govt final
The origins of ranching and the cattle industry in Texas extend back to the late ________ century.
17th
Texas became an independent republic in __________ and part of the United States in _______.
1835-45
What is the maximum jail sentence in Texas?
2 years
Texas biennial budget is adopted:
2nd tuesday january
Currently, _________ states have the death penalty, while ________ (including Washington, DC) do not use the death penalty as a form of punishment within the criminal justice system.
31:20??
What is required in each chamber to override the comptrollers certified income amount?
4/5 approval and a new revenue source
As of 2021, what percentage of appellate judges in Texas were women?
49
There are how many commissioners elected to the commissioners court?
5
One major revenue source for Texas is the sales tax, which is
6.25%
Sales tax is expected to increase by ___% in the 2013-2015 budget?
9%
The budget surplus is best defined as?
A budgetary situation wherein projected revenues exceed projected expenditures
Who were the Radical Republicans?
A group of Republicans in the U.S. Congress who pushed through the inclusion of African American suffrage as well as the military occupation of the former states of the Confederacy after the Civil War.
special session
A legislative session called by the governor that addresses an agenda set by the governor and lasts no longer than 30 days.
What does the "three strikes" provision of Texas criminal law require?
A person convicted of three felonies (or in some cases two felonies) is sentenced to life imprisonment.
Why was the privatization of public property considered to be a vital task after Texas entered the Union in 1845?
At the time, Texas was "land rich but money poor" and privatization enabled the state to raise funds that could be used for vital purposes such as funding elementary, secondary, and higher education.
Which of the following is a source of controversy about how judges are selected in Texas?
Because most people do not contribute money to judicial campaigns and elections have become highly partisan and competitive, lawyers and other stakeholders finance the campaigns of the same judges who decide the outcomes of their cases.
What is the difference between civil and criminal forfeiture in Texas?
Civil forfeiture allows police to take property from a person, even when there is no charge of a crime.
The __________ is responsible for verifying the accuracy of motor fuel pumps and scales used by grocery stores and markets.
Commissioner of agriculture
Which of the following examples of criminal law in Texas is accurate?
Criminal courts would deal with cases in which a person allegedly shot and killed another person in a road rage event.
per diem
Daily payment to a public official engaged in state business.
What is one of the recent projected deficits that dominated budgetary policies during the 2017 session of the legislature?
Declining oil prices
Tax levied on the manufacture, transportation, sale or consumption of a particular item or items.
Excise Tax
Austin is located in the Basin and Range Province.
F
Between 1986 and 2020, all major statewide elected offices have been controlled by Republicans.
F
Since the first constitution in 1836, Supreme Court judges in Texas have always been elected.
F
Special elections are used to ratify amendments to the Texas Constitution, fill vacancies in offices, set the dates for legislative sessions, and to allow the state to borrow money.
F
Texas experienced a time of economic shrinkage—also known as recession—during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.
F
To allow for social distancing at the polling locations, counties are allowed to have one polling location open 24 hours a day for no more than 3 days during early voting.
F
National research university fund
Funds texas universities seeking national prominence as research institutions
Suppose you wanted to create a method of redistricting that would make races for the Texas legislature more competitive. Which plan would you recommend be enacted to do so?
Give the redistricting process to a non-partisan commission.
Bicameral
Having a legislative assembly composed of two chambers or houses.
hich of the following has not consistently experienced state funding cuts over the past three decades?
Health and human services
Which of the following statements about the legal process in Texas is correct?
In civil court, individuals called plaintiffs file complaints against other individuals called defendants over disputed obligations and responsibilities.
What does the Sandra Bland Act do?
It investigates jail deaths and offers alternatives to jailing people with mental or substance abuse problems.
What is the role of the Sunset Advisory Commission?
It recommends whether agencies should be abolished, continued, or modified.
Suppose the legislature begins proceedings examining potential misconduct of the state attorney general. Which nonlegislative power is most relevant?
