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Formal and Informal Powers of the Texas Governor

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Submitted By jlafrenz92
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The governor of Texas is in general the most known state official and usually at the center of state government and politics. As such an important part of the Texas government, the governor has many powers, both formal and informal.
The formal powers of the governor are powers inherent to the person who holds the office. These powers include: the power to veto, appointing powers, budgeting powers, and the power to reorganize state agencies and departments. These powers are inherent to the person who holds the position. The power to veto is the governor’s ability to say no to legislation that they disagree with or are opposed to. This power is the most important power that the governor wields that can affect the lawmaking process. There are also several types of vetoes, however the Texas government only has two: the line-item veto, or partial veto, is the ability to nullify or cancel certain parts of a bill; and the package veto, which allows the governor to veto the entire bill. The veto is a very important power of the governor because it allows the governor to have a say in the lawmaking process and because vetoes are rarely overridden, the bill will likely not go through.
Besides vetoing power, the governor also has appointing powers. In order for a governor to have influence over legislation, they need to have a say in who is administering the laws. Most appointments are state officials, such as state board members, commissioners, and council members. These officials are generally in charge in charge of the “six major functions: elementary education, health, highways, public utilities, and welfare” (Ferguson,2013). If the governor did not have appointment powers, their goals bureaucratic goals could be ignored. The governor also has the ability to remove officials, however, it is often protested because public employees can be

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