or
incident.”
◦ Not surprisingly, all fifty state governors objected to this expansion of federal power.
Informal Powers
In Texas, it is often the case that “personality transcends policy.” Research on gubernatorial power
focuses on 4 attributes of informal power (powers based on factors other than those enumerated in
the constitution): (1) governor’s electoral mandate, (2) political ambition ladder, (3) personal future
as governor, & (4) performance ratings.

A governor that wins a general election by a significant margin can claim a popular mandate
◦ The claim that an elected official’s legislative agenda is the will of the people based on a high margin of
victory in an election.

A governor who has worked his or her way up the political ambition ladder to the state executive
position will have more allies and political savvy than an individual whose first state office is the
governorship.
◦ The manner in which a political figure has come up through the ranks, working through various levels of
state governmental offices and positions on the way to the top position; climbing several levels on the
ladder can increase a politician’s contacts, allies, and political savvy.

Texas governors have often been elected for their larger-than-life personalities rather than their
ability to lead. Those larger-than-life personas can be aided by the size, location, and economic
might of the state.
◦ Governor Abbott traveled to Switzerland and India to drum up business for the state.
◦
Conclusion
Madison’s vision for American government advocated for a governmental design in a system of
checks and balances with the Legislative & Executive branches. The framers of the Texas
Constitution of 1876, by contrast, consciously created a weak executive and gave more power to
the legislature. However, the days of the weak executive are over.

Measures of institutional power focus on the length of tenure, appointment power, budget powers,
and veto powers. The state’s constitution originally established two-year terms, relatively few
appointments, a limited salary, and modest budgeting power. Texas also vested traditional
gubernatorial power among several elected offices to dilute the executive power of a single
individual.

Several institutional changes have facilitated the rise of a powerful governor. The long tenure of
Governor Perry created not only a powerful governorship for him, but established new norms to the
governor’s office for future occupants. Government in Texas has become a Monopoly board on
which every square is controlled by the governor’s office

Today, Texas government appears to be moving toward a stronger executive model. Thus far, the
legislature has put up very little fight in response to the governor’s power grab.

For over a hundred years, the Texas governor was one of the weakest in the country. Institutional