Texas

===State government===
{{main|Government of Texas}}
{{further|Law of Texas}}
{{see also|List of Texas state agencies}}
[[File:Texas State Capitol Night.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|The [[Texas State Capitol]] at night]]
Texas has a plural [[executive branch]] system limiting the power of the governor, which is a weak executive compared to some other states. Except for the [[Secretary of State of Texas|secretary of state]], voters elect executive officers independently; candidates are directly answerable to the public, not the governor.<ref name="pluralexec">{{cite web |year=2005 |title=The Plural Executive |website=Texas Politics |publisher=University of Texas |url=https://texaspolitics.laits.utexas.edu/1_9_0.html |access-date=May 7, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080928082847/http://texaspolitics.laits.utexas.edu/1_9_0.html |archive-date=September 28, 2008}}</ref> This election system has led to some executive branches split between parties and reduced the ability of the governor to carry out a program. When [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] president [[George W. Bush]] served as Texas's governor, the state had a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] lieutenant governor, [[Bob Bullock]]. The executive branch positions consist of the [[List of Governors of Texas|governor]], [[Lieutenant Governor of Texas|lieutenant governor]], comptroller of public accounts, land commissioner, [[Texas Attorney General|attorney general]], agriculture commissioner, the three-member [[Texas Railroad Commission]], the State Board of Education, and the secretary of state.<ref name="pluralexec" />

The [[Bicameralism|bicameral]] [[Texas Legislature]] consists of the [[Texas House of Representatives|House of Representatives]], with 150 members, and a [[Texas Senate|Senate]], with 31 members. The [[Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives|Speaker of the House]] leads the House, and the lieutenant governor, the Senate.<ref name="Legislature Members">{{cite web|year=2005 |title=Membership |website=Texas Politics |publisher=University of Texas |url=https://texaspolitics.laits.utexas.edu/2_2_4.html |access-date=June 17, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302003227/http://texaspolitics.laits.utexas.edu/2_2_4.html |archive-date=March 2, 2009 }}</ref> The Legislature meets in regular session biennially for just over a hundred days, but the governor can call for special sessions as often as desired (notably, the Legislature cannot call itself into session).<ref name="Special Sessions">{{cite web|year=2005 |title=Special Sessions |website=Texas Politics |publisher=University of Texas |url=https://texaspolitics.laits.utexas.edu/2_2_2.html |access-date=June 17, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302003217/http://texaspolitics.laits.utexas.edu/2_2_2.html |archive-date=March 2, 2009 }}</ref> The state's [[fiscal year]] begins September{{nbsp}}1.<ref>{{Cite web|title=FY 2021 State Budget Status|url=https://www.ncsl.org/research/fiscal-policy/fy-2021-state-budget-status.aspx#:~:text=Forty-six%20states%20began%20fiscal,1.|access-date=December 28, 2020|website=ncsl.org}}</ref>

The [[judiciary of Texas]] is among the most complex in the United States, with many layers and overlapping jurisdictions. Texas has two courts of last resort: the [[Texas Supreme Court]], for civil cases, and the [[Texas Court of Criminal Appeals]]. Except for some municipal benches, partisan elections select judges at all levels of the judiciary; the governor fills vacancies by appointment.<ref name="Judiciary">{{cite Handbook of Texas|id=jzj01|title=Judiciary|first=Paul |last=Womack|date=June 15, 2010}}</ref> Texas is notable for [[Capital punishment in Texas|its use of capital punishment]], having led the country in executions since capital punishment was reinstated in the ''[[Gregg v. Georgia]]'' case.<ref>{{Cite web|date=December 15, 2018|title=Texas again leads U.S. in executions in 2018, and Dallas was top county, with 4|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/courts/2018/12/15/texas-again-leads-u-s-in-executions-in-2018-and-dallas-was-top-county-with-4/|access-date=December 28, 2020|website=Dallas News}}</ref>

The [[Texas Ranger Division]] of the [[Texas Department of Public Safety]] is a [[police|law enforcement agency]] with statewide [[jurisdiction]]. Over the years, the Texas Rangers have investigated crimes ranging from [[Murder in Texas law|murder]] to political corruption. They have acted as [[riot police]] and as detectives, protected the Texas governor, tracked down fugitives, and functioned as a paramilitary force. The Texas Rangers were unofficially created by [[Stephen F. Austin]] in 1823 and formally constituted in 1835. The Rangers were integral to several important events of Texas history and some of the best-known criminal cases in the history of the [[American Old West|Old West]].<ref name="TexasRangers">{{cite Handbook of Texas|id=met04|title=Texas Rangers|first=Ben H. |last=Procter|orig-year=June 15, 2010 |date=February 8, 2018}}</ref>

The Texas constitution defines the responsibilities of county governments, which serve as agents of the state. Commissioners court and court judges are elected to serve as the administrative arm. Most cities in the state, those over 5,000 in population, have [[home-rule]] governments. The vast majority of these have charters for [[council-manager]] forms of government, by which voters elect council members, who hire a professional city manager as an operating officer.<ref>{{cite web|title=Council-manager government|url=https://ballotpedia.org/Council-manager_government|access-date=December 28, 2020|website=Ballotpedia}}</ref>