Test 4 Review

trial jury

*Trial juries make actual decisions about right and wrong, truth and falsehood. *Lower-court juries consist of six persons while district court juries have twelve members. *Jurors are called through the use of a jury wheel

Franchise taxes

*tax on the right to do business in a state but it does have a business franchise tax which is tied to business revenues.

Types of Federal Grants

Categorical & Block

Whistle-Blower's Protection Act

an act was passed to ensure the job security of state employees who report illegal or unethical conduct in their agency. *Created the Office of Special Counsel to investigate complaints from bureaucrats that they were punished after reporting to Congress about waste, fraud, or abuse in their agencies

grand jury

*Grand juries consisting of twelve persons selected to serve what is ordinarily a three-month term are convened as needed in the county seat of each county. *Grand jurors consider evidence, usually in felony cases, to determine whether or not sufficient evidence exists to issue a formal indictment.

Judicial Elections

*Judges are elected in partisan elections in Texas *Governor can appoint judges to fill vacancies that occur often *Exception is municipal judges that are non-partisan election or appointed by the municipality. *Judges may be removed from office via impeachment In the United States, there are six methods used to select judges: 1.Partisan elections (the method used in Texas) 2.Nonpartisan elections 3.Appointment by legislatures 4.Appointment by the governor 5.Merit plan 6.Combination In Texas, all judges except municipal judges are selected by partisan election with trial court judges serving 4 year terms and appellate judges serving 6 year terms.

district courts

*Principle trail courts in Texas *Divorce can be filed here *the lowest federal courts; federal trials can be held only here District court judges must be lawyers who are licensed to practice in the state and who have at least 4 years' experience as lawyers or judges prior to their election. Terms are for 4 years, with vacancies being filled by gubernatorial appointment. The jurisdiction of district courts is varied and includes both criminal and civil cases with some civil jurisdiction overlapping that of county courts. District court cases are appealed to a court of appeals, except for those where the death penalty has been imposed, in which case appeal is made directly to the Court of Criminal Appeals. *juvenile court to handle Texans younger than 17 who are accused of a crime.

Supreme Court

*The final appellate court with civil jurisdiction *The Supreme Court, with no criminal jurisdiction and only limited original jurisdiction, gets most of its cases on appeal from one of the courts of appeal. Performs other important functions. *It may issue writs of mandamus. (orders to corporations or persons, including judges and state officials other than the governor, to perform certain acts) *It considers applications for writs of error. *It conducts proceedings for removal of judges. *It makes administrative rules for all civil courts in the state. The Supreme Court also oversees the legal profession in Texas by: *approving the establishment of new law schools *appoints the Board of Law Examiners, which prepares the bar examination *determines who has passed the examination, and certifies the successful applicants

The Court of Criminal Appeals

*The final appellate court with criminal jurisdiction *Death penalty cases have an automatic appeal here This court, the state's final appeals court in criminal matters, considers writs of error and writs of habeus corpus, in which attorneys claim that a certain person has been unlawfully detained and should be released. Decisions of this court are final except for occasional appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court in cases raising constitutional issues. This court is composed of nine judges elected on a partisan, statewide basis to staggered six-year terms. Vacancies are filled by gubernatorial appointment. Cases are usually heard by a three-judge panel.

Intermediate State Appellate Courts : The courts of appeals (appeals process)

*a panel of judges ruling on a point of law *no juries The courts of appeals have intermediate civil and criminal appellate jurisdiction. Consider only the written records of lower court. Unlike the lower courts, all appellate courts in the state are multi-judge courts that operate without juries and all judges are referred to as "justices." The fourteen courts of appeals have from three to thirteen justices, for a total of 80 justices statewide, who may hear cases en banc (together) or in panels of three with all decisions reached by majority vote. Jurisdiction of the courts of appeals consists of civil cases appealed from district and county courts and criminal cases (except for capital murder) appealed from lower courts.

Municipal Courts

*city court, usually divided into traffic and criminal divisions. Speeding, running red light, etc. citation tickets handled here These courts have concurrent jurisdiction with justice of the peace courts on Class C misdemeanors and exclusive jurisdiction regarding municipal ordinances. Municipal courts have no civil jurisdiction and deal mainly with violations of traffic laws and generally do not keep records of trials. Most municipal judges are appointed by the governing body, although in a few cities they are chosen in nonpartisan elections, and terms of office are usually two years.

Justice of the Peace Courts

*local trial courts with limited jurisdiction over small claims and very minor criminal misdemeanors *Judge performs marriage ceremony *Adjudicating minor criminal cases *Serving as notaries public JP courts are original trial courts with both civil and criminal jurisdiction. JP courts deal with misdemeanor criminal cases when the potential punishment is only a fine. They have exclusive jurisdiction over civil cases where the amount in controversy is $200 or less and concurrent jurisdiction with both county and district courts when the amount in controversy is between $200 and $5,000. JPs perform other functions including: *acting as judges of small claims courts *serving as notaries public *performing marriage services and in all but the largest counties, functioning as coroners

Sunset Advisory Commission

*reviews the effectiveness of state agencies. The Sunset Law established a procedure in which the Sunset Advisory Commission conducts sunset reviews in all statutory boards, commissions, and departments on a 12-year cycle and makes recommendations to the legislature regarding their continuing existence. The Sunset Advisory Commission is made up of four senators, four representatives, and two citizen members with the chairmanship rotating between the House and the Senate every two years. *Following sunset review, the legislature must explicitly vote to continue an agency, although it may also vote to reorganize the agency or force it to modify its rules and procedures

severance taxes

*taxes on the production of raw materials such as oil and natural gas are levied on natural resources severed (removed) from the earth.

