Texas Government Final – Flashcards
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The requirements for holding office in the Texas legislature
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are the same as in the U.S. Constitution.
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A bill in the Texas legislature that would allow a county to establish a new community college would be classified as a
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Local bill.
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Which of the following statements about most joint resolutions is correct?
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they require the approval of both house, senate and govenor's signature
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Constituency services provided by Texas representatives may include all of the following EXCEPT
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Providing legal services in court.
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In the Texas legislature, when a committee chair "pigeonholes" a bill, what happens?
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The bill is set aside before it is ever discussed in committee.
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As in the U.S. Congress, what is the purpose of a conference committee in the Texas legislature?
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designed to make differing House and Senate versions of the same bill identical.
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In Texas, why is a governor's post-adjournment veto so powerful?
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It cannot be overturned by the legislature.
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Prior to______ Texas governors were elected to two-year terms, with most being elected to a maximum of two consecutive two year terms. Since then the governor may be elected to unlimited four year terms.
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1869?
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In Texas, why are gubernatorial elections held in off-years?
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minimize the power of presidential elections on governors race
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The governor has some control over the final appropriations bill through the use of.....
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line-item veto
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The Texas governor has all of the following legislative powers EXCEPT the power to...
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break tie votes in the Senate.
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which state office was eliminated in 1996
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State Treasurer
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which court in texas has automatic jurisdiction over all death penalty cases
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Courts of Appeals
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appeals at the level of court of appeals are typically heard by panels of how many justices
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3
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There are____ courts of appeals in Texas, with ____justices serving those courts.
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14: 80
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The major trial courts in Texas are
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District Courts
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Justice of the Peace Courts Handle Which Kind of disputes?
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small claims
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An indictment is also know as a
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true bill
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What is the major difference between campaigns of civil court judges versus criminal court judges?
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civil requires a lot of money
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all judges except municipal judges are
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Popularity elected in a partisan government.
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why was partisanship in Texas judicial elections not an issue until 1978
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Up until that time, Texas was essentially a one-party state.
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what is the particular problem in texas judicial elections known as the name game
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Many voters will vote for a judicial candidate with a name they are familiar with, even if they know nothing about the candidate
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Which of the following is not a reason, listed by the text, that there are few minority judges in Texas?
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One must be a lawyer to be a judge, and there are few minority lawyers in Texas
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Since the 1980s, the Texas Supreme Court has
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taken a more pro-business direction.
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What is the most important expenditure of most county commissioners' courts
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the cost of building and maintaining county jails.
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The _____ is a public official who is the main record keeper of court documents.
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district clerk or county clerk?
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the most important social service provided by the counties?
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Welfare assistance
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A____Form of government is one in which public policies are developed by the city council and executive and administrative functions are assigned to a professional city manager
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council manager
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Commissioner forms of government were at their height of popularity...
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in 1936, during the New Deal.
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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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_____Is a unit of local government that performs a single service in a limited geographic area
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special 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
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Given the budget 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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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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Texas will never have a personal income tax in the future because
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There is an amendment in the Texas constitution preventing it
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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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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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To address the budget shortfall in the 2012-2013 budget, the most common tactic used by the legislature was
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reducing spending
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The 2007 session of the state legislature passed the Religious viewpoint anti discrimination Act, which
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Ensured religious-oriented clubs the same access to school facilities
and protected students who expressed religious beliefs.
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The stages of public policy making are
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Agenda setting, Formulation, Implementation, Evaluation, Change of termination
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In Brown v. Board of Education, segregated school districts were ordered to
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Desegregate
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By the late 1960s, de facto segregation
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had ended?
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The district court in San Antonio v. Rodriguez delayed action because the court
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.....
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The percentage of texans living in poverty is aproximately_____ percent
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33%
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The origins of modern welfare policy lie in....
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FDR's
New Deal
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In the 1960's, 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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Which statement is true concerning welfare in the 1980s
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Conservatives tried to require that welfare recipients must participate in job training as a condition of receiving benefits
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The primary purpose of Temporary Assistance for Needy families was to
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Provide assistance to needy families so that children can be cared for in their own homes
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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 in the workforce
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In legal challenge to the Affordable Care act, the supreme court ruled to
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2012: upheld Congress's power to enact most provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (HCERA), including a requirement for most Americans to have health insurance by 2014.
