question

General Revenues Fund budget:

answer

Budget for a nondedicated revenue account that functions as the state's primary operating fund

question

General Revenue-Dedicated Funds budget:

answer

Budget composed of funds for dedicated revenues that target money for specific purposes

question

Federal Funds budget:

answer

State budget that includes all grants, payments, and reimbursements received from the federal government by state agencies and institutions

question

Other Funds budget:

answer

Budget consisting of all other funds flowing into the state treasury that are not included in other state budgets; this includes the Texas Highway Fund, various trust funds operated toy the state, and certain revenues held for local higher education accounts

question

All Funds budget:

answer

Budget that aggregates all monies flowing into the state treasury and all state spending

question

Regressive tax:

answer

Type of tax where the tax burden falls more heavily on lower-income individuals

question

Progressive tax:

answer

Type of tax where the tax burden falls more heavily on upper-income individuals

question

Matching funds:

answer

Federal monies going to a state based on state spending for a program

question

General Revenue Fund:

answer

The state's primary operating fund

question

Permanent School Fund (PSF):

answer

Fund created in 1854 that provides monies for primary and secondary schools

question

Available School Fund (ASF):

answer

Dedicated fund established by the constitution for the support of public education in the state

question

State Highway Fund:

answer

Fund that supports the construction. Maintenance, and policing of roadways and acquires rights of way funded through a variety of taxes such as motor vehicle registration fees, the federal highway fund, and the sales tax on motor lubricants

question

Economic Stabilization Fund (ESF):

answer

Fund established by constitutional amendment in 1988 to provide funds for the state during times of financial stress commonly known as the Rainy Day Fund

question

Permanent University Trust Fund (PUF):

answer

Fund established in 1876 and funded from the proceeds from land owned by the state-monies go to various universities in the University of Texas (UT) and Texas A&M systems

question

Higher Education Fund (HEF):

answer

State higher education fund for universities not having access to PUF monies

question

National Research University Fund (NRUF):

answer

Fund established in 2009 to provide funding to universities seeking to achieve national prominence as research institutions

question

Article 3 Section 49a (Pay-as-You-Go Limit):

answer

Portion of the Texas Constitution that requires the state to maintain a balanced budget

question

Appropriations:

answer

Authorization by the legislature to a government agency or body to spend up to a particular amount of money

question

Debt service:

answer

Money spent by the state to pay off debt; includes interest and principal payments

question

The Texas Constitution requires that the Texas budget must be-

answer

Balanced.

question

Federal expenditures primarily affect the state budget in which two areas?

answer

Health-human services and education

question

Texas has the reputation for being-

answer

A low-service, low-tax state

question

The proportion of state employees to the population in Texas is-

answer

Far below the national average

question

One major revenue source for Texas is the sales tax, which is-

answer

6.25% for state government and 2 % for local government.

question

A Texas personal income tax-

answer

Would have to be approved by the voters, and the revenues from it would have to support public education.

question

The Rainy Day Fund-

answer

Was designed to provide funding for the state during times of financial distress.

question

The National Research University Fund-

answer

Funds Texas universities seeking national prominence as research institutions.

question

Which of the following is not a constitutional constraint on the budgetary process in Texas?

answer

The annual budget

question

What is meant by "the budget-execution authority"?

answer

The legislature's power to establish rules for the expenditure of funds by state agencies

question

Who is the chief planning officer of the state of Texas?

answer

The governor

question

The principal job of the Legislative Budget Board is-

answer

To recommend appropriations for all agencies of state government

question

Which factors lie behind the budget crisis of 2011?

answer

The Great Recession and property tax reform

question

Which solution was put into place to address the bud-get crisis of 2011?

answer

Speeding up the payments of various taxes on alcohol and motor fuels

question

Prior to 2003, tuition for public colleges and universities in Texas was set by the

answer

state legislature.

question

Prior to 2003, tuition rates for public colleges and universities in Texas tended to be

answer

low compared to other states.

question

Following a legislative decision in 2003 to reduce state funding to higher education, which source of university revenue began to increase most rapidly?

answer

student tuition and fees

question

Why must the Texas legislature maintain a balanced budget?

answer

It is required by the Texas Constitution.

question

The ___ budget is one composed of funds for dedicated revenues that target money for specific purposes.

answer

General Revenue-Dedicated Funds

question

Given the budget structure and constitutional limitations upon spending and taxing, legislators seeking to balance the budget are left with

answer

few choices as to how to balance the budget.

