Topic 4 POSI Exam

The Texas House of Representatives has _______ members.

150

A candidate must be at least ______ years old to run for governor in the state of Texas.

30

As of 2019, Tom Craddick, the representative with the longest tenure of service, has served ______ years. 50 12 34 25

50

A noncompetitive election district is one that can be counted on to have at least _______ percent of the vote for the dominant party in the district.

55

Which of the following is true of single-member districts? It promotes broader representation in the legislative body. A party or candidate must only win a plurality in order to win one seat. The districts are represented by more than one member in the legislature. Any candidate who does not win a majority must enter a runoff.

A party or candidate must only win a plurality in order to win one seat.

Select all that apply Which of the following conditions contribute to the strength of the Texas governor's veto power? The governor can use a "pocket veto." A two-thirds vote of each house is required for an override. The governor can use a partial veto on nonappropriations bills. The members of the legislature cannot call an "extraordinary" session.

A two-thirds vote of each house is required for an override. The members of the legislature cannot call an "extraordinary" session.

What U.S. Supreme Court decision, decided in 1962, stated that "one man's vote" should equal any others "as nearly as practicable"? Reynolds v. Sims Baker v. Carr Hunt v. Cromartie Perry v. Perez

Baker v. Carr

Order of Bill Becoming a law

Bill is introduced, standing committee, committee action, calendar committee, floor action, other chamber, subsequent legislative action on bill, governor acts on bill

Which lieutenant governor of Texas used his position to influence politics throughout the state and caused some internal rifts between moderates and conservatives within the Republican Party? Dan Patrick Joe Strauss Bill Hobby Dennis Bonnen

Dan Patrick

True or false: In the past, coalitions in the Texas legislature organized more around party than around ideology, but ideology has played a much larger role in recent years. True False

False

When drawing legislative districts in accordance with the "one person, one vote" rule, only eligible voters must be counted. True False

False

Select all that apply Which two officials have been impeached, convicted, and removed from office in Texas? Governor James Ferguson Governor Greg Abbott Speaker Tom Craddick Judge O.P. Carillo

Governor James Ferguson Judge O.P. Carillo

Which of the following best describes governors' roles with respect to their political party in Texas? Governors can influence the choice of party leadership but do not control the party. Governors are required to attend their state's party convention. Governors are not expected to be involved with their party. Governors have ultimate control over their party in the state.

Governors can influence the choice of party leadership but do not control the party.

Which of the following best describes governors' roles with respect to their political party in Texas during the one-party era? Governors were not expected to be involved with their party. Governors were required to attend their state's party convention. Governors could influence the choice of party leadership but could not control the party. Governors had ultimate control over their party in the state.

Governors had ultimate control over their party in the state.

If the Texas governor receives a bill and neither signs nor vetoes it, what happens to the bill? It is dead. It becomes law. It goes to conference committee.

It becomes law.

Select all that apply Which of the following are true of the salary of the Texas legislature? It has not been increased in more than forty years. It is in line with the traditionalistic political culture of the state. It leads most legislators to consider themselves part-time. It encourages people to run for office in order to earn supplemental income.

It has not been increased in more than forty years. It is in line with the traditionalistic political culture of the state. It leads most legislators to consider themselves part-time.

Which of the following Texas speakers was known for being mild-mannered and bipartisan? Joe Straus Tom Craddick Pete Laney Billy Clayton

Joe Straus

As a result of the Texas House and Senate adjourning the 2001 session without approving new redistricting plans, the ______ was left to establish new districts for the Texas House and Senate. federal government attorney general Legislative Redistricting Board governor

Legislative Redistricting Board

Constitutionally, the governor's veto can be overridden. Why does this rarely happen in practice? Politically, no majority in either chamber is willing to risk public disagreement with the governor. A bill would not reach the governor without the full support of house and senate leadership. Most bills are passed in the last days of the session, leaving no time for overrrides.

Most bills are passed in the last days of the session, leaving no time for overrrides.

The initial redistricting maps drawn by the Texas legislature in 2011 favored ______. Democrats Hispanic populations minority communities Republicans

Republicans

Select all that apply Which of the following gained seats in the Texas legislature because of the redistricting that occurred in the 1990s and into the 2000s? third parties Republicans underrepresented racial and ethnic groups Democrats

Republicans underrepresented racial and ethnic groups

What U.S. Supreme Court decision, decided in 1964, stated that both houses of state legislatures had to be reapportioned based on population, and that state legislative districts needed to be roughly equal in population? Multiple choice question. Baker v. Carr Perry v. Perez Hunt v. Cromartie Reynolds v. Sims

Reynolds v. Sims

What former Texas governor served in the Trump administration as secretary of energy? Greg Abbott Bill Clements Mark White Rick Perry

Rick Perry

Select all that apply Which of the following are characteristic of state legislatures according to Thomas R. Dye? State legislatures put statewide interests in the forefront. State legislatures reflect the socioeconomic conditions of their states. State legislatures are the primary source of policy change. State legislators are predominantly influenced by local interests. State legislators are insulated from economic conditions.

