Bureaucracy

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Bureaucracy

• Brief Edition

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Bureaucracy

• Essential to running a government

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Bureaucracy

• Large complex organization that implements policy
  and/or laws
• Power to make regulations in order to implement
  laws.
• Regulation have force of law
• Quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial functions
  make and rule on regs

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Bureaucratic officials

• Past patronage friends given governmental
  jobs whether qualified or not
• Garfields assassination by office-seeker led to
  Pendleton Act or Civil Service Reform Act
• Changed civil service to a merit or competitive
  system testing and interview system to determine
  competence for job prior to hiring
• Only 3 appointed by Pres today to facilitate
  policymaking and politically sensitive posts
• Ex. Cabinet, subcabinet, ambassadors, Noncareer
  exec assignments (outsider brought in to a high
  level)

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Bureaucratic officials

• Hatch Act cannot work on political campaigns on
  the job or off,
• Purpose to remove civil servants from political
  pressure
• Reforms
• now can run for political office if nonpartisan
  position
• Can electioneer but not on govt time or equipment

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Model of Bureaucracy

• Max Webers characteristics
• Hierarchy of authority
• Specialized jobs
• Explicit rules standardization of procedures
  for efficiency
• Consequence not warm and fuzzy cold and
  unfeeling of individuals problems
• Merit in hiring and promotions

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Types of bureaus

• Agency majority of enforcement bureaus
• Also Office, administration, bureau,
• Independent Executive Agencies
• Indep of Cabinet dept but with a narrower policy
  focus
• Head apptd by Pres and serve at his will
• Ex. NASA, CIA, EEOC, NEA, OPM, Selective Service
  Sys, SSA, Sm Bus Adm, Natl Sci Found, Ofc of Govt
  Ethics

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• Independent Regulatory boards and commissions
• Regulate various businesses, industries and
  economic sectors
• Head apptd by Pres (confirmed by Senate) and
  cannot be removed except thru impeachment
• Ex. FCC, Fed Labor Rel Auth, FTC (trade), FDA,
  NLRB, NRC(nukes), OSHA, SEC
• Govt Corporations
• Provides good/service that private enterprise
  cannot provide profitably
• Ex. FDIC, Amtrak (Natl RR Passenger Corp),
  TVA, USPS, Fed Crop Ins Corp, Export-Import
  Bank

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Iron triangles or subgovernments

• 3 parts

Bureau / agency
Congressional comtee
Interest group(s)
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Iron Triangle
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Issue Networks

• Complex system of relationships betw groups that
  influence policy including
• Elected officials
• Interest groups
• Specialists
• Consultants
• Research institutes / think tanks
• Bureaucratic agencies

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Congressional check on bureaucracy

• Creates and can abolish agency
• Change jurisdiction
• Power of the purse budget appropriations
• Oversight function public hearings
• Legislative veto
• Clarify laws
• Confirms heads of dept
• Protect public employees who reveal incompetence,
  mismanagement or corruption (whistleblowers)
• Enact revolving door restrictions to reduce or
  eliminate movement of former emplees to private
  sector jobs over which they had regulatory
  authority

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Legislative veto

• A requirement that an executive decision must lie
  before Congress for a specified period (usually
  30 or 90 days) before it takes effect. Congress
  could then veto the decision thru a resolution of
  disapproval passed by one or both houses.
• Such resolution did not require Pres signature
• When House or Senate vetoes a bureaus regs
• Unconstl since INS v. Chadha (1983)
• Reality check still do it, if agency complains
  may cut budget, etc

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Executive check

• Appts heads of dept and key agencies
• Executive orders
• Executive signing statements
• Budget proposal
• Cannot impound (freeze) funds already
  appropriated
• Can enlarge or decrease budget as needed to fit
  his policy agenda (re State of Union goals)

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Texas Bureaucracy

• Very similar but more heads are elected
• Ex. Tx RR Commission, State Board of Educ, Land
  Commission,
• Sunset Laws every non-constitutionally created
  agency must submit formal review/evaluation prior
  to legislature's renewal
• Sunshine Act aka Open Meeting laws all govt
  entities must hold meetings where public may
  attend and listen (may speak only if followed
  rules for being on meetings agenda)
• includes neighborhood Home Owners associations,
  school boards, etc
• Exception firing of personnel (due to slander
  and libel laws) and possible court proceedings
  (not give evidence away)
• All agencies follow Administrative Procedural Act

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And the answer is ..

• 1. The governors two main constitutional powers
  over the legislature are
• The veto and the ability to form committees.
• The ability to form committees and the ability to
  call a special session.
• The ability to call a special session and the
  veto.
• The ability to form committees and the ability to
  fast-track a bill to the floor.

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• 2. The lieutenant governor
• Though an executive officer, has primarily
  legislative powers.
• Though a legislative office, has primarily
  executive powers.
• Has more executive powers than the governor.
• Is usually selected to balance the governors
  ticket.

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• 3. A personnel system in which public employees
  are selected for government jobs through
  competitive examinations and are systematically
  evaluated after being hired is known as
• A. Political patronage.
• B. The spoils system.
• C. The merit system.
• D. The revolving door.

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• 4. The fragmented system of authority under which
  most statewide executive officeholders are
  elected independently of the Texas governor is
  known as
• A dual executive.
• A unitary system.
• The plural executive.
• Political patronage.

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• 5. A term describing the practice of former
  employees of Texas agencies leaving state
  government for more lucrative jobs with
  industries they used to regulate is
• Whistleblower.
• Revolving door.
• Sunset employment.
• Discretionary employment.

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Answers

• 1. Call a special session and the veto.
• 2. Executive officer with primarily legislative
  powers.
• 3. Merit system
• 4. Plural executive
• 5. Revolving door