Unit 2 exam

Which state pays its governor the highest salary?

California

What U.S. Supreme Court case in 1972 effectively suspended the death penalty because it was unfairly applied to many crimes and because of the lack of safeguards in place in many states?

Furman v. Georgia

In what way are Texas, Montana, Nevada, and North Dakota similar?

In all, the state legislature only meets every other year.

Assume both the Texas House and Senate have passed omnibus transportation bills. The bills are almost identical, with slight differences. How will these differences be reconciled prior to the bill being sent to the governor for consideration?

In conference committee

If the office of governor is vacated in Texas, the order of succession is

Lieutenant governor, president pro tempore, speaker of the house, attorney general

According to Table 6.3, 2020 Incarceration Rate per 100,000 Residents by State (top 10 states), which state has the highest rate of incarceration?

Mississippi

Which of the following is NOT a division of the Texas Department of Public Safety?

Public Safety Commission

Who was the first Texas governor elected to three consecutive four-year terms?

Rick Perry

The chief record keeper and election official for the state of Texas is the

Secretary of State

Unlike most other statewide governing offices, what governing body has varied greatly in form and structure over the years?

State Board of Education

What tool is used to forecast state economic growth, keep track of business cycles, and generally provide information on the health of the economy of Texas?

State of Texas Econometric Model

What institution replaced the Texas Youth Council and Texas Youth Commission?

Texas Juvenile Justice Department

The secretary of state publishes the ________Blank, which is the source of official notices or rules, meetings, executive orders, and opinions of the attorney general that are required to be filed by state agencies.

Texas Register

Which of the following is true of the current status of redistricting in Texas?

Texas doesn't have to get preclearance from the Justice Department for its redistricting maps.

Texas has a relatively high execution rate even though

Texas has likely put innocent people to death.

How does Texas compare to other states in terms of the number of permanent and session-only staff members supporting legislators?

Texas has more staff members than most states

What is one reason estimates of the cost of private prisons per inmate might not be accurate?

The state of Texas pays for inmate medical care.

Criminal justice reforms such as drug courts and closing prisons may appeal to some conservatives because

These reforms can save the state money

Which of the following statements about race and gender in the criminal justice system is accurate?

Women commit crime at a lower rate than men.

In an average legislative session in the Texas legislature, only about ________Blank of all bills make it out of committee to be considered in full session.

a third

Persons under the age of 18 who commit crimes

cannot be sentenced to death or to life in prison.

By recommending policy initiatives to state legislators and coordinating with state agencies that administer programs and implement policies, the governor is demonstrating their role as

chief legislator.

Most of the work of the attorney general involves ________Blank rather than ________

civil law; criminal law

Which office created in 1876 functions as the chief fiscal and revenue forecasting office and is responsible for investing state funds?

comptroller of public accounts

Of the primary steps that a bill goes through to become a law, which of the following may or may not be necessary?

conference committee action

The voters of Wisconsin voted to not recall Governor Walker in 2011 mainly because they

did not like the idea of using a recall to remove a governor.

Enhanced punishments are intended to

discourage recidivism.

Based on emerging patterns in where civil lawsuits are heard, what kind of court is most likely to hear a civil suit over a divorce settlement?

district court

As a result of Hunt v. Cromartie (1999)

drawing "safe" districts for both political parties was deemed permissible.

Because of high levels of controversy surrounding redistricting, some states have put redistricting under the control of

independent bodies

When a governor coordinates activities with other state governments, they are fulfilling the role of

intergovernmental coordinator.

In Texas, the lieutenant governor

is elected separately from the governor but succeeds the governor should the office be vacated.

In 2005, the Texas legislature passed a bill adding which change to the sentencing phase of capital cases?

life without parole

According to Map 4.1, Woman Governors, approximately what proportion of states had a woman governor at one point?

more than half

Fundamentally, the Supreme Court decisions in Baker v. Carr and Reynolds v. Sims were based on the principle of

one person, one vote

A proliferation of mens rea convictions would likely be the result

overcriminalization

The House Insurance Committee is hearing testimony from the Texas Department of Insurance about the effectiveness of recent procedural changes within the department. Which legislative function is this committee demonstrating?

oversight

Which phrase refers to the inherent power of the state to protect persons legally incapable of protecting themselves?

parens patriae

When a governor acts as head of their political party, they are fulfilling the role of

party chief

The lieutenant governor is not formally a senator and cannot vote except in cases of a tie, yet he or she has great power over the senate. Why?

powers similar to those of the speaker of the house

Civil law has to do with

private relationships.

