The governor of Texas is considered relatively weak by national standards. Texas

The governor of Texas is considered relatively weak by national standards. Texas has a plural executive, meaning voters elect a lot of the executive branch officials (comptroller, agriculture commissioner, land commissioner, lieutenant governor, attorney general, etc.) independently. The governor, therefore, has little control over the executive branch of state government, since the guys who run it mostly don’t report to him – they answer only to the voters.

One area where the governor holds real power, though, is in the legislative process. The Texas Constitution allows the governor to call the state legislature into special session and gives him the sole power to set the session’s agenda. Bills on subjects not included in the governor’s “call” cannot be considered. The Constitution also allows the governor the power to veto bills passed by the legislature. While the legislature technically has the power to override his veto with a 2/3 vote, he generally vetoes bills after the legislature has adjourned – making the threat of an override meaningless.
The Constitutional deadline for Governor Greg Abbott to veto bills passed by the most recent regular session of the Texas Legislature was Sunday, June 20, 2021.
Your assignment:
Take a look at the bills vetoed by Governor Abbott in 2021 :
https://capitol.texas.gov/Reports/Report.aspx?LegSess=87R&ID=vetoedbygov (Links to an external site.)
Pick three. Write one essay explaining what each of the three bills bill did, why Governor Abbott vetoed each one, and whether or not you agree with the governor’s decision.
Submit this assignment in one Microsoft Word file. Cite your sources. Additional Resources Governor Abbott’s official veto proclamations can be found on his website: http://gov.texas.gov/news/bills
The governor line-item-vetoed the entire appropriation for the state legislature out of the state budget. Can he do that? Apparently so. https://www.texastribune.org/2021/06/18/greg-abbott-veto-legislature-democrats/ (Links to an external site.)
S.B. 474 would have strengthened animal cruelty laws. Read why the governor thought it was micromanaging: https://www.kxan.com/news/texas-politics/gov-abbott-vetoes-bill-expanding-animal-cruelty-laws-calls-it-micro-managing/ (Links to an external site.)
The Houston Chronicle blasted Abbott for his veto of S.B. 474 this morning (Wednesday): https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/Editorial-AbbottHatesDogs-Well-governor-s-16266637.php (Links to an external site.) The Texas Tribune is always a good source of information.
Did Governor Abbott veto a good bill in 2019 because of a bad amendment? https://www.texastribune.org/2019/06/05/greg-abbott-vetoes-domestic-violence-bill-due-radioactive-waste-fees/ (Links to an external site.)
Texas’ Legislative Reference Library has a website that lets you look at governors’ vetoes all the way back to 1846: http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/legis/vetoes/
Vetoes: https://gov.texas.gov/news/category/legislative
Constitutional deadline: https://law.justia.com/constitution/texas/sections/cn000400-001400.html
Texas Tribune: https://www.texastribune.org