The Texas Bureaucracy III March 1, 2016

APPOINTED OFFICIALS Some state agencies are led by officials appointed by the governor. Some agencies are headed by individual administrators; others are led by boards or commissions.

Texas Secretary of State The Texas Secretary of State is the state's chief election officer, responsible for the uniform application, implementation, and interpretation of election laws. He or she is appointed by the governor pending Senate confirmation.

Appointed Commissions They are called departments, boards, councils, offices, systems, or authorities They are headed by unpaid boards of 3, 6, 9, or 18 members The governor appoints board members with two-thirds Senate approval to serve fixed, overlapping terms of 6 years. The boards meet periodically to set policy. An executive director, who is either appointed by the governor or hired by the board, depending on the agency, manages the professional staff, which does the day-to- day work of the agency.

Administrative Departments Criminal Justice Lottery Commission Department of Transportation (TX DOT) Parks and Wildlife State Health Services Public Safety

College and University Boards Appointed boards of regents oversee each of the state’s public colleges and university systems. University boards consist of nine members selected by the governor with Senate concurrence to serve overlapping six- year terms.

Licensing Boards Department of Licensing and Regulation Advisory Board of Athletic Trainers Board of Chiropractic Examiners Polygraph Examiners Board Funeral Service Commission What is the purpose of each of these boards? Who supports their creation and continuance?

Regulatory Boards Public Utility Commission Texas Department of Insurance Texas ABC Texas Racing Commission What do each of these agencies regulate?

Social Service Agencies Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities Diabetes Council Disability Services Cancer Prevention and Research Institute

Privatization Texas is a national leader in privatization, which is the process that involves the government contracting with private business to implement government programs. The reason for privatization is to save money. How are private companies able to perform a function less expensively than a government agency and still make a profit? They pay workers lower wages.

ADMINISTRATIVE OVERSIGHT

Overview State agencies operate with relatively little oversight from the legislature or the governor.

Elected Executives and Boards Agencies headed by elected executives or commissions are somewhat insolated from legislative or gubernatorial control. The legislature determines their budget and can change the laws under which they operate, but they are generally free to set policy with no obligation to coordinate their activities with the governor or other agencies. Why is this true? Elected officials answer to the voters, not the governor or legislature.

Legislature Struggles The legislature can restructure or eliminate a state agency if it chooses or it can adopt legislation directing an agency to take or refrain from taking particular actions. In practice, however, the legislature sometimes struggles to exert control because of its brief, infrequent sessions.

Sunset Review Sunset review is the periodic evaluation of state agencies by the legislature to determine whether they should be reauthorized. Both the agency and the Sunset Advisory Council prepare reports evaluating the agency and proposing reforms. The legislature has to pass legislation reauthorizing the agency. Key point: If the legislature fails to act, the agency has to go out of business.

Legislative Control In addition to the sunset process, the legislature uses the committee system and the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) to oversee the executive bureaucracy. During legislative sessions, standing committees may evaluate agency operations and hold hearings to investigate agency performance. Interim committees may oversee agency operations between sessions. Why do agencies care about the LBB? The LBB drafts their budgets.

Gubernatorial Control Other than the line-item veto, the governor’s powers are relatively weak. A number of agency administrators are independently elected. He appoints others, but he can’t remove them and lacks power to tell them what to do. Nonetheless, Perry developed influence by appointing political supporters to every position he could.

What You Have Learned How are state agencies headed by appointed officials, boards, or commissions organized? How effective are the tools available to the legislature and the governor for overseeing the state’s administrative bureaucracy?