Title: Get out a piece of paper and answer this question: How is this bicycle like the Three Branches of Government?
1Get out a piece of paper and answer this
questionHow is this bicycle like the Three
Branches of Government?
2LEVELS OF TEXAS GOVERNMENT
Dallas County Courthouse
State Capital in Austin
Dallas City Hall
3Federalism Two Constitutions
- Texas has two Constitutions that rule over it.
The Texas and the U.S. Constitution. - This is called Federalism.
- Federalism is a strong federal government (in
Washington DC) that shares power with the state
governments.
4- The state handles any government responsibilities
not covered by the federal government. (10th
Amendment to the US constitution) - Examples might be maintaining highways, prisons,
supporting public schools and universities, and
public health.
University of Texas at Austin
Huntsville State Prison
5Texas many Constitutions
Constitution
1824
1827
- Texass first constitution was adopted in 1824
when Texas was part of Mexico and Mexico became a
republic and wrote the Constitution of 1824. - In 1827, Coahuila y Tejas wrote a state
constitution that included Texas because it was
part of Mexico. - Both were written in Spanish
6- Texas won its independence from Mexico in 1836
and wrote its own constitution for the Republic
of Texas - The writers based it on the US Constitution
- Looked much like the constitution of the southern
states of the U.S. and included a Bicameral
legislature.
1836
7REVOLVING CONSTITUTIONS
- 1845 - Texas was annexed by the U.S. and had to
write a new state constitution - 1861 - Texas joined the Confederate States of
America and again wrote a constitution - 1866 - Texas wrote another constitution to rejoin
the U.S. after the Civil War. - 1869 - This constitution was written during
Reconstruction by Republicans from mostly out of
state. .
Texas treating its former slaves poorly led to
the Constitution of 1866 being rejected by the
U.S. Gov
8The Texas Constitution of 1876
- The Constitution of 1876 is last and current
constitution we use in the state of Texas - It was heavily influenced by the administration
of the governor elected in 1869
9E.J. Davis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
10- After the Civil War a Radical Republican named
Edmund J. Davis was elected Governor. - He was absolutely hated and despised by most
Texans - After he was run out of office in the election
1874, the politicians of Texas wrote the
Constitution of 1876 to make Texas have a
Limited Government (A government whose powers
are restricted by the constitution) so no one
like E.J. Davis could ever hurt Texas again.
11So how many is that?
- 8 in all!!!
- 1824
- 1827
- 1836
- 1845
- 1861
- 1866
- 1869
- 1876
12State Government
- The State Government is the highest level of
Government in Texas. These include the three
branches we already talked about. - The Capital is in Austin and that is where most
of the State Government offices are located
13COUNTY GOVERNMENTS
Below the State government are Counties. There
are 254 Counties in Texas The most of any state.
14IMPORTANT COUNTY OFFICIALS
- Each county of Texas is made up of precincts that
have a county commissioner. This group of
commissioners makes up the County Commissioners
Court. Though its not really a court, this
group sets the tax rate and decides the budget
for all county business. - There are county treasurers and auditors that
watch over county money. Some counties have a
county attorney. (or Lawyer) - The county clerk keeps county records including
births, deaths, marriage certificates, and
property ownership.
15- The Sheriff is the top law officer of a county,
and all counties have at least one constable
which help keep the peace and serve court
documents.
Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez
16Municipal (City) Governments -The Texas
Constitution sets up rules for what type of
government a city can choose
17Most cities in Texas have a Mayor-Counsel form of
government where the citizens of the city elect
the Mayor and the Counsel. -Some cities such
as Dallas have a Weak Mayor which has limited
authority, while the city counsel maintains most
of the power
-Houston has a Strong Mayor, which has full
executive authority and has many more
responsibilities.
18San Antonio maintains a Counsel Manager form of
Government
- Other city government forms
- Counsel-Manager, like in San Antonio, has the
counsel select a city manager, but maintains most
policy making power. - Commission Systems have the city counsel members
each running different sections of the city
government.
19- Cities in Texas generate most of their money from
property and sales tax. Many cities have lower
tax rates because they get more money from
tourism.
Why do you think that sales tax is lower in San
Antonio than Dallas?
- Cities also make money from business to buy
licenses each year to operate and the city
collects fees on new building constructions, and
inspections.
20SCHOOL DISTRICTS
There are over 1,050 Independent School Districts
in Texas. Each district is run by a school board
that chooses a superintendent that administrates
the whole district. These ISDs are funded by
the local cities and the state.
Dr. Robin Ryan
21In Your Community
- Get out a piece of paper.
- I will show you a picture of a Government
service. - Write down whether the service is Municipal
(City and County), State, or Federal government
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42Municipal
43Federal
44State
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54Federal
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56Federal
57Municipal
58State
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60State
61Municipal