State legislatures reflect the socioeconomic conditions of their states. State legislators are predominantly influenced by local interests.

In Texas's 2001 redistricting, the proposed redistricting map had to be submitted to a federal court. Why? The 1965 Voting Rights Act required it. The 2003 redistricting had been such a debacle that the federal courts required it. All redistricting maps have to be submitted to a federal court.

The 1965 Voting Rights Act required it.

Which of the following is true about the compensation received by the Texas legislature? Multiple choice question. The Texas legislature does not receive compensation when they are not in session. The Texas legislature's salaries have not increased since 1975. The Texas legislature is one of the highest paid legislatures in the country. The Texas legislature does not receive per diem pay.

The Texas legislature's salaries have not increased since 1975.

Select all that apply What happens to a bill that passes initially in the Texas house but is then amended in the Texas senate? The house can kill the bill or send it back to the standing committee. The bill gets sent to the governor for resolution. The house can accept the senate amendments or send the bill to conference committee. The bill dies and must be reintroduced in the house.

The house can accept the senate amendments or send the bill to conference committee.

How do lieutenant governors assume office? The lieutenant governor is elected by the house. The lieutenant governor is elected by the senate. The lieutenant governor is appointed by the governor. The lieutenant governor is elected by voters.

The lieutenant governor is elected by voters.

Which of the following is true of the Texas lieutenant governor's power? The powers of the lieutenant governor are assigned by the governor at the beginning of his or her term. The lieutenant governor is elected by a majority vote of the senate. The powers of the lieutenant governor are assigned by the house. The lieutenant governor must forge an alliance with key senators to effectively utilize the powers of the office

The lieutenant governor must forge an alliance with key senators to effectively utilize the powers of the office.

Impeachment is a political process. True False

True

______ is a representational role of a member that states that the member will make decisions based on his or her own judgment about what is best for voters. Delegate Trustee Party boss Demagogue

Trustee

Who or what was most instrumental in the redistricting map that was passed by both houses of the Texas legislature in mid-October 2003? U.S. Congressman Tom DeLay the United States Supreme Court Attorney General John Ashcroft U.S. Senator John Cornyn

U.S. Congressman Tom DeLay

Texas Democrats managed to win 17 of 32 congressional seats up for election the 2002 election cycle. What happened next? Multiple choice question. Democrats and Republicans expressed satisfaction over the new redistricting plan. Republicans requested the congressional district map to be redrawn by a three-member panel of judges. Republicans asserted that the election was fraudulent and requested a re-vote. U.S. House Majority Leader Tom Delay proposed an unprecedented mid-decade redistricting.

U.S. House Majority Leader Tom Delay proposed an unprecedented mid-decade redistricting.

Which of the following are among the formal qualifications for being a member of the Texas House? Multiple select question. a U.S. citizen has lived in Texas for two years college educated fluent in English at least twenty-one years old

a U.S. citizen has lived in Texas for two years at least twenty-one years old

Which of the following would be barred from holding a seat in the Texas state government? Multiple choice question. a person who is not a registered voter in Texas a person who has only lived in the state for nine years a convicted felon a person with no background in the law

a convicted felon

Because Texas must have a balanced budget, each bill considered by the Texas legislature must have ______. a fiscal note that explains the cost of the bill to the state if it is adopted a promise that it will not raise taxes authorization and agreement by the senate and house budget committees prior approval of the lieutenant governor

a fiscal note that explains the cost of the bill to the state if it is adopted

Political gerrymandering refers to legislative districts drawn to the advantage of ______. a minority group a political party the federal over state government Democrats over Republicans

a political party

In impeachment, what must happen to remove a Texas official from office? a house vote in favor of impeaching the official a majority vote in both the house and the senate a trial held in the house a two-thirds vote in the senate

a two-thirds vote in the senate

Members of state boards and commissions are ______. appointed by the senate elected by the people appointed by the governor appointed by the house

appointed by the governor

Most bills that die in the Texas legislature do so ______. after passing the house but not the senate before being assigned to a committee at the committee level when they are vetoed by the governor

at the committee level

In 2017, Lt. Governor Patrick lashed out at Speaker Joe Straus over failure to pass legislation dealing with what? gerrymandering same-sex marriage bathroom access for transgender persons abortion access

bathroom access for transgender persons

The Texas legislature is ______, meaning that it has two chambers: the senate and the house of representatives. Multiple choice question. bisectional bilateral biennial bicameral

bicameral

The term ______ implies a hierarchy of offices with levels of power leading to a centralized controlling authority. bureaucracy federalism government plural executive

bureaucracy

The speaker of the Texas house is chosen ______. in a statewide election every 2 years by majority vote of the members of the house by the governor, who makes the appointment in a statewide election every 4 years

by majority vote of the members of the house

Special sessions of the Texas legislature ______. Multiple choice question. can only be called by the legislature can be called by either the governor or the legislature are forbidden by the state constitution can only be called by the governor

can only be called by the governor

Legislators in Texas are most likely to ______. be insulated from economic conditions champion local interests draft and pass innovative policy act in a trustee role at all times

champion local interests

Joint committees of the Texas house and senate that work out differences in bills passed in each chamber are referred to as ________ committees.

