Govt.. 2306 – Chapters 11,12,13 – Flashcards
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Prior to 2003, tuition for public colleges and universities in Texas was set by
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the state legislature.
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Following a legislative decision in 2003 to reduce state funding to higher education, which source of university revenue began to increase most rapidly?
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Student tuition and fees
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Why must the Texas legislature maintain a balanced budget?
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It is required by the Texas Constitution
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Given the budge structure and constitutional limitations upon spending and taxing, legislators seeking to balance the budget are left with
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few choices as to how to balance the budget
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Federal money is an important part of the Texas budget, but monies that Texas receives from the federal government
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often come with strings attached
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Federal funds appropriated in Texas generally are
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concentrated on a few state agencies
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Which phrase best characterizes Texas's reputation in terms of taxes and services?
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low service, low tax
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Texas spending on a per capita basis is
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much lower than the national average
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Compared to other states, which statement regarding revenue sources for the state of Texas is true?
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Texas has no income tax but high sales tax
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Which is the single largest source of tax revenue for the state of Texas?
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sales
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According to our text, what determines the amount of tax revenue generated from oil and natural gas produced in Texas?
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market price and the amount produced
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Overall, the tax system in Texas is generally considered to be regressive, which means that
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the tax burden consumes a greater percentage of income received by lower-income individuals
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Who pays the greatest portion of their income in property taxes?
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poor homeowners and renters
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What is the argument commonly used by supporters of a state income tax?
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It is a fairer and more reliable source of revenue
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If Texas instituted a progressive income tax
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low-income Texans would pay a lower tax rate than wealthy Texans
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Texas will not implement a statewide income tax in the immediate future because
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the voters would not approve the measure
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Next to revenue generated by state taxes, the second largest source of state revenue comes from
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the federal government
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Federal matching funds are
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awarded to states that agree to fund a federal program on behalf of their own citizens.
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Which statement regarding state-federal spending in Texas is true?
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Texas spends less on state-federal programs than most states do.
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Which statement concerning matching funds in Texas is true?
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Texas has historically participated in matching funds at a relatively low rate
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Authorized by voters in 1991, the Texas state lottery generates a sizeable sum for the state budget.
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The lottery is played by large numbers of people from all social classes
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The permanent School Fund (PSF) was created in
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1854
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The main purpose of the Permanent School Fund (PSF) is to
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fund primary and secondary schools in the state.
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Which of the following agencies is responsible for managing the Permanent School Fund?
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the Texas Board of Education
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The funds generated by the Permanent School Fund are distributed to school districts across the state
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based on attendance rates
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The Economic Stabilization Fund (ESF) is commonly known as the
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Rainy Day Fund
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The Permanent University Fund (PUF) was established in 1876 with a land grant of 1 million acres. It contributes to the support of
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the University of Texas and Texas A & M university systems
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The National University Fund (NRUF) was established through a constitutional amendment to provide a source of funding for
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universities seeking to achieve national prominence as research institutions.
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One significant component of the budget process that is relatively unique to Texas is
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the constitutional mandate that Texas legislators write a budget every two years
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Which of the following is at the heart of the budget process in Texas?
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The Texas comptroller
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The Texas Constitution specifies that state payments for assistance to needy children and their caretakers shall not exceed ____ percent of the states' budget in any biennium.
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1
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The Legislative Budget Board (LBB) is chaired by the
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lieutenant governor
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The purpose of the Biennial Revenue Estimate (BRE) is to
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provide a detailed forecast of total revenues that the state is expected to take in
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Who prepares the BRE?
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the comptroller
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The process of drafting a bill is referred to as
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markup
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Appropriations bills work their ways through both the House and the senate simultaneously. When there is disagreement on two versions of a bill, the bill is reconciled by
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a conference committee
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Who certifies the state budget of Texas?
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the comptroller
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In Texas, the governor's line item veto power is
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very powerful because the governor can use it to limit expenditures
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_____ monitors state agencies to ensure that they comply with the state budget.
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The LBB, in conjuction with the State Auditor's Office.
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Nationally, what two factors caused the bubble in the real estate market?
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low interest rates and loose credit standards.
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When compared to the rest of the nation, the real estate collapse in Texas was
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less severe
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the Texas legislature increased____ to help compensate for lower property tax revenues in the 2012-2013 budget cycle.
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state corporate franchise taxes and cigarette taxes
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To address the budget shortfall in the 2012-2013 budget the most common tactic used by the legislature was
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spending cuts
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From an overall standpoint, which statement is true?
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The Texas economy is closely tied to the national economy.
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Which of the following statements regarding public policy in Texas is true?
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The policies of the national government influence Texas, but, for the most part, large segments of public policy, such as education, infrastructure, and legal matters, are state and local matters.
