Anthony's Plural Executive System

Since Texans feared a powerful government, they did not want a powerful executive figure who could abuse his power. Instead, they created the “plural executive” system that consists of a Governor, a Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Comptroller of Public Accounts, Land Commissioner, and Attorney General. Being only one of the members of the executive board, the Governor does not have that many powers. He has the power to appoint the members of boards and commissions, so he can always choose people with similar interests. However, the governor’s appointees have to be confirmed by two-thirds of the Senate. Furthermore, the governor can only fire people who were appointed by him. Thus, even though the Governor is given the power of appointment,
it is rather limited. Furthermore, the Governor has a veto power over legislation. If he signs the bill, it becomes a law and if he does not, it usually dies. Even though legislature could override the veto with a two-thirds vote, they rarely do as they only meet every other year for a short period, so the Governor theoretically has the final say. The Governor can also veto specific lines of the budget bill rather than the whole bill, which allows him to somewhat shape the budget bills. However, the actual budget is controlled by the Legislative Budget Board. The Governor can also call a special session of the legislature to address certain policies. Although informal, the Governor’s greatest power is setting a political agenda for the legislature and shaping political discussion. Also, he can serve an unlimited number of terms as long as he gets reelected. Unlike the U.S. president, the Governor cannot grant pardons. All in all, even though the Governor is granted all those powers, they are rather limited and compared to the U.S. president, the Governor does not have as many formal powers. Therefore, as only one member of the “plural executive” system and with limited powers, the Governor seems to be just a figurehead.