question

Federal money is an important part of the Texas budget, but monies that Texas receives from the deferral government

answer

often come with strings attached

question

Federal funds appropriated in Texas generally are

answer

concentrated in a few state agencies.

question

Texas seeks to maintain a favorable environment for

answer

health and human services

question

TX spending on per capita basis is:

answer

Much lower than the national average

question

in 2012, TX ranked ____ when compared to other states on the per capital federal dollars flowing into the stat

answer

high

question

There is a high sales tax in TX of ___%

answer

6.25

question

What is the single largest tax revenue for the state of TX?

answer

Sales tax

question

What determines the amount of tax revenue generated from oil and natural gas produced in TX?

answer

market price and the amount produced

question

The revenues flowing from the motor fuels tax are dedicated to what 4 areas?

answer

1. maintenance. 2.policing of public roads 3.public education 4.construction

question

Overall, the tax system in Texas is generally considered to be regressive, which means that

answer

the tax burden consumes a greater percentage of income received by lower-income individuals.

question

Who pays the greatest portion of their income in property taxes?

answer

Poor homeowners and renters

question

The following 4 are generally considered to be examples of regressive taxes or fees?

answer

1. sales taxes 2. property taxes 3. auto registration and inspection fees 4. excise taxes on alcohol and cigarettes

question

What is the argument commonly used by supporters of a state income tax?

answer

It is a fairer and more reliable source of revenue.

question

If Texas instituted a progressive income tax,

answer

low-income Texans would pay a lower tax rate than wealthy Texans.

question

Texas will never have a personal income tax in the future because

answer

Bullock proposed a constitutional amendment that effectively gave the electorate a veto over any proposal for an income tax.

question

Next to revenue generated by state taxes, the second-largest source of state revenue comes from

answer

the federal government.

question

In addition to federal monies, which two other sources in recent years have had a major impact on monies flowing into the state budget?

answer

the state lottery and the settlement the state reached with tobacco companies

question

Federal matching funds are

answer

awarded to states that agree to fund a federal program on behalf of their own citizens.

question

The Permanent School Fund distributes money to school districts across the state based on what two factors?

answer

student attendance and guaranteed bonds issued by local school boards

question

The Economic Stabilization Fund is also known as the

answer

Rainy Day Fund

question

The Permanent University Fund was established in 1876 with a land grant of 1 million acres. It contributes to the support of

answer

the University of Texas and Texas A&M university systems

question

For universities to be eligible for the National Research University Fund they must meet at least all of the following:

answer

1. Maintain an endowment of at least $400 Mil in the two preceding academic years. 2. Produce 200 Ph.D. degrees during the previous two years. 3. Have a freshman class of high academic achievement. 4. Have a demonstrable excellence in graduate education.

question

One significant component of the budget process that is relatively unique to Texas is

answer

the constitutional mandate that Texas legislators write a budget every two years.

question

Which of the following is at the heart of the budget process in Texas?

answer

the Texas comptroller

question

The Texas Constitution specifies that state payments for assistance to needy children and their caretakers shall NOT exceed ___ percent of the state's budget in any biennium.

answer

1%

question

In theory, Texas has a dual-budget system, meaning the budget authority is shared by the governor and the legislature; however, in practice, the primary player(s) in the budget is/are?

answer

the legislature

question

The following four individuals are key players in the budgetary process:

answer

1. the comptroller of public accounts 2. the governor 3. the lieutenant governor 4. the chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means

question

The purpose of the Biennial Revenue Estimate is to provide

answer

a detailed forecast of total revenues that the state is expected to take in.

question

Nationally, what two factors caused the bubble in the real estate market?

answer

low interest rates and loose credit standards

question

When compared to the rest of the nation, the real estate collapse in Texas was

answer

less severe

question

The Texas legislature increased ____ to help compensate for lower property tax revenues in the 2012-2013 budget cycle.

answer

state corporate franchise taxes and cigarette taxes

question

What action forced the legislature to bring the 2012-2013 state budget into balance?

answer

A special session of the Texas legislature voted for a balanced budget.

question

To address the budget shortfall in the 2012-2013 budget, the most common tactic used by the legislature was

answer

spending cuts.

question

According to the text, just as the economy began to improve and state revenues started increasing, a new threat arose to threaten the newly balanced budget. It was the

answer

increasing health care costs due to recent efforts to reform the health care system.

Public Finance in Texas (ch. 11) – Flashcards

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