conference

Most of the money contributed to a state legislator's election campaign comes from ______. the legislative election fund established by the state contributors who live outside the representative's district contributors who live within the representative's district the representative's own bank account

contributors who live outside the representative's district

Select all that apply Which of the following are oversight responsibilities of the Texas legislature? pass budget and taxation legislation that will be implemented by the state agencies determine whether state agencies are providing the necessary functions assess the performance of state agencies keep track of the activities of state agencies

determine whether state agencies are providing the necessary functions assess the performance of state agencies keep track of the activities of state agencies

Select all that apply Which of the following are among the primary issues raised by reapportionment and redistricting? equity of representation minority representation gerrymandering when to start the process

equity of representation minority representation gerrymandering

The offices and committee hearing spaces for Texas legislators is best described as Multiple choice question. spacious but technologically outdated. excellent. cramped but technologically modern. abysmal.

excellent.

Compared with members of the state legislature, the Texas governor is ______. extremely well paid extremely underpaid paid a similar amount

extremely well paid

In order to qualify as governor in Texas, how long does one have to live in the state preceding the election? five years two years one year ten years

five years

Which of the following is an important informal qualification for becoming governor? having previously held elected office having newspaper endorsements making television appearances having proven to be a good decision maker

having previously held elected office

Legislators usually vote on bills based on ______. the long-term statewide consequences how the most persuasive speaker wants them to vote how the issue affects their district what has been proven effective in other states

how the issue affects their district

More important than the express qualifications that are required for election to governor are a person's _______ qualifications, like previously holding statewide elected office.

informal

What district maps were used in Texas's 2012 election cycle? interim maps that had been ordered by the federal court the maps that were used in the 2010 election cycle the maps the state of Texas had submitted, even though they had not received preclearance

interim maps that had been ordered by the federal court

Governors' formal powers to force the legislature to enact legislation, especially the veto authority and the power to call special sessions, are referred to as ________ powers.

legislative

Starting with the first in line of succession, place the order of succession if the governor dies or leaves office in the appropriate sequence according to the Texas Constitution. president pro tempore of Senate speaker of house lieutenant governor chief justices of the Court of Criminal Appeals in ascending order attorney general

lieutenant governor president pro tempore of the Senate speaker of the house attorney general chief justices of the Court of Criminal Appeals in ascending order

What tool can governors utilize if they do not like a portion of a proposed bill but generally approve of the bill overall? item-decline motion mini-veto item-purpose veto line-item veto

line-item veto

Normally, turnover is higher for the ______ than for the ______ in state legislatures. upper chamber; lower house lower house; upper chamber

lower house; upper chamber

According to the current law, legislative districts must be approximately equal in population and should also allow for ______. yearly reapportionment political gerrymandering proportional representation minority representation

minority representation

The Texas legislature has ______ permanent and session-only staff than most other states. more part-time and less full-time fewer about the same more

more

States with a higher degree of legislative professionalism have ______. lower legislative pay more staff support longer sessions biennial sessions

more staff support longer sessions

Compared to all other states, Texas ranks ______ most professional in the Squire Legislative Professionalism Index. forty-third fifth nineteenth thirty-fifth

nineteenth

Compared to executives of large corporations, the Texas governor is ______. not overpaid extremely overpaid extremely underpaid

not overpaid

Traditionally, how strong a factor has political party been in the Texas legislature? not strong very strong Partisanship is cyclical in Texas

not strong

A system in which voters elect many statewide officeholders to serve as heads of departments is known as what? singular executive structure plural executive structure complex executive structure collective executive structure

plural executive structure

A group that collects money for campaign contributions and other activities is known as a(n) _______ _______ committee.

political action

At what point in Texas history was the idea of electing almost all officeholders reintroduced? the 1960s World War I post-Reconstruction World War II

post-Reconstruction

The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Bush v. Vera (1996) ruled that ______. using race as the basis for drawing district lines was fundamentally unconstitutional political gerrymandering is allowable, but racial gerrymandering is not race can be considered when drawing district lines, but it cannot be the predominant factor

race can be considered when drawing district lines, but it cannot be the predominant factor