Free or reduced-fee legal representation is known as

pro bono

The vast majority of crime in Texas involves

property

The Timothy Cole Act was passed to

provide compensation for wrongfully incarcerated individuals.

When drawing legislative districts,

race can be used as long as it is not the predominate factor.

What is currently the Texas Railroad Commission's primary function?

regulation of the oil and gas industry

Under the new Juvenile Justice Code, what is the primary goal?

rehabilitation

The main function of the Sunset Advisory Commission is to

review state agencies to decide if they are still needed

The Sunset Advisory Commission

reviews most state agencies every 12 years.

In the process known as ________Blank, the governor must clear his or her appointments with the state senator from the appointee's home district.

senatorial courtesy

Compared to 2019, the crime rate in Texas in 2020 was

slightly lower

A state senator that usually considers all the options and then chooses the one he or she believes is the best is demonstrating the ________Blank representational role.

trustee

The power of the Texas governor to remove government officials is

very weak

High turnover rates in the Texas legislature are due primarily to

voluntary retirement

The governor of Texas's salary is ________Blank per year.

$153,750

What are the 5 powers formal house rules grant to the Speaker of the House that cause many to believe the Speaker of the House is the most powerful position in Texas government?

1. Appoint the chairs of all committees. 2. Appoint most of the members of each standing committee 3. Appoint members of the calendar and procedural committees, conference committees, and other special and interim committees. 4. Serve as presiding officer over all sessions. Allowing the speaker to recognize members on the floor who want to speak, generally interpret house rules, decide when a vote will be taken, and decide the outcome of voice votes. 5. Refer all bills to committees. The speaker has discretion in deciding what committee will receive a bill, including favorable committees.

What are the 5 powers of the Lieutenant Governor that make the Texas Lieutenant Governor more powerful than Lieutenant Governors in other States.

1. Appoint the chairs of all senate committees. 2. Select all members of all senate committees. No formal seniority rule applies in the senate. 3. Appoint members of the conference committees. 4. Serve as presiding officer of the senate and interpret rules. 5. Refer all bills to committees.

What are the 5 powers formal house rules grant to the Speaker of the House that cause many to believe the Speaker of the House is the most powerful position in Texas government?

1. Enforce rules of the house 2. power to recognize people to speak on house floor 3. refer bills to committees in which their jurisdiction lies and can call for the vote on questions on the floor during debate 4. appointment of select committees to work on a bill 5. appoint members to major committee assignments and coordinate committee system

How many states, including Texas, do not limit how long a person can serve as governor?

14

How long is the Texas legislative session

140 days

About ________Blank of Texas House seats were considered competitive in the 2018 election.

17%

How many deaths occurred between 2005 and 2021 in municipal jails in Texas?

188

In 2021 the percentage of women in the Texas legislature was about

27%

The trend in Texas over recent decades has been a slowly increasing number of representatives who are people of color. How many Hispanic legislators served in the Texas legislature in 2021, compared with the percent of population?

41; 37%

Since the end of World War II, Texas has had one female governor:

Ann Richards

Identify the 3 types of law and the types of cases each is concerned with.

Civil-Civil cases are disputes between individual citizens and involve the idea of responsibilities, not guilt. Criminal- Criminal cases are those cases brought against individuals for violations of law—crimes against society. In these cases, representatives of the state prosecute individuals. Family-Family law includes cases related to marriage, divorce, child custody, and age of consent

How did the Supreme Court treat gerrymandering issues in 2019?

It allowed partisan gerrymandering by ruling that judgments about it are beyond the reach of the judiciary.

To be eligible to run for the Texas House you must

be a "qualified" voter.

A state legislature that uses part-time, lower-paid legislators operating under biennial sessions and low staff resources could be said to

be of low legislative professionalism

Which burden of proof is used in criminal matters?

beyond a reasonable doubt

Which of the following defines tenure of office?

both the legal ability of elected officials to succeed themselves and the term length

In what manner are county sheriffs chosen for service?

elected by county voters for a four-year term

What is the first formal act of the Texas House at the beginning of a legislative session?

electing a speaker of the house

In criminal cases, the state is required to share with the defense any information or evidence that could assist the accused. This evidence is called

exculpatory evidence

In its 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision about voting rights, the Supreme Court

found unconstitutional a portion of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Multimember districts promote broad representation, and single-member districts can promote ________Blank representation.

geographical

Which state government sector has the largest number of employees?

higher education

The largest expenditure of state funds is for

human resources

According to Table 6.3, 2020 Incarceration Rate per 100,000 Residents by State (top 10 states), what region of the country has the highest incarceration rates? Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas

the South