Governing States and Localities 8-16 Quiz Questions

______ include(s) public agencies and the programs and services they implement and manage. a) Bureaucracy b) Red tape c) Administrative redundancy d) Standard operating procedures

a) Bureaucracy

Under President Bill Clinton, states were alleviated of what requirement to receive federal block grants? a) Federal approval of state welfare plans. b) Creating new incentives for welfare recipients to gain employment. c) Sharing the cost with the federal government. d) Producing budget neutral welfare programs.

a) Federal approval of state welfare plans.

______ is the reason states are in control of their educational systems. a) The Tenth Amendment b) The Declaration of Independence c) The Declaration of Independence d) Article 2 of the U.S. Constitution

a) The Tenth Amendment

Metropolitan areas are usually made up of a(n) ______. a) city and surrounding communities b) bundle of surrounding counties c) city and county d) congressional district

a) city and surrounding communities

Which of the following determines whether courts have the right to pick which cases they hear? a) discretionary jurisdiction b) habitual offender laws c) mandatory minimum sentences d) truth-in-sentencing laws

a) discretionary jurisdiction

State constitutions grant governors which of the following? a) formal powers b) qualified powers c) informal powers d) conditional powers

a) formal powers

The use of the past to determine current interpretation of the law is known as which of the following? a) precedent b) activism c) appealing d) en banc

a) precedent

Police officers in Los Angeles stopping Black residents at a rate of 3,400 stops higher than the white stop rate is sometimes seen as an example of ______. a) racial profiling b) community justice c) the geography of crime d) zero tolerance policing

a) racial profiling

The federal arrangement of the U.S. Constitution sets up two levels of government: national and ______. a) state b) local c) county d) regional

a) state

Division of labor is when labor is divided according to ______. a) task and function b) merit c) formal rules d) hierarchy

a) task and function

Common schools are funded primarily by ______. a) taxpayers b) public school graduates c) parents of school-age children d) wealthy citizens

a) taxpayers

Most governors are able to do which of the following? a) veto legislation b) simultaneously serve in the legislature c) set their own salaries d) impeach state judges

a) veto legislation

In 2007, President Bush's administration undermined California's state-specific emissions reduction efforts by setting what national regulatory goal for care manufacturers to meet by 2020? a) Diesel vehicles would be at least half of a manufacturer's fleet. b) A manufacturers' entire fleet should average 35 mpg. c) At least twenty-five percent of cars should be electric vehicles. d) Urban public transportation vehicles would run on compressed hydrogen.

b) A manufacturers' entire fleet should average 35 mpg.

______ power means that a governor can select people to run state departments. a) Judicial b) Appointment c) Budgetary d) Veto

b) Appointment

Initially dismissed as a disease that would go away of its own accord, what disease led to the creation of a task force headed up by then Vice President Mike Pence? a) H1N1 b) Coronavirus c) Zika Virus d) SARS

b) Coronavirus

______ governments are historically rural governments that help conduct state government business. a) Township b) County c) State d) City

b) County

Which of the following is true about the war on drugs? a) It cost less than public health tactics. b) It drove drug prices up. c) It resulted in lower rates of imprisonment. d) It had a major effect on drug use.

b) It drove drug prices up.

Professional executives who manage the day-to-day operations of government are known as ______. a) mayors b) administrators c) directors d) commissioners

b) administrators

In 1805, New York City created first ______ in the United States. a) doctor's guild b) board of health c) medical school d) medical labor union

b) board of health

The outcome of a civil trial is generally which of the following? a) jail time b) financial judgment c) a plea bargain d) hard labor

b) financial judgment

Governors have ______ to appoint top agency officials than they used to. a) less help b) greater authority c) more pressure d) less power

b) greater authority

Which of the following organizational characteristic is generally associated with bureaucracies? a) informal rules b) hierarchy c) unclear division of labor d) elected offices

b) hierarchy

Attorneys General have become major political players in recent years by ______. a) acting as partisan operatives for their national parties b) joining with other Attorneys General to sue the federal government c) refusing to enforce unpopular legislation in their states d) placing an emphasis on civil rights violations and hate crimes

b) joining with other Attorneys General to sue the federal government

During the coronavirus pandemic, states assumed that they would be able to receive ______ from the Federal Government's Strategic Medical Stockpile. a) additional funding b) medical supplies c) plague doctors d) epidemic training manuals

b) medical supplies

Local economies are increasingly defined by ______. a) local lines b) metropolitan regions c) state lines d) government boundaries

b) metropolitan regions

"Defund the police" was a ______ slogan. a) corporate b) mostly unpopular c) long-lived d) focus-group tested

b) mostly unpopular

Admissions of guilt by the accused are required parts of which of the following? a) verdicts b) plea bargains c) appeals d) settlements

b) plea bargains

The authority of ______ is extremely limited. a) school boards b) the U.S. Department of Education c) school districts d) superintendents

b) the U.S. Department of Education

One of the principles of hierarchy is a clear ______ chain of command a) informal b) vertical c) decentered d) horizontal

b) vertical

Which state was the first to impose statewide limits on greenhouse gas emissions? a) Colorado b) Arizona c) California d) Oklahoma