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Which ideology reflected the public agenda in Texas during the first decade of the twenty-first century?
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conservative ideology
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Under the Gilmer-Aikin laws
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the State Board of Education was established and became the policy-making body for public education in Texas
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The three main issues that have shaped education policy in Texas during the last fifty years are
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funding, desegregation, and education excellence
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Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
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validated the Texas state-imposed racial segregation in public schools
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The legal doctrine at issue in the Plessy v. Ferguson case is the
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separate but equal doctrine
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Under the separate but equal doctrine in the 1920s and 1930s, the amount of money that the state of Texas spent on black students was _____ the amount spent on white students in public schools.
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lower than
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The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson in
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Brown v. Board of Education
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In the Brown v. Board of Education case, segregated school districts were ordered to
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desegregate their schools "with all deliberate speed."
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By the late 1960s, de facto segregation
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was still a problem in urban public schools with a large minority population
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Among the most important findings of the 1983 report were
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test scores were declining and functional illiteracy was increasing
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The high school graduation rates in Texas are
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among the lowest of all fifty states
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Dropout rates in Texas are
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highest among minorities
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The most persistent social problem facing Texas is
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poverty
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The percentage of Texans living in poverty is approximately
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15 percent.
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The generally accepted standard by which poverty is measured in the United States is the
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the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services poverty index
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Which statement is true regarding poverty in Texas?
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In Texas, the poverty rate among children is much higher than in the rest of the United States.
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The origins of modern welfare policy lie in
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President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal.
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The ____ transformed the way in which the United states Handled poverty and implemented welfare policy
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1935 Social Security Act
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In the 1960s, welfare policy in Texas reflected
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a policy of minimizing the cost to Texas while maximizing the use of federal dollars
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In 1965, Congress created he Medicaid program, a state-federal program, to
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provide health care for the poor
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The most important welfare reform legislation since the New Deal was
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the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, which created block-grant funding for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
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The primary purpose of TANF was to
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make families self-sufficient by ending the cycle of dependency on government benefits.
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Welfare reforms are measured along which two dimensions?
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The number of people on welfare and the success of getting people into the workforce
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Since its creation, Medicaid has
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grown large and complex, serving a variety of special interest groups.
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Federal money for Medicaid programs
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is accompanied by federal rules and regulations, which states must comply with to maintain federal funding of the program
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The single most important issue confronting Texas policy makers with regard to Medicaid is
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the cost
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Which statement is true?
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Texas leads the nation in the percentage of residents who lack health insurance coverage
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In March 2010, Congress passed ____, substantially altering the nation's health care system.
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The affordable Care Act
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Which statement regarding the Affordable Care Act is true?
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Congress was sharply split along party lines
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In legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court ruled that
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the tax penalizing people who failed to purchase medical insurance was constitutional
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Most of the water used in Texas comes from
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aquifers
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Which statement regarding water policy in Texas is true?
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Water rights are a complicated matter balancing private property considerations and the public good.
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Why are Texas counties important?
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They provide the main form of government in rural areas
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Which of the following is not a function of county government in Texas?
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administering water districts
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What is the main difference between a special district and a county?
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A special district provides only one specific service whiten a geographic region
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Which of the following statements about counties in Texas is incorrect?
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All counties have approximately the same number of people
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In Texas, what is the name of the officer who presides over the county commissioners court?
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county judge
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The job serving legal papers at the precinct level of a county goes to the _____.
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constable
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The chief law-enforcement officer in county governments is the
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sheriff
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Which of the following is not provided by a special district?
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city police
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A home-rule charter
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specifies the number of members serving on the city's governing body
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What is the main difference between a home-rule city and a general-law city?
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A general-law city is chartered for localities with a population of fewer than 5,000 persons.
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Which of the following is not a key difference between the may-council and the council-manager forms of local government?
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In the council-manager system, local politics is viewed as a full-time job, unlike a mayor-council system
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The mayor-council form of government is most common in
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smaller general-law cities
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What is an at-large election?
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an election in which voters elect officials from the entire geographical area, rather than from a smaller district within the area
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The commissioner form of city government was developed as a response to the
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hurricane at Galveston in 1900.
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What was the effect of Dallas's shifting from an at-large to a single-member district system in 1991?
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The change was responsible for the election of a significant number of African American and Hispanic council members
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Which of the following is the most common from of local government in Texas?
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special districts
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A school district is
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a special district
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School boars can do all of the following except
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draft standardized evaluation exams
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Flood control is managed through special districts because
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flooding is seldom contained in a single city or county
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In Texas, who creates special districts?
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Texas voters in the areas that will be covered
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The chief financial officer for a city is called the
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city controller
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How are most special districts in Texas administered?
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They are run by a board elected by residents within the district.
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What are the main sources of revenue for special districts in Texas?
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property taxes and user fees.
