Political subdivisions of Texas are units of local government that provide basic services, including education, public safety, ambulances, water and electric utilities, and public transit.
The oldest and most basic political subdivisions of Texas are county governments, which run elections, provide public safety, and operate local courts and jails. Every part of Texas belongs to one of the state’s 254 counties.
Other political subdivisions are municipalities, school districts, emergency services districts, river authorities, junior college districts, hospital districts, municipal utility districts, soil and water conservation districts, and groundwater conservation districts.
Texas local governments vary greatly in purpose, size, and structure, yet they share several common characteristics:
- Each political subdivision has limited geographic boundaries. These boundaries may overlap with those of other political subdivisions. A county, for example, may contain more than one city.
- Each political subdivision has the power to impose ad valorem tax.
- Each political subdivision has locally elected or appointed government members.
- Each political subdivision draws its specific authority from state law.
Certain state government entities operate at the regional or local level yet are not political subdivisions. For example, courts of appeals are based throughout the state, and they act within geographic boundaries, yet they belong to the state government directly.
Comparison to the Federal System
The relationship of the State of Texas to its political subdivisions differs from the relationship of the United States to the 50 states. In the American system of government, which is called federalism, the states and the federal government share ‘sovereignty,’ meaning that each has certain exclusive powers.
Unlike some countries where there is a unitary, centralized system of government, the U.S. government cannot divide or abolish a state government. But at the state level, there is no such division of power. The State of Texas can divide, create, or abolish local governments at will – generally, by an act of the legislature. While local officials exercise a degree of “local control,” their powers derive from state law, not from local governments’ own sovereign authority.
