Governor of Texas
| Governor of Texas | |
|---|---|
 Seal of the governor | |
 Standard of the governor | |
 | |
| Style |
|
| Type | |
| Residence | Texas Governor's Mansion |
| Seat | Austin, Texas |
| Appointer | Popular vote |
| Term length | Four years, no term limit |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of Texas |
| Precursor | President of the Republic of Texas |
| Formation | December 29, 1845 |
| First holder | James Pinckney Henderson (1846) |
| Succession | Line of succession |
| Deputy | Lieutenant Governor of Texas |
| Salary | $153,750 (2019)[1] |
| Website | gov |
The governor of Texas is the head of state of the U.S. state of Texas. The governor is the head of the executive branch of the government of Texas and is the commander-in-chief of the Texas Military Forces. Unlike governors in many other states, the Texas governor operates within a plural executive system, which distributes executive authority among several independently elected officials and limits centralized executive power.
Established in the Constitution of Texas, the governor's responsibilities include ensuring the enforcement of state laws, the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, overseeing state agencies, issuing executive orders, proposing and overseeing the state budget, and making key appointments to state offices. The governor also has the power to call special sessions of the legislature and, with the recommendation of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, grant pardons.
Qualifications
[edit]Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution of Texas sets three qualifications for candidates for governor of Texas:[2]
- Be at least 30 years old;
- Be a citizen of the United States;
- Be a resident of Texas for at least five years preceding the election.
Oath of office and election
[edit]Governors of Texas are directly elected by registered voters in Texas and serve terms of four years, with no term limits. Before executing the powers of the office, a governor is required to recite the oath of office as found in Article XVI, Section 1 of the Constitution of Texas:
I, _______________________, do solemnly swear (or affirm), that I will faithfully execute the duties of the office of governor of the State of Texas, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States and of this State, so help me God.[3]
Incoming Texas governors take office on the third Tuesday of January following an election.
Removal of a governor from office
[edit]The Texas governor can be impeached by the State House of Representatives for committing treason, bribery, or any other high crime or misdemeanor. Once the governor is impeached, the case is forwarded to the State Senate for trial. A two-thirds majority vote in the Senate is required to remove the governor from office. Unlike other states, Texas does not have a provision in the state constitution that allows voters to petition for a recall election to remove the governor.[4] On the other hand, political scientists have shown that impeachment in Texas is very rare and often shaped by political considerations rather than just legal standards. (Stewart, 2014)[full citation needed].
Historical development
[edit]The state's first constitution in 1845[5] established the office of governor, to serve for two years, but no more than four years out of every six (essentially a limit of no more than two consecutive terms).[6] The 1861 secessionist[7] constitution set the term start date at the first Monday in the November following the election.[8] The 1866 constitution,[9] adopted just after the American Civil War, increased terms to 4 years, but no more than 8 years out of every 12, and moved the start date to the first Thursday after the organization of the legislature, or "as soon thereafter as practicable".[10] The Reconstruction-era constitution of 1869 removed the limit on terms,[11] Texas remains one of 16 states, territory or jurisdiction (including the U.S. Constitutional revisions following Reconstruction reflected political efforts to limit executive authority after concerns about centralized power during earlier periods of Texas governance[12]. Territory of Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia)[13] with no gubernatorial term limits. The present constitution of 1876 shortened terms back to two years,[14] but a 1972 amendment increased it to four years again.[15]
The gubernatorial election is held every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November that does not coincide with the presidential elections. All gubernatorial elections have been a part of the midterm elections since the 1974 election, invalidating the latter. The governor is sworn in every four years along with the lieutenant governor.
Despite the lack of term limits, no Texas governor in the 19th or 20th century ever served more than seven and a half consecutive years in office (Allan Shivers) or eight years total service (Bill Clements, in two non-consecutive four-year terms). Former governor Rick Perry, who served from 2000 to 2015, surpassed both these records, becoming the first Texas governor to serve three consecutive four-year terms. When Perry won the general election on November 2, 2010, he joined Shivers, Price Daniel, and John Connally as the only Texas governors elected to three terms (the terms served by governors Shivers, Daniel, and Connally were two-year terms). On November 8, 2022, current governor Greg Abbott was re-elected and became the fifth Texas governor to serve three terms following Shivers, Daniel, Connally and Perry. In case of a vacancy in the office of governor, the lieutenant governor becomes governor.[16] This rule was added only in a 1999[17] amendment, prior to which the lieutenant governor only acted as governor, except during the time of the 1861 constitution, which said that the lieutenant governor would be styled "Governor of the State of Texas" in case of vacancy.[18]
The Lieutenant Governor of Texas has influence over state policy because of their control of the Texas Senate's agenda and committee assignments. This influence is close to that of the governor's in things like legislative matters like budgeting and election law.
Executive powers
[edit]Texas utilizes a plural executive government where no single government official is solely responsible for the Executive Branch.[19] The Texas governor has a very minimal control over the Legislative Budget Board. The Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House manages the state's budget.[20]
Plural Executive System
Texas operates under a plural executive system in which several executive officials including the lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller, and land commissioner are independently elected by voters. This structure intentionally limits the governor's authority and distributes executive responsibilities across multiple offices to prevent concentration of power. [21]
Although the governor proposes a state budget, significant authority over budgeting is shared with the Legislative Budget Board, reflecting Texas's decentralized executive structure. The governor cooperates with legislative leaders during budget development rather than exercising sole fiscal control[22]
Official residence and workplace
[edit]
The official residence of the Texas governor is the Texas Governor's Mansion, in Austin. The mansion was built in 1854[23] and has been the home of every governor since 1856.[24] It is also one of the official workplaces for the governor.
