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Texas Government Chapter 9 Summary

Decent Essays

Alyssa Campbell
GOVT 2306
Gardner
01 December 2017
Chapter 9 Summary
The judiciary branch is government was put into place to interpret the constitution and act as yet another check on the branches of government. We rely on these members to put aside self interest to clearly outline the fundamental beliefs our country was founded from. In the Texas government the judiciary branch has multiple levels, each with different jurisdictions, that essentially keeps the government small. One of the most important role in our judiciary system is the attorney general. The attorney general functions as a presider over the judicial branch and the state's lawyer. He/she works alongside assistant attorney generals, to handle cases when government agencies …show more content…

Ever since then Texas has became the 15th most urbanized state in the U.S, that is also home to 7 of the 50 largest cities. Although people tend to focus and be more active in our higher levels of government, it is the local government that you see the most reflective change. One of the oldest forms of local government is the county, which was a creation by the state government that is meant to carry out certain state functions. The county has their own law enforcements, courts, and keeps record such as deeds, titles, taxes, ect. The county is a good representation of ideal Texas democracy with little state supervision and the citizens ability to elect representatives. Much like the state government the county has a legislative and administrative body called the commissioner’s court. In Texas counties the home rule, in which the county government can be structured as residents please within limits, is not utilized. It was deemed dysfunctional and caused more problems than it solved. In Texas the county governments are somewhat identical in structure and stays away from a mayor-council structure. It is similar to the state government because of the decentralization of power, which makes for a lot of extra offices and agencies. Counties are divided into smaller parts called precincts, in which each has a commissioner that serves on the commissioner’s court. There is only one officer that presides over the commissioner’s court and that is the county judge. The commissioners are elected by precinct, while anyone who is a registered voter can elected the judge. Precinct lines are drawn by apportionment and can be unfairly drawn due to gerrymandering. The commissioner’s court can carry out functions such as the setting of tax rates, administration of state programs, education, allocation of money, ect. They are also responsible for elections with the

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