UT Austin Texas Government Credit Exam

electing legislators

- November general elctions in even-numbered yrs - election form single-memeber districts - 2-yr term for house and 4-yr term for senators - special elections called by governor fill vacancies

Texas Campaign Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1973

- every candidate and political committee must appoint treasurer before accepting contributions or expenditures - contributions >500 out-of-state permitted onlu if names are disclosed - detailed financial reports required including all contributions and expenditures over 50 - violators face civil/criminal penalties no enforcement and no limit

Lieutenant Governer

- four year terms - appoints members to committees - assigns bills to committees - the tie breaker - chair the legislative budget board and Legislative council - vice-chair of Leg. Audit committee and Education board - member of the LRB

Comptroller of Public Accounts

- in charge of tax collection, accounting, estimating revenue for the state, and acts as custodian of state funds and investments

Texas Secretary of State

- in charge of voter registration - keeping records of all debt and Uniform Commercial Code fillings - appointed by the governor and approved by the senate

Requirements to run for the Texas House of Reps.

- must be at least 21 - legal resident of the state for the past two years - resident of their district for at least one year - US citizen

Requirements to run for the Texas Senate

- must be at least 26 - legal resident of the state for the past 5 years - resident of their district for at least one year - US citizen

Attorney General

- opinions on public policy has the force of law - "the state's lawyer" - generally doesn't work on criminal cases; mainly advises when asked

Public Utilities Commission

- oversees rates and enforces rules and laws related to electricity and telecommunications

How senators are in the Texas Senate?

31

How long is the waiting period that members must wait in before acting on legislation

60 days

Committees in the House and Senate that deal with taxes and appropriations

House: Ways and Means Committee Appropriations Committee Senate: Finance Committee Business and Commerce Committee

Interest Group scorecards

Interest groups create scorecards ranking how well candidates align with there interests

T or F: The Texas House has always had single-member districts

False, up until a Supreme Court decision in 1972, House reps where elected in multi-member districts

D

Which of the following Texas Constitutions established the Republic of Texas, where Texas was a free, sovereign, and independent nation? a. 1836 b. 1866 c. 1861 d. 1845 e. 1869

C

Which of the following groups has not changed appreciably, as a percent of the Texas population, since 1980? a. Anglo (non-Hispanic) b. Native American Indian c. African American d. Asian e. Hispanic

C

Which of the following is not a purpose of the U.S. constitution? a. legitimize government b. grant powers to government c. establish local units of government d. organize government e. limit government

a legislative resolution

a formal statement of opinion or a specific decision. can be issue by either chamber

home rule

allows a city to write its own charter and make changes in it without legislative approval; population over 5,000

State Affairs Committee

Prestigious committee that deals with operation of the state government

Connecticut Compromise

Proposed two chambers for legislative branch: one with the number of representatives based on state population and the other with fixed number of senators per state. Different for Texas legislature: Senate represents larger districts and more broad concerns for state (have longer terms than House of Rep. reps). Representatives in the House have shorter terms and represent smaller districts. They are more in tune with the ever changing needs of the people.

Legislature Administrative Power

Ratify gubernatorial appointments Create, abolish and redefine state agencies Require report and special reporting from state agencies Approve state agency budgets

Jacksonian democracy

Short terms of office for public officials. An expansion of individual participation in government. The spoils system of appointing the victor's supporters to office. Long ballots with most offices up for popular vote.

Who is given the position of President of the Senate

The Lieutenant Governor is given this position by the Texas Constitution. The Lt. Gov. is an elected via a statewide election.

Ratify gubernatorial appointments

The appointments made by the governor must have two-thirds approval vote in the senate

True or False: The Texas Legislative Branch is the least weak of the three branches

True

Ethics Commission

Which Texas government agency was created in 1991 and given the power of recommending legislative salaries

regular session

biennial; 140 calendar days

special sessions

called by governor; max 30 days; governor determines schedule

Senatorial Standing Committees

chair and members are appointed by the lieutenant governor deal with public policy

general election

choose state and national executives and legislators; even-numbered years on tuesday after first monday in november

general-law

cities must operate under statewide statutes

comptroller of public accounts

collects state's taxes and determines whether enough revenue exists to fund state budget; keeps state money; elected by people

local governments

counties, municipalities, special districts

1991 Texas Ethics Law

created ethics commission that could hold hearings on public complaints, levy fines, and report violations to Austin distric attorney; no limits on campaign contributions; required super majority for actions

1876

date of ratification of the 6th texas constitution (6th)

10,20

days until bill becomes law without governor signature if legislature is in session, not insession

House Procedural Committees

dedicated to regulating the functioning and operations of the house itself Example: Calendar Committee - decides when bills are heard on the floor

in-house lobbyist

employed directly by the interest groups themselves (e.g. Vice President of Legislative Affairs

Senatorial Special Committees

essentially subcommittees of permanent committees created to study important issues

Sunset Act

established procedure for reviewing existence of all statutory boards, commissions, and departments except colleges/universities