The governor's primary official workplace is located within the Texas State Capitol in Austin.[25]
Timeline
[edit]| Timeline of Texas governors |
 |
Line of succession
[edit]The gubernatorial line of succession is set by Article IV, Sections 3a and 16–18 of the Constitution of Texas[26] and Chapter 401.023 of Title 4 the Texas Gov't Code.[27]
| No. | Office | Current officeholder | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lieutenant Governor | Dan Patrick | Republican | |
| 2 | President pro tempore of the Senate | Charles Perry | Republican | |
| 3 | Speaker of the House of Representatives | Dustin Burrows | Republican | |
| 4 | Attorney General | Ken Paxton | Republican | |
| Chief Justices of the Texas Courts of Appeals, in numerical order | ||||
| 5 | 1st Court of Appeals (Houston) | Terry Adams | Republican | |
| 6 | 2nd Court of Appeals (Fort Worth) | Bonnie Sudderth | Republican | |
| 7 | 3rd Court of Appeals (Austin) | Darlene Byrne | Democratic | |
| 8 | 4th Court of Appeals (San Antonio) | Rebeca Martinez | Democratic | |
| 9 | 5th Court of Appeals (Dallas) | Robert Burns III | Democratic | |
| 10 | 6th Court of Appeals (Texarkana) | Josh Morriss | Republican | |
| 11 | 7th Court of Appeals (Amarillo) | Brian Quinn | Republican | |
| 12 | 8th Court of Appeals (El Paso) | Maria Salas-Mendoza | Democratic | |
| 13 | 9th Court of Appeals (Beaumont) | Scott Golemon | Republican | |
| 14 | 10th Court of Appeals (Waco) | Tom Gray | Republican | |
| 15 | 11th Court of Appeals (Eastland) | John M. Bailey | Republican | |
| 16 | 12th Court of Appeals (Tyler) | Jim Worthen | Republican | |
| 17 | 13th Court of Appeals (Corpus Christi) | Dori Contreras | Democratic | |
| 18 | 14th Court of Appeals (Houston) | Tracy Christopher | Republican |
See also
[edit]
- List of Texas governors and presidents
- List of governors of Texas
- List of presidents of the Republic of Texas
- Lieutenant Governor of Texas
- List of Texas state agencies
References
[edit]- ^ "CSG Report on 2019 Governor Salaries" (PDF). The Council of State Governments. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 7, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
- ^ Rottinghaus, Brandon (December 31, 2024). Rick Perry: A Political Life. University of Texas Press. doi:10.7560/328897. ISBN 978-1-4773-2890-3.
- ^ "THE TEXAS CONSTITUTION ARTICLE 16. GENERAL PROVISIONS". statutes.capitol.texas.gov. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
- ^ "THE TEXAS CONSTITUTION ARTICLE 15. IMPEACHMENT". statutes.capitol.texas.gov. Retrieved December 26, 2024.
- ^ Admin, Tarlton. "Tarlton Law Library: Constitution of Texas (1845): Article V: Executive Department". tarlton.law.utexas.edu. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
- ^ 1845 Const. Art V sec 4
- ^ Admin, Tarlton. "Tarlton Law Library: Constitution of Texas (1861): Article V: Executive Department". tarlton.law.utexas.edu. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
- ^ 1861 Const. art V sec 12
- ^ Admin, Tarlton. "Tarlton Law Library: Constitution of Texas (1866): Article V: Executive Department". tarlton.law.utexas.edu. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
- ^ 1866 Const. art V sec 4
- ^ 1869 Const. Art IV sec 4
- ^ Admin, Tarlton. "Tarlton Law Library: Constitution of Texas (1876): Article IV: Executive Department". tarlton.law.utexas.edu. Retrieved March 30, 2026.
- ^ Executive Branch Archived 2011-06-29 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 23-October-2008
- ^ TX Const. Art IV sec 4
- ^ Texas Politics - The Executive Branch Archived 2009-02-11 at the Wayback Machine. Texaspolitics.laits.utexas.edu. Retrieved on 2013-07-15.
- ^ TX Const. art IV sec 16 graf d
- ^ The Texas Constitution, Article 4, Section 16; https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CN/htm/CN.4.htm
- ^ 1861 Const art V sec 12
- ^ "Texas Government 1.0, The Executive Branch, The Texas Plural Executive". OER Commons. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
- ^ "Legislative Reference Library | Legislation | State Budget". lrl.texas.gov. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
- ^ "Governing Texas". wwnorton.com. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
- ^ "2025 Texas Statutes :: Government Code :: Title 4 - Executive Branch :: Subtitle A - Executive Officers :: Chapter 401 - Governor and Lieutenant Governor :: Subchapter C. Governor's Budget :: Section 401.044. Cooperation With Legislative Budget Board". Justia Law. Retrieved March 30, 2026.
- ^ Association, Texas State Historical. "History of the Texas Governor's Mansion". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
- ^ "Texas Governor's Mansion". gov.texas.gov. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
- ^ "Governor's Office". www.thestoryoftexas.com. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
- ^ "THE TEXAS CONSTITUTION ARTICLE 4. EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT". statutes.capitol.texas.gov. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
- ^ "Section 401.023 — Succession". Texas Legislature. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
Statewide political officials of Texas | ||
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| U.S. senators |  | |
| State government |
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| Senate |
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| House |
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| Supreme Court | ||
| Court of Criminal Appeals |