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2.  $173.5 Billion Budget  42 percent education  32 percent health and human services  14 percent business and economic development  7 percent public safety and criminal justice  6 percent everything else 2Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning

3.  State Agencies and Public Policy  Interactions between interest groups, political parties, chief executives, the legislature, etc.  The Institutional Context  Multiple, independent state boards, commissions, and agencies  Fragmented with limited public accountability  Limited centralized executive control  Board-appointed executive director maintains day-to-day agency operations 3Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning

4.  The Institutional Context  State agencies reviewed by Sunset Advisory Committee every 12 years  Either retained, reorganized, or completely abolished  Most are retained  From 1978-2011  81 percent of state agencies retained  9 percent abolished  10 percent reorganized 4Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning

5.  State Employees and Public Policy  Bureaucrats  Responsible for public administration  Follow set rules and procedures to provide uniform results  Bureaucracy and public policy  Have discretion in how they apply laws  Success depends on the vigor and vision of their leadership, their resources, and the extent to which elites influence implementation 5Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning

6.  State Employees and Public Policy  Number of state employees  In 2010, Texas had 126 full-time state employees for every 10,000 citizens  Responsibility left to local governments  Competence, Pay and Retention  Positions used to be filled through the patronage system  Merit system  Requires officials to hire, promote, and fire employees based on objective criteria 6Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning

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8.  Public Schools  1836 constitution required public lands set aside for establishing public schools and a university  Students are increasingly ethnic minorities or disadvantaged 8Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning

9.  Public Schools  State Board of Education (SBOE)  Oversight of education for grades K–12 in conjunction with Texas Education Agency  15 elected board members serving without pay  Overlapping four-year terms  Chair selected by governor from board members with Senate approval 9Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning

10.  Public Schools  State Board of Education  Curriculum approval  Textbook selection  Approval of State Board for Educator Certification rules  Management of the investments of the Permanent School Fund  Increasingly ideological and controversial 10Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning

11.  Public Schools  Texas Education Agency (TEA)  Commissioner appointed by governor with Senate confirmation  Oversees state’s public school system and development of statewide curriculum  Accredits schools  Administers funding of schools 11Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning

12.  Charter Schools  Schools for at-risk students  Draw students from across district lines  Exempt from some state education rules  Governed by boards  Funding from state, federal, and private resources  Effectiveness debated 12Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning

13.  Testing  Texas selects its own testing methods  Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)  State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR)  Test results are used to evaluate teachers  NAEP results mixed 13Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning

14.  Colleges and Universities  104 public and 40 private institutions  Approximately 1.6 million students  Boards of Regents  Govern the independent public universities and the Texas State Technical College System  Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board  Provides direction for public community colleges and universities 14Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning

15.  Higher Education Issues  Funding  History of discrimination  Sweatt v. Painter  Closing the Gaps program  Attempt to increase enrollment and graduation rates  Equal opportunity and affirmative action  Top 10 percent rule 15Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning

16.  Texas Health and Human Services  In 2010, Texas had ninth highest poverty rate in nation at 17.9 percent  1 in 5 Texans are low income (101 percent to 200 percent above poverty level)  One in four Texans without health insurance  Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 16Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning

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18.  Human Services  Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC)  Coordinates social service policy  Executive Commissioner appointed by governor to two-year term with Senate approval  Appoints with approval of the governor commissioners to head the four departments within the HHSC 18Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning

19.  Human Services  Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) cont’d  Handles centralized administrative support services  Makes rules for agencies within HHSC  Determines eligibility for TANF, SNAP (food stamps), CHIP, Medicaid, and long-term care programs 19Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning

20.  Human Services  Temporary Assistance for Needy Families  Helps poor people move from welfare to work- force  Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program  Joint federal-state program that provides food to low-income people Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning20

21.  Health and Mental Health Services  Medicaid  Provides healthcare for poor  Medicare  Provides medical assistance to applicants at age 65  Department of State Health Services  Public health planning and enforcement of state health laws, infectious disease control, public mental health programs 21Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning

22.  Employment  Texas’s state employment services cut across three areas of policy: human services, education, and economic development  Texas Workforce Commission  Serves employers and workers  Collects unemployment insurance payroll tax 22Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning

23.  Economic Regulatory Policy  Business regulation  Railroad Commission  Regulates oil and gas industry  Classic case of “agency capture” 23Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning

24.  Economic Regulatory Policy  Regulation of public utilities  Public Utility Commission  Oversees public utilities  Deregulation, emphasis on competition 24Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning

25.  Economic Regulatory Policy  Insurance Regulation  Commissioner of Insurance appointed by governor to oversee the Texas Department of Insurance 25Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning

26.  Business Promotion  Highways  Texas Department Of Transportation (TxDOT)  Constructs and maintains highways  Department of Motor Vehicles  Vehicle titling and registration, motor carrier registration and enforcement, and motor vehicle dealer regulation 26Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning

27.  Business Promotion  Tourism  Third largest industry in Texas  Generates $1.2 billion for the economy  Texas Parks and Wildlife Department  Nine-member commission  Controls most recreational areas  Texas ranked 49 th in U.S. on money spent on state parks. 27Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning

28.  Business Promotion  Certification of trades and professions  More than 40 occupations require state certification  Licensing boards are responsible for giving licenses and ensuring licensees continue to meet standards. 28Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning

29.  Business Promotion  Environmental Regulation  Difficult to balance business development with environmental protections  Battle between federal/state/local ■ Clean Air and Clean Water Acts  Air and Water  Texas Commission on Environmental Policies (TCEQ) oversees environmental regulation  Hazardous waste 29Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning

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31.  Business Promotion  Homeland Security  Governor’s office provides strategic planning, emergency response resources, disaster preparedness  Texas Department of Public Safety  Counterterrorism and intelligence unit  Departments of State, Health Services, and Agriculture coordinate services  Border security 31Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning

32. 1. Describe the role of bureaucracy in making public policy. 2. Analyze the major challenges faced by the Texas education system. 3. Discuss how Texas higher education has taken steps to increase the participation of all Texans. Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning32

33. 4. Examine the health and human services programs in Texas and discuss how efforts to address the needs of its citizens have been approached. 5. Compare the role of government to generate economic development with its duty to maintain a safe and clean environment for the state’s residents. Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning33

34. 1. Demands for the creation of new state agencies come from what groups? 2. True or False: Public administrators simply implement the laws passed by the legislature without making any changes. 3. What three factors are particularly important in determining how successful agencies are in Texas? Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning34

35. 1. Which two state government entities are most important for public schools? 2. True or False: Almost all observers consider Texas’s testing program a success. 3. What is the “top 10 percent rule” in Texas higher education? Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning35

36. 1. Compared with other states, is poverty high or low in Texas? 2. Why are health and human services programs at a disadvantage in Texas? 3. What program provides limited cash benefits to poor families? 4. Which program is better funded, Medicaid or Medicare? Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning36

37. 1. True or False: Business regulation in Texas tends to be tough on businesses. 2. Is the movement in Texas toward more regulation or deregulation? 3. How does Texas compare with other states on levels of pollution? 4. What are some demands that state environmental policymakers must balance? 5. What are the major issues involved in homeland security in Texas? 37Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning