Texas vs. Federal Power: A Case Study

This assignment analyzes the complex relationship between the state of Texas and the federal government, focusing on instances where their powers clash. It examines how the 10th Amendment is used by Texas to assert its autonomy while also acknowledging the need for cooperation between state and federal entities. The essay provides historical context, explores specific examples of conflict, and discusses the implications of this dynamic for both Texas and the United States as a whole.

Running head: POLITICAL SCIENCE
Political Science
Student Name
Course Code

1POLITICAL SCIENCE
Overview of Texas Perspective of Federalism and Its Relationship with the Federal
Government
State sovereignty is Texas is interpreted as a tool to hinder the rights of minorities of
ethnic and racial nature1. Federal government of Texas has grown strong in recent days and
citizens of Texas have started to believe that the state can perform better keeping in mind the
achievements of individuals of Texas. People are concerned about the intimidating nature of
federal government which is exercised over the state and its citizens. Texas has been
experiencing a new form of federalism other than cooperative federalism known as Coercive
Federalism. In this type of federalism the federal government gives directions to the state
governments to act on policies which the former has made2. These types of conflicts between
state and federal government are foreseen by the American Constitution makers who have
included the 10th Amendment in the Bill of Rights for its resolution.
Texas also gets grants-in-aid from the federal government making it the source of
revenue which is second largest in the list. This has allowed the state government to get
financially strong. During the time of Great Recession, the federal government federal funds
accounted for the 40% of states revenue3. There is a huge military base of U.S. in Texas which
adds to the funding of Texas and also provides infrastructure support which is an indirect benefit
provided by the federal government. These supportive elements have helped the state of Texas to
expand its revenue base.
1 Abernathy, Scott F. American Government: Stories of a Nation. Cq Press, 2017.
2 Bethea, Carlette C., and Zollie Stevenson Jr. "The State of Federal and State Accountability Systems That Support
P-12 and Postsecondary Transition Services for English Learners with Disabilities." Transitioning Children with
Disabilities. SensePublishers, Rotterdam, 2017. 59-75.
3 Bowden, Randall, and Angela Portis-Woodson. "Teacher Induction Programs and Teacher Employment Retention:
Uncovering the Relationship." Research Journal of Education 3.1 (2017): 1-11.

2POLITICAL SCIENCE
Issue Overview
Texas is determined to exercise its state powers granted by the American Constitution
against the coercive federalism exercised by the Federal government. There are rules of federal
government which is binding for the Texas State Government to comply with4. Federal
government of U.S. has a program called “Secure Communities” in which people who get
arrested have to give their fingerprints which is scanned in the federal database for checking their
criminal records and immigration status5. Texas state government has declared that they will not
comply with these rules and will follow their own state procedures. One of the major rules of
same sex marriages are to be implied by the Texas state opposing the federal law. A lawsuit
related to the Voting Rights Act has been filed against the federal government which was
concerned with the voter ID laws of the state6. It was deployed without federal approval that is
why it came into cross hairs of law enforcement. Another lawsuit was filed against the federal
health officials as they stopped funding for the program of Texas Woman Health. The
Environmental Protection agency which is a federal institution has fought many legal cases
against the Texas government in order to make strict rules and regulations of environment
compliance and the cases are still pending in the federal court7. These lawsuits and other bills are
example of forceful governance which targets the Texas state government to bend the knee but
Texas is adamant in its stance and shows its power and competence provided to it by the
American Constitution.
4 Gibson Jr, L. Tucker, Clay Robison, and Joanne Connor Green. Government and Politics in the Lone Star State.
Pearson, 2017.
5 Lee, Jennifer, and Frances Deviney. "Economic issues for women in texas." Community quality-of-life indicators:
Best cases VII. Springer International Publishing, 2017. 149-165.
6 Levy, Brian L., and Denise L. Levy. "When love meets hate: The relationship between state policies on gay and
lesbian rights and hate crime incidence." Social science research 61 (2017): 142-159.
7 Raji, Mukaila A., et al. "Impact of Laws Regulating Pain Clinics on Opioid Prescribing and Opioid-Related
Toxicity Among Texas Medicare Part D Beneficiaries." Journal of Pharmacy Technology33.2 (2017): 60-65.