Judicial power
Which of the following statements accurately describes the duties of a justice of the peace in Texas?
Justices of the peace are responsible for both civil and criminal matters that involve small claims and class C misdemeanors, most of which involve traffic violations.
The ability of the governor to use message power, veto bills, and call special sessions of the legislature are all part of his or her __________ powers.
Legislative
According to the Texas Constitution, in the event of the governor being unable to continue to serve in office because of illness, impeachment, death, resignation, or being away from the state, the __________ becomes governor.
Lieutenant governor
Which best describes Texas?
Low Service, Low Tax state
Which of the following was included in the Texas State Constitution of 1845?
Ownership of all public lands and minerals under these lands remained with the state
The Legislative Budget Board (LBB) was created by a 1949 law to
Recommend appropriations for all agencies of state government.
The railroad commission of texas:
Regulates oil and gas production in texas
Which of the following is one requirement you would have to provide in order to obtain an absentee ballot in Texas?
Signed and sworn affidavit from a treating physician attesting to your inability to physically be at the polling place on election day
Which of the following statements is true, based on a 2022 Texas Tribune and University of Texas poll?
Similar percentages of Texans identify as Democratic or leaning Democratic and Republican or leaning Republican.
Which type of resolution in the legislature can only pass in one chamber?
Simple resolutions
Between 2001 and 2010, the majority of amendments to the Texas Constitution have been approved by voters.
T
People of Asian origin make up about 5 percent of the population of Texas today.
T
State retirement systems are addressed in Article 16 of the Texas Constitution.
T
Texas is usually the largest producer of both cotton and livestock in the United States.
T
The Texas Constitution explicitly discusses the role of the state in providing education at all levels, including colleges and universities.
T
The Texas Constitution is often a place where special interests can seek to promote and protect their own agendas.
T
The first federal constitution that Texas operated under was the Mexican Constitution of 1824.
T
Where does Severance Tax revenue come from?
Tax levied on natural resources
What is the consequence of the requirement that the comptroller must certify that all bills proposed in the legislature are within available budget projections?
Texas has a pay-as-you-go limit to its budget process.
Based on international trade data,
Texas produces 20.5%
regular session
The 140-day period, occurring only in oddnumbered years, during which the Texas legislature meets to consider and pass bills.
How does the Texas Supreme Court differ from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals?
The Texas Supreme Court is the highest court to which civil appeals can go, while the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is the highest court for criminal appeals.
Which of these is a function of the attorney general of Texas?
The Texas attorney general's office gives advisory opinions on matters of state constitutional law to other state agencies.
The Texas Declaration of Independence listed which of these grievances against the Mexican government?
The government of Mexico failed to provide a system of public education.
While the Constitution of the Republic of Texas (1836) shared many elements with the U.S. Constitution, it also shared many elements with Spanish-Mexican law, including:
The idea of community property, whereby property by either spouse during marriage would be jointly owned
What is meant by the "budget execution authority"?
The legislatures power to establish rules for the expenditure of funds by state agencies
Which of the following statements about the Texas prison population is accurate?
The number of people incarcerated in Texas state prisons is higher than in any other state.
How is the Texas Bill of Rights different from the U.S. Bill of Rights?
There are rights contained in the Texas Bill of Rights that go beyond the protections granted in the U.S. Bill of Rights.
How are the members of the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement selected?
They are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate.
One of the powers of both the Speaker of the House and the lieutenant governor is the appointment power. Who can they appoint?
They can assign members to standing committees and appoint the chairs to those committees.
What is the primary function of the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct?
To investigate and discipline judges for violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct
Article 7 of the Texas Constitution covers the topic of Education. According to Article 7, what is the purpose of the State Board of Education?
To oversee the operations of elementary and secondary education throughout the state
The principal job of the legislative budget board is?
To recommend aportations for all agencies of state government
How does the plural executive differ from a cabinet form of government?
Voters elect most major statewide officeholders separately from the governor in a plural executive system.
