Texas Legislative and Executive Government
Student’s name
Institutional Affiliation
Introduction
The Texas constitution separates government into three equal branches; the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. The governor heads the executive, and the judicial comprises the state courts and the Texas Supreme Court. The legislative branch is headed by the state legislature that comprises 32 members of the Senate and 150 House of Representatives. The Texas legislature has to appropriate all funds of the state government and consider proposed resolutions and laws. Additionally, the legislature considers constitutional amendments to voters. The executive arm of the Texas government is tasked with vetoing or signing bills that are passed by the legislative branch. The purpose of this text is to discuss Texas legislative and executive arms of government at length.
Demographic Composition of Texas Legislature
Texas legislature comprises of two chambers, namely the house of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The House of Senate is the upper chamber while the House of Senate is the lower chamber. Currently, there are three vacancies in the house. As regards demographics, millennials account for nearly 11% of all members of Texas House of Representatives. Generation X accounts for the largest portion of the legislature representing 47% of the House of Representatives and 26% of the House of Senate (Mank, 2018). Baby boomers and salient generation account for 34% and 6% of the House of Representatives, respectively. The oldest member of the Senate is 76 years, the youngest is 48 years and the average age is 61.3. Texas senate does not have young elected leaders. Approximately 29% and 22% members of the House of Representatives and Senate respectively are women. As far as ethnicity is concerned, 68% and 19% of the Senate are Caucasian and Hispanic, respectively. 54% of House of Representatives are Caucasian, 20% are Hispanic and 10% are African American.
Single Elected Texas Executives
Greg Abbott serves as the current governor of Texas. He is a Caucasian male and is 63 years old. He is from Houston and his professional occupation is a lawyer. Abbott is a member of the Republican party. Abbott holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (finance) degree from the University of Texas-Austin. Dan Patrick serves as the Lieutenant Governor of Texas. He is a Caucasian male of 71 years of age. He identifies with the Republican Party. His previous occupation was in broadcasting. Patrick is a graduate of the University of Maryland. Glenn Hegar is the Comptroller in Texas State. He is of Caucasian ethnicity and is 50 years old. His previous occupation was as a farmer. Hegan holds an LLM from the University of Arkansas and a Masters’s degree from St. Mary’s University in Texas. Ken Paxton serves as the Attorney General. He is a Caucasian aged 58 years. His previous career was as an attorney. He attended Baylor University and the University of Virginia School of Law. George P. Bush serves as the land commissioner of Texas. He is from Fort Worth, is Caucasian and is 45 years old. His former occupation was as a consultant for energy investment. He has a doctor of jurisprudence from the University of Texas in Austin. Sid Miller serves as the Agriculture Commissioner. He is of Caucasian ethnicity and is 66 years old. He is a former rancher and nurseryman. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Vocational Agriculture from Tarleton State University and an Associate’s degree from Cisco College.
Underrepresented and Overrepresented Demographics in the legislature and Executive
When it comes to representation in Texas’s legislature and executive arm, some groups tend to be overrepresented while others are underrepresented. The Texas legislature, for instance, is mostly Caucasian, middle-aged and male. Men hold up to 80% of legislative seats in Texas despite only making up 80% of the state population (Newell, 2018). Young people, people of color and women continue to be under-represented in the Texas legislature. Similarly, in the executive, males, Caucasians and older age dominate the leadership. Women, young people, and people of color are highly excluded from the Executive.
Issues and Ideas of the Demographics
Women, people of color and young individuals tend to be underrepresented because they have conflicting ideas than their counterparts. In most cases, young people tend to be largely democrat. Their way of thinking is different from the older population. Texas is a predominantly Republican state, making it difficult for women, people of color, and young people to get elected into leadership positions. On the other hand, the men of senior age and are Caucasians tend to have the upper hand because they are largely republican. As a result, the ideas of the old and the men are likely to be turned into public laws and policies instead of the policies that women and young people develop.
Basis of Elections
Various factors can give some groups an upper hand when it comes to elections. The main factor determining whether a person will be elected to a leadership position is the party they identify with. Texas state is mainly republican. Suppose an individual decides to vie for a leadership position under a Democratic Party ticket. In that case, they are unlikely to get elected because the majority of the Texans do not identify with their political party. Another factor that can make a person not get elected is their manifesto. If they do not have a strong manifesto that seeks to address problems the people are going through, they will not vote for them because they cannot relate to their agenda.
Conclusion
In closing, to change the demographic composition of the legislature and executive branches of the Texas government, we should empower people of race, age, gender, socio-economic status and level of education to seek leadership positions. The only way for the excluded groups such as women, young people and people of color to get elected into office is if they vie for positions. There is also a need to embark on mindset change on the part of society. This is because the people are the ones who will cast votes and elect leaders. Voter education should be undertaken as it helps voters make wise decisions during voting. Voters should be encouraged to elect leaders based on their ability to institute change for the people and not gender, age or ethnic background.
References
Mank, B. C. (2018). State Standing in United States v. Texas: Opening the Floodgates to States Challenging the Federal Government, or Proper Federalism. U. Ill. L. Rev., 211.
Newell, C. (2018). History of the Revolution in Texas. Jazzybee Verlag.