One of the major reasons for a lack of competition in Texas legislative races is ______. a lack of party identification in Texas the inability of either party to field opposition candidates minority support of Republican candidates racial and political gerrymandering

racial and political gerrymandering

Which of the following refers to the drawing of legislative districts to create minority districts? Multiple choice question. racial reapportionment racial gerrymandering multimember districting affirmative action

racial gerrymandering

Every ten years, following the census, representatives are allocated to districts in a process known as ______. Multiple choice question. turnover reapportionment gerrymandering redistricting

reapportionment

What might happen to legislative districts in Texas following a federal census? reapportionment filibuster pork barrel redistricting

reapportionment redistricting

Which of the following types of bills must originate in the House of Representatives? election process bills revenue bills civil liberties bills civil rights bills

revenue bills

Select all that apply Which of the following types of tax have been established by the Texas legislature? sales tax "sin" tax capital gains tax income tax franchise tax

sales tax "sin" tax franchise tax

In Texas, the governor and lieutenant governor are elected ______. separately jointly jointly, on a party ticket based on the winning candidates in the primary election

separately

Which of the following identifies the type of election system practiced in Texas? multimember districts at-large districts single-member districts proportional districting

single-member districts

Which position generally controls the passage of legislation in the Texas house? house majority whip speaker of the house lieutenant governor house majority leader

speaker of the house

Power in the Texas legislature is concentrated in the hands of which two individuals? speaker of the house and president of the senate speaker of the house and the lieutenant governor governor and secretary of state governor and lieutenant governor

speaker of the house and the lieutenant governor

Most of the work done in the Texas legislature is done in _________ committees.

standing

Which judicial agency licenses attorneys? Department of Licensing and Regulation Office of Court Administration state bar Texas State Law Library

state bar

The main source of revenue in Texas is the ______ tax. state income state franchise federal income state sales

state sales

Both the legal ability of governors to succeed themselves in office and the length of a governor's term are known as _______ of office.

tenure

A limitation on the number of times a person can be elected to the same office in a state legislature is referred to as a(n) _________ ________ .

term limit

Ultimately, who was successful in Texas's 2003 redistricting? Multiple choice question. the Democrats the Republicans

the Republicans

States in what region of the country were the last to move to longer terms for governors? the South the far West the Northeast the Midwest

the South

The rules regarding legislative sessions in Texas give the governor stronger veto powers because ______. the governor can call a special session to bolster support for his or her veto the length of the biennial session is too short to gather the votes to override a veto the legislature cannot call a special session after it has adjourned to override a veto the extraordinary sessions the legislature can call are constitutionally prevented from addressing a veto

the legislature cannot call a special session after it has adjourned to override a veto

Order the following actions in the correct sequence to successfully remove a governor from office, with the first action at the top. the senate holds a trial the governor is removed from office the lower house of the legislature adopts articles of impeachment the governor is convicted

the lower house of the legislature adopts articles of impeachment the senate holds a trial the governor is convicted the governor is removed from office

For most Texas governors, the gubernatorial office is ______ of their political career, after which they ______. Multiple choice question. a stepping stone; go on to higher elected office the beginning; seek federal office the mid-point; seek only governmental positions the peak; retire from public life

the peak; retire from public life

Who controls the output of legislation in the Texas legislature? the sergeant at arms and the lieutenant governor the speaker of the house and the governor the speaker of the house and the lieutenant governor the governor

the speaker of the house and the lieutenant governor

Select all that apply For what reasons would a professional group asked to be regulated by the state? to help mold rules and regulations that are favorable to the group to become the primary spokesperson for practitioners in the state to create regulations that would put their competitors out of business to protect the public from incompetent or dishonest practitioners

to help mold rules and regulations that are favorable to the group to protect the public from incompetent or dishonest practitioners

The number of new members of the legislature each session is referred to as ______. gerrymandering reapportionment turnover redistricting

turnover

Most bills are passed in the Texas legislature in the last _________ weeks of the session.

two

In order to control budget execution, the governor may ______. use his or her administrative discretion in deciding how money is spent defer all budgetary authority to the lieutenant governor allow all budgetary decisions to be open for public vote allow opposing party members to make fiscal decisions

use his or her administrative discretion in deciding how money is spent

Select all that apply In what way can the Texas legislature perform its oversight function? use of committees financial mechanisms the court system the Sunset Advisory Commission

use of committees financial mechanisms the Sunset Advisory Commission

The role of the Texas governor in budgeting is ______. constitutionally impermissible very limited extremely involved central to its creation

very limited

Government authority in Texas resides ______. within many independent state agencies primarily in a centralized executive in a bureaucracy

within many independent state agencies

Select all that apply The election for Texas speaker of the house is usually ______. won by a newcomer to the house won by a long-term member of the house predetermined before the session begins contested and highly controversial

won by a long-term member of the house predetermined before the session begins