Capitol Steps
from the office of Representative Ken Paxton

General Land Office and Railroad Commission

As the primary elections near, I will continue to offer articles that explain the distinct roles of various statewide elected offices. The number of positions listed on the ballot frustrates many voters. This often causes voter drop-off, meaning voters may cast their vote for individuals at the top of the ballot (President or Governor), but decline to make a decision on other positions appearing further down. Since every elected office affects Texans, voters should carefully consider each position when casting their ballots. Hopefully, these articles will help Collin County constituents make more educated and informed decisions in the ballot booth.

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/textbooks/adoptprocess/index.htmlmailto:dsalazar@tea.state.tx.us While less visible than other state executive positions, the General Land Office Commissioner is a powerful position that has the ability to shape statewide public policy.  Texas’ General Land Office Commissioner is elected in a statewide election and serves a four year term.  The next election for this office will be in 2006.

The central role of the General Land Office Commissioner is to manage a total of 20.3 million acres of state lands and mineral-right properties.  This land includes beaches, bays, submerged lands out to 10.3 miles in the Gulf of Mexico, lands in the plains of West Texas, timberlands in East Texas, and commercial property in urban areas.  Additionally, this office oversees the Permanent School Fund, which is financed by leasing state land for oil drilling and gas production, real estate trades, sales, rentals and royalties.  Dividends and interest from the Permanent School Fund investments go into the Available School Fund to be distributed to school districts on a per-pupil basis. The Permanent School Fund has a balance of approximately $17 billion, which interest provides more than $700 million annually for public school funding.  Other responsibilities for this office include housing the original Spanish, Mexican, and Republic of Texas land grants, promoting programs, such as Adopt-A-Beach and Oil Spill Prevention and Response, and loan programs for Veterans through the Texas Veterans Land Board.

The current General Land Office Commissioner is Jerry Patterson from Houston.  He is a Republican who was elected in November 2002. Prior to this service, he served as a Texas Senator for six years.  He succeeds David Dewhurst, who was elected Lieutenant Governor in 2002.  To learn more about the General Land Office and the Commissioner, please visit their website at http://www.glo.state.tx.us/.   

Railroad Commissioners are also less visible than other state executives, but, like the General Land Office Commissioner, they play an important role in Texas government.  Unlike the General Land Office, which only has one Commissioner at a time, there are three individuals who serve together on the Railroad Commission of Texas.  Railroad Commissioners serve six year terms, with one commissioner seeking re-election every two years, including this year.

The Texas Railroad Commission is the oldest regulatory agency in the state.  Its commissioners have a number of responsibilities, including the establishment of tariffs, oversight of the Texas oil and gas industry, gas utilities, pipeline and rail safety, and the mining of natural resources, such as coal and uranium.

The following currently serve as Railroad Commissioners:
•  Michael Williams, who was first appointed by then Governor George Bush in 1998;
• Charles Matthews, who was originally elected in 1994 and re-elected in 2000; and
• Chairman Victor Carrillo, who was appointed by Governor Perry in February 2003 and is up for re-election this year.    

To learn more about the Texas Railroad Commission and the Commissioners, please visit their website at http://www.rrc.state.tx.us/.

Textbook Review Panel Appointments
and the Powers and Duties of the Comptroller

Before discussing the roles of the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, I would like to take this opportunity to let you know that my office has recently been asked by the Texas Education Agency to assist in identifying individuals who can serve on the 2004 state textbook review panels. State textbook review panel members are charged with evaluating instructional materials to determine coverage of essential knowledge and skills and with identifying factual errors. Panel members play a very important role in determining which conforming and nonconforming instructional materials will be used in the schools for the next few years.

Parents, educators and representatives from the private sector are encouraged to apply. The nomination form is available in the Texas Administration section of the Texas Education Agency web page located at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/textbooks/adoptprocess/index.html. Forms can be completed online and returned to Ms. Diane Salazar at dsalazar@tea.state.tx.us via an email attachment no later than Feb. 16, 2004. Please feel free to call my office at 972/562-4543 if you would like to apply or need further assistance.
 
The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts is one of the most powerful elected officers in our state government.  In Texas, the Comptroller is elected in a statewide election and serves a four year term.  The next election for this office will be in 2006.

The Comptroller serves as the state's chief accounting officer and tax collector.  The Texas Constitution requires the Comptroller to certify the state budget and ensure the budget is balanced. The Comptroller first estimates how much money will be collected based on current and projected revenue for the state .  Revenue for the state comes from a number of sources, including taxes, licensing fees, federal monies, the lottery, land leases, etc.  The Comptroller then reviews the budget passed by the legislature to ensure that state spending is kept within the limits of anticipated state revenue.  Additionally, the Comptroller reviews all appropriation bills passed in the House and Senate.  If the Comptroller determines that there is not enough available revenue to cover the costs outlined in the bill, then the bill cannot be enacted unless a four-fifths majority of both the state House and Senate approve it.  This process of checks and balances helps to keep the state government from spending revenue irresponsibly.  

