ABSTRACT
This chapter describes how Texas organizes and empowers its county and municipal governments. It argues that while the structure and powers of county governments are explicitly defined in the Texas Constitution, municipalities, depending upon their size, have some flexibility in choosing their form of government. The chapter analyses the special district governments that operate in Texas and ask what reforms might make Texas local governments more effective and responsive. The US and Texas have their own constitutions and their own chief executives, legislatures, and high courts, all making critical decisions. The Texas Constitution gives the state the power to create, revise, and reform its county and municipal governments. Texas counties were originally intended to serve an overwhelmingly rural population that needed only occasional access to government services. Texas is organized into far more counties than any other state, and more cities than any state but Illinois.