c) California

Which state's environmental regulatory efforts helped in the development of the catalytic converter, tighter fuel caps, and computer-based smog detectors all aimed at reducing tailpipe emissions? a) Washington b) Michigan c) California d) New York

c) California

Which federal agency tasked with handling public health crises was at the forefront of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic in the United States? a) Department of Health and Human Services b) National Institutes of Health c) Centers for Disease Control d) Department of Homeland Security

c) Centers for Disease Control

______ are corporations. a) States b) Townships c) Cities d) Counties

c) Cities

Which federal agency was formed in the 1970s to manage the federal government's responsibility for climate and environment issues? a) U.S. Commission on Climate Change b) Department of the Interior c) Environment Protection Agency d) Citizen Conservation Corps

c) Environment Protection Agency

Why is serving on a jury considered the defining act of citizenship? a) It is necessary for the functioning of the U.S. government. b) It introduces citizens to the American justice system. c) It is the only act that almost every citizen is required to participate in. d) It is a requirement in the U.S. Constitution.

c) It is the only act that almost every citizen is required to participate in.

Which of the following is true about "truth-in-sentencing" laws? a) Such laws led to more forgiving penalties for criminal activity. b) demand for them increased surveillance on those charged. c) These laws decreased judicial discretion over sentencing. d) They gave parole boards more flexibility.

c) These laws decreased judicial discretion over sentencing.

State governments that are doing the most immediate work to improve resilience in their infrastructure and for their populations are concentrated in which area of the country? a) mountainous regions b) great plains states c) along the coasts d) the mid-Atlantic and rustbelt

c) along the coasts

Those unhappy with a trial's outcome can file an appeal to which of the following? a) a municipal appellate court b) the Supreme Court c) an intermediate appellate court d) a military appellate tribunal

c) an intermediate appellate court

In order to curb the emissions of greenhouse gasses, states are pursuing taxes on ______. a) soda b) large corporations c) carbon d) livestock

c) carbon

Prior to 2007 many environmentalists' criticism of the adaptation approach to climate change was that focusing on adaptation was ______. a) largely based on paranoia and not empirical evidence b) too expensive to be realistically implemented c) cover for high-emissions countries to avoid binding agreements d) harder on wealthy countries than on less wealthy countries

c) cover for high-emissions countries to avoid binding agreements

Former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson innovated welfare in his state by providing resources for welfare recipients but requiring them to ______. a) get a government ID b) sign up for the National Guard c) have a job d) live in government housing

c) have a job

The processes states use to qualify teacher candidates to work in schools is known as ______. a) accreditation b) high-stakes testing c) licensure procedures d) standards

c) licensure procedures

Broken-windows policing stresses the importance of which of the following? a) enacting harsh penalties for criminals b) community service by criminals c) maintaining public order d) giving criminals a chance to reform

c) maintaining public order

The professional model of policing emphasizes ______. a) neighborhood beat patrols b) police dependence on other local offices c) quick response times d) easing regulations related to police procedures

c) quick response times

State legislatures work with ______ to deal with education policy questions. a) the President b) governors c) state departments of education d) citizens

c) state departments of education

Lower-level public agency employees who take actions outlined in law are known as ______. a) union workers b) managers c) street-level bureaucrats d) public agents

c) street-level bureaucrats

A ______ is a legislative vote of much more than a simple majority. a) megamajority b) majormajority c) supermajority d) ultramajority

c) supermajority

The ______ is one of the largest teachers' unions in the United States with 1.7 million members. a) National Teachers Organization b) National Endowment for the Educator c) American Teacher Federation d) American Federation of Teachers

d) American Federation of Teachers

Local governments draw their power as a government from the ______. a) state government b) federal government c) voting public d) U.S. Constitution

d) U.S. Constitution

Some states elect their chief state school officer, and in others, it is a(n) ______ position. a) internally selected b) inherited c) spoils d) appointed

d) appointed

Jail time is the result of a guilty verdict in a ______ trial. a) family court b) civil c) appellate d) criminal

d) criminal

In nearly every state, the responsibility for creating a state budget lies in the ______. a) house of representatives b) legislature c) department of the treasury d) governor's office

d) governor's office

Local governments that seek to make decisions without interference from the state government can apply to be granted ______ status. a) sovereign municipality b) special district c) protected locality d) home rule

d) home rule

Medicaid is an entitlement program, which means that it provides all citizens with ______. a) access to health care in participating states b) subsidized doctor's visits for the elderly c) health insurance d) legally enforceable rights

d) legally enforceable rights

Governors often spend time ______ in Washington, D.C., to try to gain money for their states. a) lawmaking b) networking c) filibustering d) lobbying

d) lobbying

A ______ area is a populous region typically comprising a city and surrounding communities that have a high degree of social and economic integration. a) electoral b) population c) zoning d) metropolitan

d) metropolitan

A(n) ______ is a mutual agreement between parties to end a civil case before going to trial. a) verdict b) plea bargain c) appeal d) settlement

d) settlement

The problem faced by regional governmental concerns is that the political geography of municipal units no longer aligns with the ______ geography of that area. a) political culture b) interstate commercial c) demographic d) socioeconomic

d) socioeconomic