Ch. 7 Quiz

What is the annual salary for those elected to legislative office in Texas?

$7,200 per year

The Texas Constitution grants the __________ veto power.

Governor

The Lieutenant Governor gets his or her powers from the __________. You Answered

Senate

Powers that are not directly related to the writing and passing of legislation are called

nonlegislative powers.

What is the purpose of the Legislative Redistricting Board (LRB)?

to create a redistricting plan if the legislature fails to do so during the first regular legislative session after a census

The governor often uses the State of the State address to do which of the following?

to describe his or her legislative priorities and agenda

For a law to pass in the Texas legislature it must be voted on by

two deliberative bodies representing different constituencies.

If the governor does not like specific provisions of an appropriations bill passed by the legislature, he or she can

use the line-item veto to remove those portions from the rest of the bill.

Which of the following legislators would be LEAST likely to propose an ALEC model bill according to the findings of the article?

"68 years old, liberal democrat, 20 years in office"

In even-numbered years, Texas representatives receive a salary of only ________ per year, not including a per diem.

$7,200

Each member of the Texas Senate represents about ___________ people, while each member of the Texas House represents about_________ people.

811,000; 168,000

What is ALEC?

American Legislative Exchange Council

What role do Republican and Democratic Party caucuses play in determining the chairs of legislative committees?

None, the presiding officers have sole power to choose the committee chairs

The legislature does not usually override a veto for what reason?

Bills are passed late in session, so the legislature is usually out of session when a bill is vetoed.

Texas House members differ from Texas Senate members because

House members represent small districts and are subject to more frequent elections.

Which chamber not only is larger but also is subjected to more frequent elections?

House of Representatives

As in the U.S. Congress, the purpose of a conference committee in the Texas legislature is to do what?

It is a committee designed to make differing House and Senate versions of the same bill identical.

What is the function of the "local and consent" calendar?

It is reserved for uncontroversial bills or bills limited to a localized problem.

A regular session in the Texas legislature starts __________ and lasts for __________ many days.

January of odd numbered years; 140 days

Which of the following most accurately describes the influential activities undertaken by ALEC in pursuit of policymaking success?

Providing model bills to state legislators with little expertise in particular policy areas

The _________ are currently the majority party in the Texas House, and the __________ are majority party in the Texas Senate.

Republicans; Republicans

What is required to convene a special session of the state legislature?

The governor must call for a special session outside a general session.

Which of the following statements about simple resolutions is correct?

They do not require the signature of the governor.

Message power gives the Governor what ability in the legislative process?

To put forth a vision for Texas and what legislation will accomplish that vision

Local bills

affect only units of local government, such as a city, county, or special district.

The lieutenant governor is

an official who is elected in a statewide election for a four-year term.

The ability of the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House to control the final outcome of legislation comes from their power to

appoint members of conference committees.

The pluralist view of interest group influence in policy making sees business interests as just one among many influences with nothing particularly special about it insofar as other interests are able to check the influence of business groups. This pluralist perspective is opposed to the ___ perspective of interest group influence in policy making.

elitist

After a bill is referred by a committee, the next step in the process is

floor action

One of the most notable effects of bicameralism in the Texas legislature is that it

permits more opportunities to kill or significantly modify a bill.

There are ____ members of the Texas House of Representatives and _____ members of the Texas Senate.

150; 31

Members of the Texas House of Representatives serve ________ terms.

2-year

How old does someone have to be to serve in the Texas House?

21 years old

In order to be eligible to serve in the Texas House, you must be ______ years old; in order to be eligible to serve in the Texas Senate, you must be ______ years old.

21; 26

Special sessions last ________, but there is no limit to the number of special sessions a governor can call.

30 days

According to ALEC's own reporting, approximately how of the 826 introduced pieces of legislation based on their proposals ended up becoming law in 2009?

0.14

The number of legislators ALEC claims among its membership is closest to which of the following percentages of all state legislators in the United States?

