UNIT 4 Test
It is estimated that undocumented immigrants paid ______ in state and local taxes in 2014.
1.6 Billion
In Texas, felony juries are composed of ______ people and misdemeanor juries are composed of ______.
12; 6
in 2016, approximately what percentage of Texans lived below the poverty line?
15
How many major water reservoirs are currently in Texas?
188
In Texas, the state and local governments can both levy sales taxes. These general state and local sales can combine to reach a rate of ______ percent.
8.25
In the 1960s, welfare policy in Texas reflected
A policy of minimizing the cost to Texas while maximizing the use of federal dollars.
Part of the opposition to the high-speed train project
Part of the opposition to the high-speed train project
A(n) ______ is a common method prosecutors use to maintain high conviction rates.
Plea bargain between the defendant and the state
In 1978, the Texas Constitution was amended (Article 8, Section 22), so that if the economy of the state shrinks,
appropriations to shrink as well
According to the Federal Highway Administration, 19 percent of the 53,000 bridges in Texas are rated as
being "structurally deficient" or "functionally obsolete."
Non-dedicated funds
can be used for any purpose
It is often quite difficult for people to readjust to life after prison because
families members may have moved, died, or cut off communications, thereby removing a support network.
In March 2010, Congress passed ______, substantially altering the nation's health care system.
The Affordable Care act
For which type of offenses are Texas prison inmates most likely to be imprisoned?
violent
Grand juries do not find people guilty of a crime but instead will
vote a "true bill"
During the 1980s, a growing number of critics alleged that welfare programs
were helping to create a dysfunctional underclass of people who depended upon it for survival
In Edgewood ISD v. Kirby, the key constitutional issue was
whether the phrase "an efficient system of free public schools" included school financing.
Constitutional carry
would not require gun training classes or any licensing process before someone could legally carry a weapon in public.
If you are convicted of a misdemeanor in Texas,
you retain your right to vote and possess a weapon.
Insurance occupation taxes are levied on
insurance premiums
in Brown v. Board of education, segregated school districts were ordered to
Desegregate their schools "with all deliberate speed"
In the 1972 San Antonio v. Rodriguez case, the supreme court ruled 5-4 that states such as Texas
Are not required to subsidize poorer school districts under the equal protection clause.
The Available School Fund, the State Instructional Materials Fund, and the Foundation School Fund are parts of which category of the Texas budget?
General Revenue Funds
in 2016, the Texas Supreme Court held that the existing system for funding public schools met the minimum constitutional provisions for
General diffusion of knowledge
In terms of per capita spending on education, Texas
Generally ranks among the bottom five states
How do policy makers define poverty?
Income
One effective way to improve public education in Texas that a majority of Democrats, Republicans, and Tea Party supporters would accept is
Increasing pay for teachers
Next to revenue generated by state taxes, the second-largest source of state revenue comes from
The federal government
Authorized by voters in 1991, the Texas state lottery generates a sizeable sum for the state budget. Which of the following statements regarding the Texas lottery is true?
The lottery is played by large numbers of people from all social classes.
In the case of Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Burrell Day and Joel McDaniel (2012), farmers argued that
They had the rights to the water based upon their ownership of the land above it
Around three-quarters of individuals on Medicaid in Texas are
Under 20
Even if you are not sentenced to jail time, how is your freedom of movement restricted if you are convicted of a drug-related offense?
Your driver's license is suspended for six months. You have the option to go to court to get an occupational driver's license, but then you have to get an expensive high-risk SR-22 car insurance policy.
It is through what process that the legislature legally authorizes a government agency or body to spend up to a particular amount of money?
appropriations
A(n) ______ is a lawyer who is appointed by a judge to represent an individual who can't afford legal representation.
assigned counsel
Federal matching funds are
awarded to states that agree to fund a federal program on behalf of their own citizens
As cars and trucks become more fuel efficient,
drivers are buying less gasoline, thereby reducing the amount of money collected by the state in fuel taxes
Most of the water in Texas is for
irrigation
Texas has a reputation of being a ________ state.
low service, low tax
Texas ranks ______ in terms of state spending per capita, and it ranks ______ in terms of how much money it gets from the federal government per capita.
low; high
If sentenced by a judge to probation, you would most likely have to do which of the following?
report to a probation officer on a regular basis, holding a steady job, paying fines or restitution, and abstaining from alcohol or drug use.
In order to use testimony from a jailhouse informant, prosecutors will now have to
share with the defense attorneys the criminal history of the jailhouse informant and anything offered to the informant in return for his or her testimony.
Most federal expenditures in Texas go to education and health and human services. However, in order to receive these funds, Texas must
spend state money in these areas first.
A consequence of Article 3, section 49a of the Texas Constitution, also known as the pay-as you go limit, is that
the plural executive has a significant influence in the budgeting process.
Many sheriffs opposed SB 4 because
they feared it would lead to people underreporting crimes.
A person convicted of a third felony can be sentenced to life imprisonment based on
three-strikes provision