Texas Government

Texas is part of a federal system of government, that is, it is one of fifty states in a political system that divides power between the national and state governments. The United States Constitution, federal law, federal court decisions, and federal treaties make up the highest level of political authority in the country. States possess considerable powers of their own so long as they are not in conflict with the federal government. The history of federalism in the United States reflects real arguments about which level of government should exercise the most political power in the country. Texans, like many Southerners, have long taken the position that state and local governments should be the centers of power, while others believe that federal authority is uniform across the country and better for the nation as a whole. In addition to the broad grant of power, the 10th Amendment of the US Constitution gives to states,* the Texas Constitution provides an elaborate description of local governments and sets forth their relationship to the state. Municipalities (cities) and counties have been granted significant powers, including home-rule status to cities that exceed 5,000 in population. So important to the functioning of a geographically large state, this home rule status enables large cities to make their own laws so long as they do not conflict with federal or state laws. Counties in Texas, on the other hand, are restricted by Dillon's Rule, which means they lack the independent power to make their own laws and instead carry out functions given by the state. These beliefs about state and local political control infuse the spirit of federalism in Texas. *10th Amendment - "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Background Part 2 The 1876 Texas Constitution defines the relationship of Texans to their government and the government to the people. It is a long, detailed, complex document reflective of nineteenth-century conservative values. In its great length, it essentially tells the government what it can do and thereby restricts it to doing only that which is explicitly granted. It creates a weak governorship and provides that the legislature meet only once every two years in regular session for a limited time period of 140 calendar days. So important to the drafters of this document were the rights and protections of Texans that the first Article sets forth the Texas Bill of Rights, not a series of amendments like we find in the US Constitution. And even more so than the United States Constitution, the Texas Bill of Rights protects Texans from the potential abuse of political power by the state. Texans consider themselves among the freest Americans in the union. These beliefs about limited government, especially in privacy areas, infuse the spirit of the Texas Constitution. 1) Assess the spirit of federalism by examining the exercise of Texas state authority over local fracking regulations or sanctuary cities or plastic shopping bag bans or ride-sharing restrictions (choose one these issues, not all three). •For information about the role of local governments in Texas, especially home-rule cities that legislate in these areas, go to https://www.tml.org/Handbook-M&C/Chapter1.pdf (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Use the Texas Tribune (texastribune.org (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.) to look for background information about the topic you are interested in (again, choose one: local fracking regulations or sanctuary cities or plastic shopping bag bans or ride-sharing restrictions). AND 2) Assess the spirit of the Texas Constitution by examining the Texas Bill of Rights in its relation to legislative efforts to limit abortion providers or defunding Planned Parenthood or limiting public restroom use (choose one these issues, not all three). •Explore the Texas Bill of Rights here: https://law.justia.com/constitution/texas/articles/cn000100.html (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Use the Texas Tribune (texastribune.org (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.) to look for background information about the topic you are interested in (again, choose one: legislative efforts to limit abortion providers or defunding Planned Parenthood or limiting public restroom use). Instructions Your essay must include responses to the following: •A brief description of your topics and what your research found out about them. ?Paragraph 1 - Texas state authority over your choice of local policy ?Paragraph 2 - Texas Bill of Rights and your privacy issue •Is the Texas government’s recent effort to make policy in your chosen areas in keeping with the spirit of federalism and the spirit of the Texas Constitution? ?Paragraph 3 - The spirit of federalism (state v. local control) ?Paragraph 4 - The spirit of the Texas Bill of Rights (state authority over privacy rights) •Is the Texas government solving a problem with its policy positions or are the positions on policies more political; i.e., designed to appeal to specific constituencies of voters? ?Paragraph 5 - Respond with information about both policies you selected to examine •What have you learned from doing this assignment?      

Sample Solution