0.34

Redistricting usually happens every ________ years.

10

Redistricting usually happens every __________ years so that it aligns with the new __________ results.

10; census

The Texas legislature meets in regular session

140 days each odd-numbered year.

The Texas legislature meets in regular session for

140 days every odd-numbered year.

Regular legislative sessions are limited to

140 days.

The Texas legislature consists of a

150-member House of Representatives and a 31-member Senate.

In the Texas legislature, the House has ________ members and the Senate has ________ members.

150; 31

The two most powerful political figures in the Texas legislature are the

Speaker of the House and the lieutenant governor.

The two most powerful political figures in the Texas legislature are the:

Speaker of the House and the lieutenant governor.

Which of the following statements about special sessions of the Texas legislature is true?

Special sessions are common, held an average of once a year since 1876.

The one-person, one-vote principle was brought to Texas by the

Supreme Court in their rulings in Baker v. Carr and Reynolds v. Sims.

For how long does the Texas legislature meet?

The regular legislative session lasts 140 days in odd-numbered years.

What is the outcome for the vast majority of bills that are assigned to committees in the Texas legislature?

They are pigeonholed by the committee chair.

What is the outcome for the vast majority of bills that are assigned to committees in the Texas Legislature?

They die.

"Pigeonholing" is a practice in which

a committee chair sets aside a bill.

If the legislature grants a particular corporation an exception from a state law, it is called

a special bill

Conference committees

are joint committees created to work out a compromised on House and Senate versions of a piece of legislation.

In recent years, the Texas legislature has

become more partisan.

The Texas legislature is a

bicameral body consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Republicans are a majority in

both the Texas House and Senate.

Under the Senate Rules, the lieutenant governor has the power to

break a tie on any vote.

________ is a kind of talking that is used to stall legislation.

chubbing

The constitutional goal of redistricting is to

create districts with equal-sized populations.

Constituent service can play an important role in

creating a personal relationship between the legislator and the individual constituent, which will give the legislator an advantage when running for reelection.

The power of recognition allows the Speaker of the House to

determine who will get to speak and how long a legislative debate will last.

The Speaker of the Texas House is

elected by members of the House of Representatives.

The lieutenant governor is

elected in a statewide election for a four-year term.

Members of the Texas Senate serve ________ terms.

four-year

Texas senators serve ________-year terms and House members serve ________-year terms.

four; two

Which is the most important bill that applies to all people and property throughout the state?

general bill

Special bills are used to

give an individual or corporation an exemption from state law.

The agenda for special sessions in the Texas legislature is set by the

governor

The Texas Constitution grants the __________ veto power, and it is used __________.

governor; actively

Pigeonholing happens

in a standing committee.

The Texas legislature meets

in biennial sessions, 140 days every other year.

In recent years, the level of partisanship in the Texas houses has

increased substantially.

The Speaker of the Texas House

is considered the most important elected official in state policy making.

The level of partisanship in the Texas legislature

is less than the level demonstrated in the U.S. Congress.

If a bill fails to pass the Texas House and Texas Senate in exactly the same form, the bill

is sent to a conference committee.

If a bill passes the House and the Senate, but in different forms, the bill

is sent to a conference committee.

The president of the Texas Senate is also the

lieutenant governor of Texas.

A bill in the Texas legislature that would allow a county to establish a new community college would be classified as a

local bill

Texas House members differ from Texas Senate members because House members

represent small districts and are subject to more frequent elections.

The Texas Senate has some specific rules governing the filibuster, including

requiring that remarks must be directly related to the issue under consideration.

What types of resolutions are acted on without debate and without requiring members to read the resolution?

resolutions of honor or recognition

________ must begin in the House of Representatives.

revenue bills

The legislature has "directive and supervisory powers" that include the ability to

review each state agency every twelve years.

The Texas Legislature has many powers that are not related to legislation, including which of the following?

the power to formally count returns for the governor's and lieutenant governor's elections.