Rainy day fund
Was designed to provide funding for the state during times of financial distress
Why do some constitutional amendments tend to have higher levels of turnout than others?
When the issue being voted on is of high importance to a particular group of people, they will be highly motivated to turn out to vote in the election.
A texas personal income tax
Would have to be approved by the voters, and the revenues from it would have to support public education
Texas has the reputation for being
a low-service, low-tax state.
Article 3 of the Texas Constitution sets up the Texas Legislature. It also does which of the following?
addresses numerous policy issues such as lotteries...
The one-person, one-vote principle means
all districts should have roughly equal populations.
Which is not a constitutional constraint on the budgetary process in texas?
annual budget
The Texas Constitution requires that the Texas budget be
balanced
According to the Texas Constitution, the governor must
be at least 30 years old
Which standard must be met to prove that the defendant is guilty in criminal cases?
beyond a reasonable doubt
In order to save time in the compressed legislative session,
bills are often introduced at the same time in both the Texas House and Texas Senate, in a process known as simultaneous consideration.
An executive budget is prepared and submitted by
by the governor, and indicates the governor's spending priorities.
A major difference between the Texas House and the U.S. House is
committee chairs come from both parties in the Texas House but not the U.S. House.
Who certifies the Texas biennial budget?
comptrolller
Which of the following reforms seeks to increase representation for people of color among Texas judges?
creating small judicial districts
What is one way the Constitution of 1876 allowed for popular control of government?
direct election of judges/public officials
Where does Texas spend the largest amount of state dollars?
education
Gas Tax can only be used for?
education/transportation
Prior to the Texas Revolution, Spanish and Mexican leaders relied on ________________ to encourage to people to move to Texas.
empresarios
Biennial
every 2 years
In a bicameral legislature, a bill only needs to be passed by either the House or Senate before it is sent to the governor to be signed into law.
false
In the Dallas Police Department, the photographic spreads used to help witnesses identify suspects can only be handled by officers who already know the identity of the suspect.
false
In the first stage of Texas' budgetary process, the governor's office develops a draft budget based on requests from state agencies.
false
Texas does not have a state income tax.
false
The clear and convincing evidence standard is generally applied in all criminal cases.
false
The program known as Aid to Families with Dependent Children was modified because its work requirements were too strict and the courts ruled it unconstitutional.
false
A serious criminal offense that subjects a person to state prison punishment is a(n)
felony
________ is the only Texas governor to be both impeached and convicted.
ferguson
Tax on business charted or organized in Texas and doing business in Texas.
franchise tax
Which of the following is an example of constituent service?
giving a speech at a town hall meeting
Who is the chief executive planning officer?
governor
The responsibility for preparing an initial draft of the budget belongs to
governor/legislature .... dual budget system
Federal expenditures primarily affect the state budget in which two areas?
health and human services and education
Compared to other states, Texas has a relatively _______ property and sales tax?
high
As of 2021, which city in Texas has the largest population?
houston
One way to reduce the regressive nature of the Texas tax system would be to
implement a state income tax
Who dominated the secession convention of 1861?
lawyers/slave owners
In theory, Texas has a dual-budget system, meaning the budget authority is shared by the governor and the legislature; however, in practice, the primary player(s) in the budget is/are
legislature
Under the Texas Constitution, who has the power of impeachment?
legistlative
Which are the dominant values of American political culture?
liberty, equality, justice
When the governor vetoes specific provisions of a spending bill passed by the legislature, this is known as a(n)
line item veto
Which of the following features of the Texas cutive enhances the power of the governor?
line-item veto
Texas is regarded as providing a _____ level of government services while having a ______ rate of taxation.
low/low
What is not a function of the Commissioners Court?
maintains public records
When Governor Greg Abbott called the National Guard to the U.S.-Mexico border to help with border security and to thwart human trafficking and drug trafficking, he was relying on his?
military and police powers.
