Gov. Rick Perry answers press questions at the National Right to Life convention. Credit: Callie Richmond
It’s a little odd to think about a Texas government without Rick Perry. He’s been a part of it since 1985, serving three House terms as an elected Democrat (the last as a Democrat who switched to the Republican Party after his election), eight years as agriculture commissioner, less than two years as lieutenant governor and more than 12 years — so far, anyhow — as governor. He hasn’t said he’s leaving, though the speculation is heavy about an announcement in San Antonio set for Monday. But he could leave voluntarily or by popular demand in 2015, or in 2019. Eventually. Before Perry, half the stories about the doings in the state Capitol were either about the inherent weakness of the governor’s office or the ancient lore about how the lieutenant governor holds the state’s most powerful office. The governor has no cabinet. He or she can appoint the people who populate the various boards and commissions, but only a third of them come up for appointment every two years, and the governor doesn’t have direct control over them once they’ve been posted. They can’t be fired — they can be made pretty uncomfortable, but that takes a lot of work — and they often behave as if they have their own brains and their own goals and ways of doing things. That means that most of the people who head the executive branch of Texas government have never had full control over it. Other elected officials head some of the major agencies, and a powerful legislative branch can, with strong personalities in charge, control the agencies to some extent by controlling their budgets. The strong lieutenant governor legend gelled during Bill Hobby’s tenure from 1973 to 1991. He was a parliamentarian before he was lieutenant governor, the son of a governor and a United States cabinet secretary. His successor was Bob Bullock, who held the office for eight years but who built a power base in Texas government during 16 years as comptroller of public accounts. Perry followed Bullock’s model, mentoring young lawyers and policy wonks and political animals and then posting them in agencies throughout the state government. After six years of Perry being in the governor’s office, virtually every appointee had him to thank for their post. And over his first decade in office, the governor seeded the executive branch with his former aides and their like-minded peers. They’re all over the place, with titles like executive director, general counsel, communications director and so on. He owns it. Bullock did something similar by heading a big agency that eventually sprinkled former employees all over state government. Bullock people were everywhere. He had a long reach and an impressive intelligence network. And Perry picked up the lesson, turning what was designed as a weak office into a strong one. He has made it look better than it is. His successor has to start all over. Perry’s transformation of the office might be permanent. The agencies might naturally turn their ears to a governor for guidance after all these years out of habit. It will take six years to replace all the appointees who owe their jobs to Perry, a third of the jobs turning over every two years. The people at the tops of all of those agency organization charts will linger until retirement — Perry’s legacy —and while they may be helpful to a new governor, they will not be indebted like they are to the old boss. The rest of the elected statewide officeholders — pushed back from power a notch at a time during Perry’s time in office — could reassert themselves. Lieutenant governors, attorneys general, comptrollers and speakers of the House have, in recent Texas history, overmatched their governors. And if someone new comes into the office, the House and Senate will instinctively test them: There are no freebies in politics. It was common to see how this governor or that one would wiggle out of a trap set by others. Bullock once said he didn’t want the top job — it’s hard to know whether he meant it — because all a governor does is cut ribbons. Perry, because of his tenure and the methodical placement of former staffers throughout the government, changed all that, turning a weak office into a powerful one. It’s hard to remember how it used to be.
Texas Tribune donors or members may be quoted or mentioned in our stories, or may be the subject of them. For a complete list of contributors, click here. The lieutenant governor of Texas is the second-highest executive office in the government of Texas, a state in the U.S. It is the second most powerful post in Texas government because its occupant controls the work of the Texas Senate and controls the budgeting process as a leader of the Legislative Budget Board.
Dan Patrick since January 20, 2015StyleThe HonorableTerm lengthFour years, no term limitsInaugural holderAlbert Clinton Horton 1846FormationTexas ConstitutionWebsiteOffice of the Lieutenant Governor Under the provisions of the Texas Constitution, the lieutenant governor is president of the Texas Senate. Unlike with most other states' senates and the U.S. Senate, the lieutenant governor regularly exercises this function rather than delegating it to the president pro tempore or a majority leader. By the rules of the Senate, the lieutenant governor establishes all special and standing committees, appoints all chairpersons and members, and assigns all Senate legislation to the committee of his choice. The lieutenant governor decides all questions of parliamentary procedure in the Senate. The lieutenant governor also has broad discretion in following Senate procedural rules. The lieutenant governor is an ex officio member of several statutory bodies. These include the Legislative Budget Board, the Legislative Council, the Legislative Audit Committee, the Legislative Board and Legislative Council, which have considerable sway over state programs, the budget and policy. The lieutenant governor is also a member of the Legislative Redistricting Board (together with the speaker of the House, attorney general, comptroller, and land commissioner), which is charged with adopting a redistricting plan for the Texas House of Representatives, Texas Senate, or U.S. House of Representatives after the decennial census if the Legislature fails to do so. In the case of a vacancy in the lieutenant governor's office, the Senate elects one of its members to act as President of the Senate until the next statewide office election, in effect becoming the lieutenant governor. A senator elected as presiding officer in this way retains their district seat and the voting privileges entailed with his Senate election. The lieutenant governor is sworn-in on the third Tuesday every four years, the same as the governor. Dan Patrick has been the lieutenant governor of Texas since January 20, 2015. The term of office was two years from 1846 to 1972. Voters then increased it to four years, effective for the 1974 election. [1] The lieutenant governor assumes the powers of the governor of Texas when the governor is out of the state or otherwise unable to discharge the office. The lieutenant governor is elected separately from the governor, rather than on the same ticket; it is therefore possible for the governor and lieutenant governor to be from different political parties (which was the case during Governor George W. Bush's first term and also during Bill Clements's two non-consecutive terms). The lieutenant governor becomes the governor if the elected governor resigns, dies or is removed from office via impeachment and conviction. Former governor Rick Perry took office upon George W. Bush's resignation on December 21, 2000. Bush became US President on January 20, 2001. When Perry became lieutenant governor on 19 January 1999, he became the first Republican since Albert Jennings Fountain in 1873 to serve as lieutenant governor, and the first Republican to be elected as Lieutenant Governor since James W. Flanagan in 1869. Texas is one of the few states that vests significant power in the office of lieutenant governor, making it among the most influential. By contrast, the lieutenant governor position in other states has few (if any) legislative responsibilities, akin to the vice president of the United States. The consequence is that the governor of Texas is weaker than other states' governors. Democratic (39) Republican (8)
As of January 2022[update], five former lieutenant governors of Texas were alive, the oldest being William P. Hobby Jr. (served 1973–1991, born 1932). The most recent death of a former lieutenant governor of Texas was that of Preston Smith (served 1963–1969, born 1912), on October 18, 2003. The most recent serving lieutenant governor of Texas to die was Bob Bullock (served 1991–1999, born 1929), on June 18, 1999.
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