Attorney General

*the head of the department of justice The attorney general, one of the most powerful officers in Texas government, is responsible for a variety of legal matters including representing the state and its agencies in court when the state is a party to a case. The Office of the Attorney General is also responsible for such matters as: consumer protection antitrust litigation workers' compensation insurance organized-crime control environmental protection *The attorney general's greatest power is that of issuing advisory opinions regarding the constitutionality or legality of legislative or administrative actions

Elasticity

At least six factors help explain the ups and downs of the Texas economy and the growth in the state budget over the past twenty-five years. 1)Overproduction of oil worldwide in the early 1980s and the 1990s led to price reductions 2)National policy has put pressure on state governments, in part because of the devolution of government. 3)Texans responded to the challenges posed by the economic slump of the 1980s and diversified the economy. 4)Changes in the inflation rate *****5)The Texas revenue system lacks elasticity, that is, it is not easily adjusted to ups and downs in the economy.***** 6)When state government did enjoy a surplus in 1997 and 1999, it chose to rebate the money to taxpayers in the form of reduced local school taxes rather than increase spending.

Progressive taxes (examples)

Federal Income Tax State Income Tax Federal Corporate Income Tax Estate Tax

Nontax sources of state revenues in Texas include

Fees for everything have increased such as: college tuition driver's licenses personal automobile tags car inspections water permits day-care center operator licenses Texas also receives revenue from: interest on bank deposits proceeds from investments and sales leases of public lands lottery

Secretary of State

In addition to ceremonial duties, the duties of the secretary include: 1)certifying elections 2)maintaining records on campaign expenditures 3)keeping the list of registered lobbyists 4)administering the Uniform Commercial Code 5)issuing corporate charters 6)publishing the Texas Register (office record of administrative decisions, rules, regulations, and announcements of hearings and pending actions) 7)serving as the state's international protocol officer

Texas Railroad Commission (TRRC)

It is one of the most influential agencies in the state. A three-member commission that regulates: all mining and extractive industries intrastate road transportation intrastate railroads *Commissioners are chosen in statewide elections for staggered 6 year terms

General Revenue Fund

Once collected, state revenues are placed in various funds, including the following five major funds: 1)The General Revenue Fund, which supports the most state programs. 2)The Omnibus Tax Clearance Fund, which is allocated in part to two other funds--the General Revenue and Available School funds--and in part to specific functions. 3)The Available School Fund, which underwrites public school textbooks and part of the Foundation School Program, the major source of state aid for local school districts. 4)The Highway Motor Fuel Fund, a quarter of which goes to the Available School Fund and the remainder to highways and roads. 5)The State Highway Fund, which is used for purposes related to the construction and maintenance of highways and roads.

The Economic Stabilization Fund (ESF)

Revenue is generated largely by oil and gas production taxes

Sources of revenue generation in Texas

Sales Tax (largest) Federal Income Fees & Misc

regulatory taxes

Taxes that reward approved behavior with lower taxation or punish socially undesirable action with a higher tax.

courts

Texas splits their highest appellate jurisdiction between two courts: *The Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals

Commissioner of Agriculture

The agriculture commissioner is responsible for managing the Department of Agriculture. The Department is responsible for regulating and promoting the agribusiness industry and for consumer protection. Activities of the Department include: enforcing weights and measures standards licensing egg handlers determining the relative safety of pesticides locating export markets for Texas agricultural products

Attorney General: advisory opinion

The attorney general (AG) of Texas, the state's chief legal officer, possesses a highly significant power, the authority to issue advisory opinions. *The legislature and executive branch agencies may seek the AG's advice as to the constitutionality of legislative proposals, rules, procedures, and statutes. The attorney general's power to issue advisory opinions, which has come to be accepted virtually without challenge, allows state officials to obtain rulings on disputed constitutional issues without the time and expense of court actions. The most publicized ruling in recent years dealt with the subject of affirmative action.

Commissioner of the general land office

The commissioner of the General Land Office administers approximately 22.5 million acres of public lands. The job includes the following responsibilities: *Supervising the leasing of state lands for such purposes as oil and gas production, mining, and grazing. *Administering the veterans' land program which allows veterans to buy land with loans backed by state bonds. *Maintaining the environmental quality of public lands and waters, especially coastal lands.

Office of Comptroller

The comptroller administers the state's tax system and performs pre-audits of state agency expenditures. The Texas Constitution provides for a balanced biennial budget by precluding the legislature from appropriating more funds than the comptroller certifies to be the state's anticipated revenues. Following the phase-out of the state treasurer's office in 1996, the comptroller is also the state's banker, receiving, safeguarding, and investing the state's revenues.

Comptroller

The comptroller, who is responsible for tax collection, investments, and the safeguarding of public funds.

State Board of Education

The fifteen members of the State Board of Education, which reverted to elective status in 1987 after a brief period as an appointed board following the 1984 education reforms, are chosen in districts across the state. ** elected by Texans for 4 year terms Because a majority of the board's members are now conservative Republicans, a long-standing controversy about the board's selection of textbooks for public schools has been reintroduced.

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

a government agency dedicated to ensuring a safe and sound national banking system

Texas has a .....

balanced budget

categorical grants-in-aid

could be used only for specific programs such as community-health centers.

Education is the largest category

of state spending in Texas

Revenue taxes

provide the income necessary for government to carry out its programs

block grants

provided money for general use in broad programs such as community development.

Texas does not have a ......

state income tax

Regressive taxes (examples)

•Social Security Tax •Medicare Tax •State Sales Tax •Local Real Estate Taxes