What are federal matching funds?
monies going to a state based on the state's spending for a program
While new technologies such as horizontal drilling and fracking have allowed greater access to oil and natural gas in Texas, these technologies have also raised environmental concerns mostly due to
need for substantial amounts of water.
The General Revenue Funds budget is for
nondedicated revenue that functions as the state's primary operating fund.
What made Spindletop, Texas famous?
oil in 1901
Which of the following elements dominated the land-based economy of post-Reconstruction Texas and remains relevant today?
oil, cotton, cattle
How often does the Texas legislature meet in regular session?
once every two years for 140 days
Which of the following statements accurately characterizes the number of Texans living in poverty?
over 13%
County officials are elected in a ____________ election?
partisan
Which of the following is used by prosecutors to maintain high conviction rates?
plea bargains
The election for governor of Texas is held in an off-year in order to
prevent the presidential vote in Texas from influencing the election of state officials.
Which of the following is a major division in the contemporary Republican Party in Texas?
pro-business "establishment" Republicans and those who support Trump's populist agenda.
State agencies create their own strategic plan to
provide the information the Legislative Budget Board needs to make funding recommendations.
The lieutenant governor
recognizes members on senate floor
Texas used a system of early registration until 1971 that required which of the following:
register to vote more than nine months before
Which of these is the duty of the county attorney?
representing the state in misdemeanor criminal cases
As people have moved throughout Texas over time, the process of urbanization and suburbanization has tended to concentrate ________________ in rural areas and ___________________ in urban and even some suburban areas.
republicans: democrats
As part of the governor's military power, he or she can declare martial law in which of the following cases?
riots, floods, and natural disasters.
Which of the following is the top revenue source for the sate of Texas?
sales tax
One of the more recent criminal justice reforms in Texas involves the testimony of jailhouse informants and requires prosecutors to
share with the defense attorneys the criminal history of the jailhouse informant and anything offered to the informant in return for their testimony.
Single function government unit that services a specific group of people in a particular geographic area?
special district
If you want to get the overall picture of revenue for the State of Texas, then you should look at which of the following?
state revenue account
The Grange and Populist movements of the late nineteenth century were supported by which group?
tenant farmers
Texas is often characterized as a "low tax, low social service" state. Consequence of
the "traditionalistic individualistic" political culture in Texas.
Texas's political life grew out of which region?
the Gulf Coastal Plains
Which of the following is responsible for drawing districts in the legislature if they fail to do so at the first regular session of a new decade?
the Legislative Redistricting Board
The motivation to rewrite the Texas Constitution in the 1970s came primarily from
the aftermath of a financial scandal
One significant component of the budget process that is relatively unique to Texas is
the constitutional mandate that Texas legislators write a budget every two years
Article 3, Section 49a of the Texas Constitution, also known as the pay-as-you-go limit, requires that
the dedicated funds are mandated in the constitution and cannot be altered.
As a result of the trust funds and other direct funds in the state budget,
the governor controls most of the state budget process
When a bill is introduced in the state Senate, who refers the bill to committee?
the lieutenant governor
When drafting the Texas Constitution of 1876, the framers wanted to create a government based on which of the following principles?
the necessity of strong limitations on the power of state government
What is the purpose of a grand jury?
to determine whether there is enough evidence to justify a trial
Even though each special session is capped at 30 days, there is no limit on the number of special sessions a governor can call.
true
Governor Abbott called a special legislative session in 2021 to deal specifically with redistricting among other things.
true
Since the legislation only meets biennial, they must adopt a budget which covers the two years.
true
Texas has a pay as you go government spending program which requires a balanced budget.
true
The legislative branch of the county government is the commissioners court.
true
federal funding is the other source of highest revenue funding in TX.
true
Since 1850 there has been a marked shift of the population in Texas from rural to urban areas. This process is known as
urbanization
Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) was a program that
used federal and state funds to assist children who met certain qualification standards and was replaced by the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program in 1996.
Texas leads the nation in
verified instances of wrongful convictions
