Texas and Florida: Structure of State Government
Even though the U.S. Constitution defines general principles for legal standards and regulations across the United States, local governments are unique and may share very few common elements. On the one hand, the looseness of the specified structure allows local governments impressive flexibility when making economic, financial, and political decisions. On the other hand, it creates a gap that may divide the states.
Therefore, a closer look at the unique characteristics of U.S. state governments is required. Using Texas and Florida as examples, differences in the length of terms, the structures of governments, etc., may be discussed, which can help adjust the general legal principles by which the U.S. legal system is guided to state-specific conditions.
Government Structure: Discussion
The government structure helps determine the functional role of each county government in the entire system of the state and identify the legal responsibilities of each agent, as well as delineating the legal system of the state in general. Thus, a closer look at the subject matter will assist in discovering the benefits and disadvantages of each system. Furthermore, the reasons for the specified discrepancies between government structures will be determined. The limitations that the Texas Constitution imposes on lawmakers, especially as far as general taxation and property taxes, in particular, are concerned, should be viewed as one of the primary differences between the Texas and Florida governments. There is a general propensity for the Texas government to set more limitations on its state authorities, which is not a tendency that Florida shares (“State & Local Government”).
Texas and Florida state government makeup
The state structure of Texas is bicameral, which is very similar to most of the American states (Texas House of Representatives). Texas’s bicameral structure incorporates a lower and an upper house (i.e., the House of Representatives and the Senate). The Senate is headed by the lieutenant governor, while the speaker of the house is at the helm of the House of Representatives (Texas House of Representatives).
Florida’s government makeup is also based on a bicameral system (The Florida Senate “About the Legislature”). One of the distinctive characteristics of Florida’s government makeup is the principle of redistricting, which provides equal legislative power to all citizens of Florida no matter in what county they reside. In addition, the Constitution of Florida also implies a three-branch system of power, that is, the presence of legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
How Texas and Florida structure their governments
Because of differences in their state constitutions, Texas and Florida structure their governments in a slightly different way. Even though the obligatory triad of legislative, executive, and judicial powers is present in the body of each state’s government, there are certain dissimilarities in how this concept is implemented. By scrutinizing some of the major differences, the nature of each state’s government can be discerned.
Comparing and Contrasting the Structures of Government
Although the governments of both Texas and Florida are based on the structure suggested by the U.S. Constitution, certain details in their makeup create a distinction that helps adjust state regulations to the unique environment in which they exist.
Texas and Florida: Leadership Structure
In Florida, the Governor represents the executive power of the state. However, unlike in Texas, in Florida, there is a position called the Lieutenant Governor. This member of the state government provides assistance to the Governor. The cooperation between the two allows for the delegation of powers from the Governor to the Lieutenant Governor (The Florida Senate “Senator Tom Lee”). The management of the Florida state budget should also be regarded as one of the essential responsibilities of the Governor.
The approach used in Texas is slightly different. While the Governor also represents the executive power of the state, the state Governor is assisted by the Chief Deputy Executive Commissioner rather than a Lieutenant Governor.
Texas and Florida: The Amount of Power. Description
As the description provided above shows, there are significant differences in the extent to which state authorities can exercise their influence over crucial legal changes within the two states. In Florida, the Governor is entitled to substantial power as the representative of the executive power, whereas in Texas, the Governor’s authority is reduced to a considerable extent due to the unique characteristics of the state’s legal standards, economy, and history.
Governors
Representing the executive branch of state power, Florida governors enforce the law within the state. In Florida, the governor chairs the cabinet and has a certain power in rulemaking, though the authority to introduce changes to the state rules and regulations is a recent change. In fact, the extent of Florida governors’ influence was expanded in 2012 (The Florida Senate “Senator Tom Lee”). These alterations created opportunities to enhance the economic growth within the state, boosting entrepreneurship and encouraging continuous improvement in the realm of business and the economy (The Florida Senate “Senator Tom Lee”).
This approach toward establishing and sustaining legislative power is slightly different from the one that is accepted in Texas. The boundaries of the power of Texan legislators are defined based on the principles of redistricting, which implies equal power for all residents of the state. As a result, districts with a comparatively low density of citizens or remote locations can avoid being underrepresented. (The Florida Senate “Senator Tom Lee”).
State legislators
Texas and Florida: Comparing and Contrasting Power
Although the government of both states is modeled after the traditional concept of separation of powers (i.e., legislative, executive, and judicial), legislative bodies are given much more authority in Texas than in Florida. This can be explained by the fact that the role of government is slightly different in Texas than in any other U.S. state, including Florida. For instance, changes to the existing taxation system cannot be made without a referendum since the Texas Constitution places an especially powerful emphasis on the needs of the farming industry as one of the primary sources of state income (Health and Human Services Commission). This is necessarily different from the situation in Florida, where the state GDP does not depend so heavily on agriculture (The Florida Senate “Redistricting Plan”).
In contrast to Texas, where lawmakers are entitled to a significant amount of freedom, lawmakers in Florida have only recently begun to gain tighter control over legislative processes within the state (The Florida Senate “Redistricting Plan”). This is due to the fact that Florida has been experiencing changes in its legal structure. In Miami-Dade, which is one of the largest counties, a small number of legislators are bound to gain greater power over the legislation process (Clark). However, this alteration to the state legislative system has only affected one county and requires further support to be established at a statewide level (Clark).
Works Cited
Clark, Kristen M. “For Miami-Dade Lawmakers in New Roles of Influence, ‘There’s Strength in Peace.’” Miami Herald. 2016. Web.
The Florida Senate. “About the Legislature.” FlSenate. n.d., Web.
—. “Redistricting Plan H000C9065.” FlSenate. 2015. Web.
—. “Senator Tom Lee Files Three Proposed Amendments to Florida’s Constitution.” FlSenate. Web.
“State & Local Government.” TheWhitheouse. n.d., Web.
Texas House of Representatives. “Frequently Asked Questions.” HouseTexas. n.d., Web.
Health and Human Services Commission. “Revised Texas Promoting Independence Plan.” HHS. Texas. Web.