State Public Administration and Agencies: Bureaucracy, Policy, and Executives in Texas - P, Study notes of Local Government Studies

Download State Public Administration and Agencies: Bureaucracy, Policy, and Executives in Texas - P and more Study notes Local Government Studies in PDF only on Docsity! Chapter 9 Outline 1) Vocab a) Bureaucracy – how our state public administration works i) Not elected b) Hierarchy – an arrangement that puts few people but the maximum power at the top of an organization c) Public Policy – strategy or philosophy behind individual government decisions i) Implemented by public administration d) Bureaucrats – someone who implements policy e) Public administration – not only the activities necessary to carry out public policy, but also the various agencies, boards, commissions, bureaus, departments that are responsible for these activities and collectively to the employees who work in the various agencies f) Agency - any department, agency, commission, board, bureau, or other public administrative organization g) Administrator/Executive – top level individuals in public administration. 2) State administrative agencies a) Why there is confusion i) No single, uniform organization pattern exists ii) Texas administration features numerous exceptions to the traditional bureaucratic characteristic of hierarchy iii) The number of state agencies depends one’s method of counting b) Five types of policymakers in state agencies i) Elected executives ii) Appointed executives iii) An elected commission and elected board iv) Ex officio boards and commissions v) Appointed boards and commissions c) If an agency is headed by: i) Elected executives or appointed executives (1) Agency follows traditional hierarchical principles (a) Aka. One person is the boss ii) Multimember boards, commissions (1) More than 1 boss d) Problems i) One office, board or commission may be responsible for general policies to a number of separate agencies e) Types of State agencies i) Elected Executives ii) Appointed Executives iii) Elected Boards/Commissions iv) Ex Officio Boards/Commissions v) Appointed Boards/Commissions 3) Elected Executives a) Attorney General i) One of the most powerful officers in the Texas government, along with governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker. ii) Works on mostly civil cases iii) Responsibilities (1) Consumer protection (2) Antitrust litigation (3) Worker’s compensation insurance (4) Organized crime control (5) Environmental protection (6) Issuing opinions (a) Greatest power (b) Not legally binding (c) Rarely challenged in court iv) This seat is a stepping stone to governor b) Comptroller of Public Accounts i) Responsibilities (1) Being the administrator of the state tax system (2) Performing pre-audits of expenditures by state agencies (3) Certifying to the legislature the approximate biennial income for the state (4) Being the state’s banker (5) Issues the excise tax stamp (used to indicate the collection of taxes on the sale of alcohol and cigarettes) c) Commissioner of the General Land Office i) Only Texas and Alaska have this office ii) Responsibilities (1) Supervising the leasing of all state lands for the purpose of: (a) oil and gas production (b) Mineral development (c) Grazing (2) Administering the veteran’s land program (3) Maintaining the environmental quality of public lands/waters. d) Commissioner of Agriculture i) Responsibilities (2) Farm price support (3) Rural Electrification programs e) Post-World War II Growth i) Social concerns for civil rights ii) Environmental concerns needed oversight (ex. Nuclear power) iii) Entered areas previously left to state/local government (ex. education/healthcare) iv) Increase role of the public sector v) Reason for growth: (1) Politics was not just for the politically and socially elite anymore (2) Complex society created a need for government expansion (a) Where to put waste chemicals (b) Issues like abortion, education, immigration vi) State and local government grew through the 1970’s vii) Distribution of staff/resources in different categories (1) Texas has fewer employees per 10,000 population than the other states except in the category of correction (2) Texas has more criminals than other states because of a lock-‘em-up attitude (3) All other categories (higher education, highways, hospitals, public welfare) Texas has fewer employees. viii) Citizen revolt (only in California/Mass.) against high taxes (1) Citizens wanted to know if the high taxes were worth the governmental services being received f) 1980’s i) Election of Ronald Reagan as president (1980) showed a shift away from liberal ideology ii) Cut funding for federal programs (1) Led to forced reduction in state/local government social