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Writing Assignment:Topic: During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the emergency powers of governors across the country received a great deal of attention. In 2021, the Texas Legislature considered several constitutional amendments in response to actions taken by Governor Abbott. In 2021 and 2023, what actions (if any) did the Texas Legislature take to limit the power of the governor? Do you believe that a governor needs expansive emergency powers in order to effectively address emergencies like COVID-19 or a natural disaster? Do you think there should be limits to the governor’s emergency powers? If so, what restrictions should be placed on the governor’s emergency powers? What role should the state legislature and local governments have during times of emergency? What is the best approach for balancing authority between the governor and other branches and levels of government? The purpose of the essay is to provide students an opportunity to discuss a key concept or topic in Texas politics and to show a basic understanding of academic research and reporting skills. Students should offer evidence for their arguments. Thus, submissions that are more comprehensive and detailed will earn a higher point total. The writing assignment should be a minimum of 750 words. Submissions must include a works cited page (note: there must be a parenthetical citation at the end of each sentence that contains information from a source). The textbook should be one of the sources and included on the works cited page (sources other than the textbook may be used as well).Textbook: Champagne, A., Harpham, E., Casellas, J. and Clark, J. Governing Texas, 6th Edition, W.W. Norton & Company.You should use New Courier or Times New Roman, 12-point font, double-spacing, and one-inch margins on all four sides of the paper. The assignment is to be formatted according to the Modern Language Association (MLA) style which includes a works cited page but does NOT include a title page. Students should research this style in order to properly format the assignment (see the Purdue Online Writing Lab).All writing assignments will be analyzed using SafeAssign. Do not cut and paste information from an online source or copy information directly from the chapter without using quotations and citing the information. Do not use generative artificial intelligence programs (such as ChatGPT) to prepare your assignment. Essays that contain plagiarized material will receive a significant reduction in points or a zero. Students may receive a failing grade in the course for submitting plagiarized material.