The Comptroller also performs a number of other duties, including
• Conducting performance reviews of state agency programs, such as the recent example of a review of the foster care system run by the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (DPRS);
• Handling issues such as franchise taxes, tax abatements, sales tax, and other business tax issues;
• Issuing a release each year of the names of people with unclaimed property; and
• Auditing school districts, colleges, and universities and issuing school performance reviews.

The current Comptroller of Public Accounts is Carole Keeton Strayhorn.  She was elected as Texas' first woman State Comptroller in 1998, and she is currently serving her second term.  Prior to her current service, Strayhorn served as Railroad Commissioner and Mayor of Austin.  For more information on our Comptroller and her office, please visit http://www.window.state.tx.us/.

                                                                         Secretary of State


Unlike the other offices discussed, the Secretary of State is an executive office appointed by the Governor with confirmation from the Senate, as the United States Secretary of State is appointed and serves at the pleasure of the President.  The Secretary of State serves a four year term and is not limited to a particular number of reappointments.  An interesting tidbit of history is that Stephen F. Austin served as the first Secretary of State for the Republic of Texas.

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/textbooks/adoptprocess/index.htmlmailto:dsalazar@tea.state.tx.usThe Secretary of State has a number of responsibilities.  This officer serves as the Chief Election Officer in Texas.  Along with county officials, the Secretary of State administers state election laws.  This office is also responsible for tallying election returns for state and district offices. 

In addition to the offices election duties, the Secretary of State has other responsibilities relating to business and industry. The Secretary grants charters to corporations in Texas as well as authorizes permits to corporations outside of the state.  Businesses and commercial records, which must be filed with the state, are held here.

The office also processes requests for the extradition of criminals to or from other states for the purpose of trials and punishment.  The Secretary of State compiles new laws enacted by each legislative session and publishes them in the General and Special Laws of the State of Texas.  As the one that commissions notaries public, the Secretary serves as an attestor to the Governor’s signature on official documents and acts as “Keeper of the State Seal.”  Finally, the Secretary is also the Chief International Protocol Officer for Texas and serves as senior advisor and liaison to the Governor of Texas Border and Mexican Affairs.

The current Secretary of State is Geoffrey Connor, who was appointed by Governor Rick Perry in August, 2003.  Prior to this appointment, Connor served as Assistant Secretary of State for nearly three years.  He is an attorney who was born and raised in Runnel County.  Secretary Connor has previously served as general counsel for Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, assistance commissioner and general counsel for the Texas Department of Agriculture, and as deputy general counsel to former Governor William Clements.

To learn more about the Secretary of State and this office, please visit their website at http://www.sos.state.tx.us/.

Powers and Duties of the Lieutenant Governor

In order to help residents in Collin County better understand Texas' system of government, I continue this week with my series of articles on the roles of various elected offices in our state.  Last week, I discussed the responsibilities of the presiding officer of the Texas House of Representatives, the Speaker of the House. The presiding officer of the Texas Senate is the Lieutenant Governor. Unlike the Speaker of the House, the Lieutenant Governor is elected in a statewide election. While in some states the Lieutenant Governor runs on the ballot alongside the Governor (as the United State's vice-presidential candidates do with the presidential candidates), the Lieutenant Governor in Texas is elected separately from the Governor. It is therefore possible for the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Texas to be of opposing political parties; such was the case with former Governor George W. Bush (Republican) and the late former Lieutenant Governor, Bob Bullock (Democrat).

In Texas, the position of Lieutenant Governor is unique in that it is part of both the Executive and Legislative branches of Government.  The Lieutenant Governor is the President of the Senate as well as the first in line of succession in the event of death, resignation, or removal of the governor.  Because of these two important functions, some political observers say the position of Lieutenant Governor in Texas is more powerful than the Governor, particularly when the legislature is in session. While the Texas Constitution outlines specific roles for this office, the Lieutenant Governor's power in the legislature is largely dependent on the rules adopted by the senators for a particular legislative session.

 The Texas Constitution outlines a number of responsibilities for the Lieutenant Governor.  First, it gives the Lieutenant Governor the right to debate and vote on all issues on the senate floor. The Constitutional role as President of the Senate also gives the Lieutenant Governor the right to cast the deciding vote in the case of a Senate tie. Like the Speaker of the House, the Lieutenant Governor is required to sign all bills and resolutions. The Lieutenant Governor serves as part of the five-member Legislative Redistricting Board which apportions the state into senatorial and representative districts in the event the Legislature is unable to do so.  
Senate rules grant the current Lieutenant Governor the responsibility to appoint all Senate committee chairs, vice-chairs and committee members and to decide which Senate committee will receive a bill after it has been introduced.   He can also set up standing and special committees.  The current Lieutenant Governor can set the order in which the bills are considered. Senate rules give the current Lieutenant Governor a great deal of influence in shaping state policy and influencing laws that may eventually be passed by the Senate.

Texas' current Lieutenant Governor is David Dewhurst, whose hometown is Houston.  He served as the Commissioner of the Texas General Land Office from 1999-2002.  He was then elected Lieutenant Governor in 2002 and has a four-year term in office. For more information on our Lieutenant Governor and his office, please visit his website at http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/LtGov/LtGov.htm.

Please contact me at ken.paxton@house.state.tx.us or by calling 512/463-0356 or 972/562-4543 with any comments or concerns.