Texas Local Governance, Finance, and Civil Rights Cases

Government Favorability

Local > State > Federal. Government favorability has been on a decline since 2001.

Participation Correlation

• High Participation: Elections with high participation rates, a strong mayor form of government, and elections held concurrently with state and national elections.
• Large Cities: Culturally diverse cities.
• Controversial Topics: Low participation, the opposite of high participation.

Types of Local Governments

Numbers of Local Governments:

• The number of Special Districts has been on the rise.
• The number of School districts has decreased.
• The number of Municipalities, Townships, and Counties has stayed the same.

Functions of Local Governments

• Municipal: Woven throughout the others.
• County governments: Primarily for governing rural areas and have constricted powers. Usually, do not have powers to legislate. Function primarily as an administrative arm of the state government.
• Local school districts/boards: School special district. Every inch of land in Texas is part of a school district. Governed by an elected board of trustees. The board employs a superintendent. The board sets overall policy for the school district and the district's tax rate.

Structure of County Government

County commissioners court:

• County judge and four county commissioners.
• County commissioners’ court sets the county tax rate and county budget.
• Larger counties have additional officials to deal with judicial responsibilities.

Forms of Municipal Governments

• Council-manager form of government (in College Station, most of Texas, and is most common).
• Mayor-council form.
• Commissioner form.

Home-Rule & General-Law Cities

• Home rule: Rule over their area. Charters and the number of people in the city are what differ. Have to have at least 5,000 people and adopt their own charters and city ordinances/laws.
• General Law cities: All have the same charter, created by the state legislature. Cities with less than 5,000 people.

Local Government Spending

Education: Almost one-third of the local budget.

NIMBY Syndrome

Not in my backyard: Residents who oppose nearby public or private projects or developments near residential areas. Know what an example might look like: Denton fracking ban, a community trying to keep stuff out of their backyard.

Characteristics of the Texas Budget

• Has to be a two-year balanced budget (in Texas).
• The bulk of state funds go to two areas:
  • State level - Health & human services.
  • Local Level – Education.

Role of the State Comptroller

Public Accounts: Currently: Glenn Hegar (powerful - very important job - very central). Directs the collection of revenues. Also estimates revenues for the budget process so we know how much we can spend. Passage of any appropriations bill is contingent on the comptroller’s certifying revenues, provides the comptroller with significant power over the legislative process.

Revenue Sources and Types of Taxes

• Texas gets most of its tax revenue from sales and property taxes.
• Progressive vs. Regressive Tax: Where the tax burden falls:
  • Wealthy – progressive.
  • Poor people – regressive.
• Examples of an excise tax: Gasoline, alcohol, and cigarettes (“sin tax”).

Tax Exemptions

• Homeowners are exempt from some property taxes (Homestead deductions).
• Personal property tax exemptions - exemptions of automobiles, boats, furniture, stocks, and bonds, because of the difficulty of identifying and assessing the true value of these types of property.
• Circuit breaker programs that exempt the property tax for individuals that are poor, aged, or disabled, in some states.

Key Civil Rights Cases

Plessy v. Ferguson

Separate facilities are okay, as long as they are equal.

Brown v. Board of Education

Separate but equal is inherently unequal: Orders local desegregation by “all deliberate speed” because no remedies had been ordered. South:  Massive resistance continues.

The Mansfield Incident

First ordered to desegregate in TX: School board planned to enroll three black students in High School. Governor Alan Shivers sent the TX rangers to uphold segregation. It takes a long time to reintegrate again even though it was ordered by the court. Violent and failed experiment of integration.

Sweatt v. Painter (1950)

Extension of Brown vs. Board of Education. Ended the “separate but equal” doctrine: Ending part of segregation in higher education. Law schools specifically (University of Texas Law School).

Equal Protection Clause & Standards of Review

Part of the 14th amendment. Protects against discrimination from the state.

• Strict scrutiny - cases based on race/ethnicity.
• Heightened scrutiny - cases based on sex.