Chapter 3 Federal Government

What is the pay of a member of the Texas legislature, taking into account salary and per diem compensation, in a year that the legislature is in session?

28,200

Resulting in part from efforts to increase minority representation in Texas, how many Hispanic legislators served in the Texas legislature in 2015?

41

In 2017 the percentage of women in the Texas legislature was about

?37? X

About________ of Texas House seats are considered competitive.

?6?

The lieutenant governor A)votes on all matters before the Texas House and Senate. B)is largely just a figurehead. C)controls the agenda of the Texas House. D)does not have to be from the same party that controls the Texas Senate.

?D)does not have to be from the same party that controls the Texas Senate.?

What is the annual limit on special legislative sessions in the state of Texas?

?None of these answers in correct

To be eligible to run for the Texas Senate you must

?have resided in the state for at least three years? X

According to Table 3.5, which chamber has a higher percentage of races in which the incumbent faces no general election candidate?

?house?

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

?independent commissions?

According to Table 3.5, does the house or senate have a greater percentage of safe Republican seats?

?senate?

What percentage of the Texas Senate is usually elected during a presidential election year? A)100 percent B)25 percent C)33 percent D)50 percent

A)100 percent

Based on Table 3.3, what can be said about legislators in populous southern states (like Texas, Georgia, and North Carolina) compared to legislators in other populous states? A)State legislators in populous southern statesearn less than legislators in populous states outside the South. B)State legislators in populous southern states earn more than legislators in other populous states nationwide. C)State legislators in populous states outside the Southearn less than legislators in populous southern states. D)State legislators in populous southern states earn about the same as legislators inother populous states nationwide

A)State legislators in populous southern statesearn less than legislators in populous states outside the South.

Which of the following is true of the current status of redistricting in Texas? A)Texas doesn't have to get preclearance from the Justice Department for its redistricting maps. B)Texas no longer has any districts drawn with political gerrymandering as a goal. C)Texas has handed its redistricting process over to an independent commission. D)Federal courts can no longer challenge the legality of Texas redistricting maps

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

How does Texas compare to other states in terms of the number of permanent and session-only staff members supporting legislators? A)Texas has more staff members than most states. B)Texas has about the same number of staff membersas other states. C)Texas has the most staff members of any state. D)Texas has fewer staff members than most states.

A)Texas has more staff members than most states.

Which of the following is NOT among the powers of the speaker of the house in the Texas House of Representatives? A)appointing all members of standing committees B)committee chair appointment C)appointing members to calendar committee D)bill referral to committees

A)appointing all members of standing committees

According to political scientists Lee Bernick and Charles Wiggins, which of the following should a legislator not do, according to the informal rules of state legislatures? A)be vocal about representing a specific interest group B)limit the number of bills he or she introduces C)take an early position on whether or not a bill should pass D)allow the real purpose of a bill to be known too early

A)be vocal about representing a specific interest group

A voter who wants his representative to make decisions based solely on the will of the people desires which type of representative? A)delegate B)professional legislator C)trustee D)citizen-legislator

A)delegate

In any given legislative session, most bills A)make only minor changes to existing law. B)die in conference committee. C)pass committee muster but are voted down after floor debate. D)clear every hurdle but are vetoed by the governor

A)make only minor changes to existing law.

In an average legislative session in the Texas legislature, only about________ of all bills make it out of committee to be considered in full session. A)half B)a third C)a tenth D)two-thirds

B)a third

After the sixtieth day, before a bill can be considered on the floor of the house (other than local and emergency bills), a four-fifths vote is required. Why? A)because a two-thirds super majority is always required in the house B)house rules about setting and cementing the agenda for bill consideration C)quorum requirements of the Texas Constitution D)None of these answers is correct.

B)house rules about setting and cementing the agenda for bill consideration

Fundamentally, the Supreme Court decisions in Baker v. Carr and Reynolds v. Sims were based on the principle of A)"he who has the gold makes the rules." B)one person, one vote. C)equal rights for minorities. D)states' rights.

B)one person, one vote.

Each election year, around ________ of Texas House races face no opposition in the general election. A)two-thirds B)one-third C)half D)a quarter

B)one-third X

Given the demographic makeup of the Texas legislature, which of the following people would be most likely to hold a seat? A)awoman B)aschoolteacher C)alawyer D)a28-year old

C)alawyer

In the case Evenwel v. Abbott, the plaintiffs argued that legislative districts should be drawn based on A)registered voters. B)total population. C)eligible voters. D)voter turnout.

C)eligible voters.

As a result of federal court rulings, A)seats in both chambers of the Texas legislature are based on population. B)each county gets one seat in the Texas Senate; and seats in the Texas House are based on population. C)seats in both chambers must be assigned by geographic unit rather than by population. D)each county can only have a maximum seven seats in the Texas House.

C)seats in both chambers must be assigned by geographic unit rather than by population. X

As of the 2010 census, there were about 811,147 constituents per state senate district in Texas. Which is the only state that had more constituents per senator?

California

How long is the Texas legislative session? A)two years B)one year C)6 months D)140 days

D)140 days

In what way are Texas, Montana, Nevada, and North Dakota similar? A)All have unlimited speed limits on certain controlled-access highways. B)They are all in the central time zone. C)All four voted for Mitt Romney in the 2012 election. D)In all, the state legislature only meets every other year

D)In all, the state legislature only meets every other year

Which of the following statements about reapportionment is NOT accurate? A)It is based on the federal census. B)It may cause a state to gain or lose congressional representatives. C)It occurs every 10 years. D)It redraws the congressional district boundaries within the state

D)It redraws the congressional district boundaries within the state

Redistricting is A)the drawing ofdistrict boundary lines for political advantage. B)the process of allocating U.S. senators to districts. C)carefully controlled by a commission of the United States Congress. D)the process of redrawing district boundaries.

D)the process of redrawing district boundaries.

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

Geographical

According to Map 3.1, in which region of the country can legislatures with the lowest proportion of women be found?

Northwest X

The Texas House and Senate can override a governor's veto with a________ vote.

Two-thirds

Which of the following is NOT an accurate argument in favor of annual sessions?

annual sessions afford legislators more time to study proposed legislation

Most campaign contributions for Texas legislature races come from

contributors who live outside the district

As a result of Hunt v. Cromartie (1999),

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

The practice of redrawing electoral boundaries for political advantage is known as

gerrymandering

Each election year, around ________ of Texas House races face no opposition in the general election.

half X

In any given legislative session, most bills

make only minor changes to existing law.

The main function of the Sunset Advisory Commission is to

oversee state agencies

When drawing legislative districts,

race can be used so long as it does not create majority-minority districts X

From the early through the mid-twentieth century, ________ areas were generally overrepresented in many state legislatures.

rural

Which type of legislative committee is most important?

standing

Who submits a recommended budget to the Texas legislature?

the legislative budget board

Why did 11 Texas senators go to Albuquerque, New Mexico on July 28, 2003?

they wanted to block a bill from passion in a special session

Why was the Legislative Redistricting Board's redistricting plan invalidated by a federal court in the early 1980s?

violation of the voting rights act