Qualifications and Roles for Texas Governor

The current Governor is Greg Abbott. The Governor of Texas is elected by Texans every four years with unlimited terms, with the following qualifications:

1. Must be at least 30 years old.
2. Resident of Texas for at least 5 years immediately before the election.
3. Must be a U.S. citizen.

The roles and responsibilities of the Texas Governor are:

• Signing or vetoing bills passed by the Legislature.
• Serving as commander-in-chief of the state’s military forces.
• Convening special sessions of the Legislature for specific purposes.
• Delivering a report on the condition of the state to the Legislature at the beginning of each regular session.
• Estimating of the amounts of money required to be raised by taxation.
• Accounting for all public monies received and paid out by him and recommending a budget for the next two years.
• Granting reprieves, commutations of punishment, and pardons upon the recommendation of the Board of Pardons and Paroles and revoking conditional pardons.
• Declaring special elections to fill vacancies in certain elected offices.
• Filling judicial vacancies.
• Appointing qualified Texans to state offices that carry out the laws and direct the policies of state government. Some of these offices are filled by appointment only. Others are ordinarily elected by the people, but the governor must occasionally appoint individuals to fill vacancies. The governor also appoints Texans to a wide range of advisory bodies and task forces that assist him with specific issues.^[1]