3POLITICAL SCIENCE
Conclusion
United States of America has a federal government and is governed by federal as well as
state laws simultaneously. It has dual citizenship which is one of the states and another federal
one. As per the rules of a federation, the states are governed by two set of rules one given by the
federal government and another by state government. This creates a conflict of interest in the rule
compliance where one government is not in consensus with the other. In that case the superiority
of federal government is taken into consideration but after the matter of conflict is decided by the
federal court. Same is the case with Texas state government. As mentioned above there are many
rules and laws which come in conflict with the federal laws and the federal government to prove
its supremacy enforces those laws against the will of Texans. But to save the day for Texans
there is the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution which states that the powers which are not
delegated to the federal government by the Constitution and the prohibitions which are not
applied by the Constitution, then on those matters the will of the state government shall prevail.
So, using this amendment as a weapon Texas state government fights the federal laws and has
made its state a powerful and resourceful one in many dimensions. This has become a common
practice in the United States.
Opinion
Enforcement of laws against the will of a state government is not appreciated in many
contexts. It puts the political stability of the state as well as the country under harm as people of
the state develop anti-incumbency for the federal government. Citizens of the state take pride in
announcing the achievements of their own state as they represent it. But making such laws which
will disturb the smooth functioning of government policies will slow down the progress of
Texas. When the Constitution was framed by the forefathers, a federal structure was chosen to

4POLITICAL SCIENCE
help the states develop and prosper by active participation of the states in the functioning of
federal government and vice versa. Federal laws were given superiority over state laws to keep in
check the bad activities which a state may exercise. But abusing that power just to show
supremacy is wrong. Federal government has the right to make laws on immigration, education,
healthcare services and voting rights of the state citizens but those laws should be consistent with
the comfort and prosperity of the state citizens. U.S. constitution is very rigid in itself and in the
history of its constitution there have been very few amendments which have turned the course of
procedures in the country. 10th Amendment is one of them which proves to be a barrier against
coercive laws and gives chance to the states to prove their legitimacy. But hiding under the
shield of 10th Amendment is also wrong for small reasons and the states should also accept the
change in policies made by the federal government.

5POLITICAL SCIENCE
References
Abernathy, Scott F. American Government: Stories of a Nation. Cq Press, 2017.
Bethea, Carlette C., and Zollie Stevenson Jr. "The State of Federal and State Accountability
Systems That Support P-12 and Postsecondary Transition Services for English Learners with
Disabilities." Transitioning Children with Disabilities. SensePublishers, Rotterdam, 2017.
59-75.
Bowden, Randall, and Angela Portis-Woodson. "Teacher Induction Programs and Teacher
Employment Retention: Uncovering the Relationship." Research Journal of Education 3.1
(2017): 1-11.
Gibson Jr, L. Tucker, Clay Robison, and Joanne Connor Green. Government and Politics in
the Lone Star State. Pearson, 2017.
Lee, Jennifer, and Frances Deviney. "Economic issues for women in texas." Community
quality-of-life indicators: Best cases VII. Springer International Publishing, 2017. 149-165.
Levy, Brian L., and Denise L. Levy. "When love meets hate: The relationship between state
policies on gay and lesbian rights and hate crime incidence." Social science research 61
(2017): 142-159.
Lopez, Sarah. "States of Incarceration: an architectural perspective on immigrant detention in
Texas." Museums & Social Issues 12.1 (2017): 33-40.
Raji, Mukaila A., et al. "Impact of Laws Regulating Pain Clinics on Opioid Prescribing and
Opioid-Related Toxicity Among Texas Medicare Part D Beneficiaries." Journal of Pharmacy
Technology33.2 (2017): 60-65.