programs iii) Nationwide tax revolt iv) Citizens demanded more accountability from administrative state v) Cuts or caps in education/social welfare spending vi) Increase in defense spending g) 1990s i) Economy faltered ii) Economic/Political differences increase between suburban whites and inner-city minorities iii) Upper class voted more than minorities, therefore government listened to their even greater emphasis on: (1) Accountability, tax ceilings, spending cutbacks iv) There were still problems only government could solve (education, environment) (1) Therefore state/local government increase in size and programs (2) Taxpayers not to excited about that idea v) Reinventing or Reengineering government – reviewing bureaucratic performances for efficiency and resources use. 7) Characteristics of Bureaucracy a) Of the many ways to organize activities, bureaucracy is the most used b) Traditional Characteristics (as listed by Max Weber, father of modern sociology) i) Authority is hierarchical (looks like a pyramid). Few people on top with the most power, lots of people at the bottom with lesser powers. ii) Individuals get specific tasks to do. Training and practice result in expertise. iii) Bureaucracies were created to accomplish definite and limited goals (called defined jurisdiction) iv) Extensive rules/regulations ensure policy is enforced uniformly. v) Bureaucrats are politically neutral because they follow such detailed rules. c) Modern Characteristics i) Differences between traditional characteristics (1) Boards/Commissions are peak of the triangle rather than a single person (a) Accountability is diffused (2) Jurisdictions are more broadly defined (a) Limits on goals and authority are blurred (3) Bureaucrats are not neutral (a) Hire/fire/promote from within (b) Difficult to fire someone (c) Outside control is limited ii) Other Characteristics (1) Bureaucracies now rely on managers to oversee policy implementation, and to serve as connection between citizens and elected officials (2) Frequent reorganization (3) Bureaucrats don’t have to listen to politicians, since they cannot be fired by them. (4) Rules designed to ensure consistency and fairness sometimes contradict iii) Generally the larger the state, the lower the ratio of state employees to citizens is. 8) Bureaucratic Survival Techniques a) Why they have to survive: i) All bureaucrats need money. Agencies with overlapping jurisdiction try and lay claim to the money they need to support their programs ii) Agencies seek to survive first, grow second. Reasons: (1) Personal - It’s their job on the line (2) Programmatic – Genuine commitment to the program (3) Clientele – sincere concern for the people who benefit from the program iii) They use political tactics to gain sources of political power b) Sources of Power i) Clientele Groups (1) Clientele groups – are interest groups (2) Agencies and clientele have similar goals (3) The greater the economic power of the clientele, the stronger the political ties between them and the agency (a) Good example is oil and gas, transportation industries and texas railroad commission (4) Ties are not always economically motivated. ii) The Legislature (1) 2 types of relationships: Direct and Indirect (2) Agencies try and influence the legislation by (a) Giving them information in writing and testimony to legislative committees (b) Using their clientele groups iii) Chief Executive (1) They want governor support because the governor appoints the agency head/members of the board/commission that oversee the agency (2) The head appoints the board chair (3) The governor’s appointment can greatly affect the agency’s success iv) The Public (1) They want public recognition (2) Usually agencies have little or no public support v) Expertise and Information (1) They use the information they have as leverage against legislators (2) Legislators can use an alternative source of information (a) An agency’s clientele group (3) The more technical an agency’s specialty, the greater the agency’s advantage in controlling vital info vi) Leadership (1) Factor that determines political power for a bureaucracies (a) Caliber of leadership (2) Convinces elected officials and clientele groups that their agencies are performing effectively. vii) Internal Organization (1) Civil services system – a system that protects agency workers from outside influence (2) Workers are hired on merit, not because you know someone in the agency c) Policy making process i) Implementation of the laws (1) Administrative discretion – free to use their judgment as to how the laws will be carried out (2) Statute passed by the legislature creates general framework for implementation (3) Boards and commission structure make public participation more difficult.