Grange

farmer's organization; white supremacy; influenced current constitution of 1876

special elections

fill vacancies; nonpartisan

interim committee

formed to consider bills when the legislature is not in session - can be formed to study a particular issue that arose at the end of the previous session

1/3

fraction of state revenue from federal grants

Name the three types of bills that can be introduced in the legislature

general, special and local

constitution purposes

give legitimacy, organize government, grant specific powers, limit government powers

item veto

governor can remove sections of appropriations bills

30, 5

governor must be at least __ yrs old and lived in TX __ yrs prior to election

public interest group

groups that seek influence public policy for the benefit of the general population

private interest group

groups that seek to influence public policy for the specific and often exclusive benefit of their members or people with similar interests

primary election

held within a party to nominate candidates for general election or choose presidential nominating convention delegates

conservative

hostility to government activity, especially in the economic sphere, and a complementary faith in the judgment of businesspeople

26

how old member so the TX senate must be; residents for 5

21

how old members of the TX house but be; residents for 2, 1 in district

public advocacy firm lobbyist

hybrid of the other two types. work for law firms or public advocacy firms that businesses and interest groups can hire.

legislative redistricting board

if legislature fails ot redistrict itself, lieutenant governor/speaker of house/comptroller of public accounts/general land commissioner/attorney general redictrict for them

Conference Committee

include members of both chambers and are formed to resolve differences in bills that passed by each house that deal with same issue. Consists of five members from both chambers.

Contract Lobbyist

independent professionals who are hired to represent an interest group for a fixed period of time. Often represent multiple interest groups at the same time

bracket bills

legislation or proposed legislation intended to benefit a relatively narrow class of beneficiaries without directly naming them.

special districts

limited-purpose local governments that have taxing authority; e.g. school districts

senate

location of impeachment trial

legislature

location of initiation for amendment proposal (regular or special session)

2/3

majority of House/Senate (100/21) required to submit proposed constitutional amendments to voters

simpole majority

majority of citizens needed for ratification of constitutional amendments

house

majority vote here impeaces executive

counties

most restricted; administrative and judicial; commission form of government that combined executive and legislative authority and is headed by a judge; fragmented

10

number of days governor has to dispose of acts

Baker v. Carr

one person one vote

Wesberry v. Sanders

one-person one-vote applied to US House districts

Reynolds v. Sims

one-person one-vote applied to state legislative districts

20

percentage cut off for primary election requirement (smaller can choose by nominating convention)

lieutenant governor

presides over Texas Senate; elected by people

commissioner of General land Office

protects state environment and administers public lands; elected by people

Texas Railroad Commission

regulate intrastate transportation and oil/gas industry; elected by people

House Substantive Committee

similar to senatorial Standing Committees; deal with issues of public policy

Three types of resolutions

simple resolution joint resolution concurrent resolution (a formal statement of opinion but does not carry the force of law)

attorney general

state lawyer; elected by people

constitution of 1845

statehood constitution; bsed on Jacksonianism

Article IIIq

stipulates that Texas legislature composed of Senate (31) and HofRep (150)

4 yr

term of governors

line-item veto

the governor may veto certain items in an appropriations bill.

gerrymandering

the manipulation of political boundaries and/or electoral constituencies to favor one party over another

joint resolution

the mechanism used to propose amendments to the Texas Constitution. passed by both chambers of the legislature

T or F: The legislature can override the governor's veto with a 2/3 vote in both chambers

true

True or False: Texas legislatures are elected in single-member districts and districts are redrawn ever 10 years

true

Ad hoc committees

used to study specific issues, problems or questions

2/3

vote of both houses required to override governor veto

2/3

vote of senate needed to convict executive with impeachment

senate

which house has unlimited debate

How many representatives are in the Texas House of Rep. ?

150

Terrell Election Law

1903; forbid corporations to contribute money directly to candidates for public office

No Child Left Behind

2001; national education standards for schools in all states passed by Bush

Political Action Committee (PAC)

An entity other than a political party that raises and sends money to elect or defeat candidates. PACs are regulated under both federal and state law.

How often does the Texas Legislature hold its regular session?

For 140 days every other year.

C

In which of the following areas would Texas have the least influence? a. Determining how it will tax its citizens. b. Enforcing laws and administering justice. c. Controlling its border with Mexico. d. Setting educational standards. e. Regulating industry within the state.

What happens to a bill at the end of the regular sessions if it hasn't been passed or denied?

It dies

What are Special Sessions

Special sessions are legislative sessions that the governor can call for after the regular session is over. He can call for as many as he or she wants and the governor dictates the content of the session.

How long are the terms of office for legislative positions?

The house have elections every two years where all seats are up for grabs The senate has elections every two years where only half the members are up for re-election. Which half is up for election is rotated every two years. Each term is four years long. This staggering restarted after re-redistricting. Senators draw straws for who gets a four-year or two-year term.

Who impeaches and who tries the case?

The house impeaches and the senate tries the case