Texas Gov 2306: Chapter 3
Which of the following types of tax have been established by the Texas legislature?
"sin" tax franchise tax sales tax
In the 2016 election cycle, approximately how much total money was contributed to candidates for the Texas House?
$75 million
After a legislator retires, what portion of his or her health and life insurance premiums are paid by the state?
100 percent
The Texas House of Representatives has ______ members.
150
Each legislative district in Texas elects ______ member(s) for each senatorial district and ______ member(s) for each house district.
1; 1
Women make up 50.4 percent of the Texas population. What percentage of the legislative seats in Texas are held by women?
20.4
The Texas Senate has ____ members.
31
People of color make up 57.1 percent of the Texas population. What percentage of the legislative seats in Texas are held by people of color?
35.9
If a Texas state legislator has 12 years of service, they can retire at age
50
A noncompetitive election district is one that can be counted on to have at least __________, Correct Unavailable percent of the vote for the dominant party in the district.
55
What are companion bills?
A member of the house and a member of the senate file an identical bill at the same time.
What happens to the consideration of bills in the Texas Senate after the first 60 days of the legislative session?
Additional restrictions are imposed before a bill can be considered.
What U.S. Supreme Court decision, decided in 1962, stated that "one man's vote" should equal any others "as nearly as practicable"?
Baker v. Carr
What court cases required that state legislative districts contain about the same number of citizens and led to the "one person, one vote" rule?
Baker v. Carr Reynolds v. Sims
What conservative Supreme Court justice joined with the more liberal wing of the Court in the Cooper v. Harris decision?
Clarence Thomas
______ refers to the concept that each member of the legislature will represent about the same number of people.
Equity of representation
True or false: Because of the 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder, federal courts can no longer challenge the legality of state district maps.
False
Which of the following accurately describes the power of Texas's speaker of the house?
Few bills pass without the speakers' approval
Which two officials have been impeached, convicted, and removed from office in Texas?
Governor James Ferguson Judge O.P. Carillo
How does the salary for legislators in Texas compare with that paid to legislators in the other nine most populous states in the U.S.?
It is the lowest salary for legislators.
The ________ Redistricting Board is a state board that has the authority to draw new district lines for the House and Senate if the legislature fails to act.
Legislative
The governor's office and what other office submit budgets to the legislature, which uses the two documents to create the budget for the state?
Legislative Budget Board
As a result of the Texas House and Senate adjourning the 2001 session without approving new redistricting plans, the ______ was left to establish new districts for the Texas House and Senate.
Legislative Redistricting Board
Constitutionally, the governor's veto can be overridden. Why does this rarely happen in practice?
Most bills are passed in the last days of the session, leaving no time for overrrides.
The 1876 Texas Constitution established what formula for determining now many senators a county could have?
No matter the population, a county could have only a single senator.
Which of the following correctly describe the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Hunt v. Cromartie?
Race can be a factor, but not the primary factor, in determining the makeup of legislative districts.
Because of the ruling in Hunt v. Cromartie, reapportionment in the 2001 session of the Texas legislature was much different than in the 1980s and 1990s. What changed?
Race could no longer be used as a predominant factor in drawing legislative districts.
Which groups gained seats in the Texas legislature because of the redistricting that occurred in the 1990s and into the 2000s?
Republicans minorities
The initial redistricting maps drawn by the Texas legislature in 2011 favored
Republicans.
What U.S. Supreme Court decision, decided in 1964, stated that both houses of state legislatures had to be reapportioned based on population, and that state legislative districts needed to be roughly equal in population?
Reynolds v. Sims
In Shelby County v. Holder (2013), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that
Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional.
What was established by the Texas legislature to review state agencies and determine whether they should be continued or abolished?
Sunset Advisory Committee
Fill in the blanks to complete the sentence. A limitation on the number of times a person can be elected to the same office in a state legislature is referred to as a(n) __________ __________
Term limits
In Texas, legislators' retirement pay is tied to the salary of state district judges. Who sets those judges' salaries?
Texas state legislators
In Texas's 2001 redistricting, the proposed redistricting map had to be submitted to a federal court. Why?
The 1965 Voting Rights Act required it.
Members of the Texas legislature are limited to how many terms in office?
The Texas legislature is not term limited.
Which of the following is true about the compensation received by the Texas legislature?
The Texas legislature's salaries have not increased since 1975.
What was unusual about attempts to redistrict Texas's congressional districts in 2003?
The governor called special sessions of the legislature to consider the issue. To avoid a quorum, a number of Democrats left the state. They took place mid-decade.
Which of the following is true of the Texas lieutenant governor's power?
The lieutenant governor must forge an alliance with key senators to effectively utilize the powers of the office
If a bill that is presented to both chambers has any differences, what actions can happen?
The originating chamber can vote to approve amendments adopted by the later chamber. The bill can go to conference committee.
Because of the decision in Shelby County v. Holder (2013), how have Texas's redistricting efforts changed?
The state no longer has to seek preclearance from the federal courts.
True or false: Apportioning seats in any legislative body is a highly political process.
True
True or false: Formal requirements are larger barriers to holding office in Texas than informal qualifications.
True
Who or what was most instrumental in the redistricting map that was passed by both houses of the Texas legislature in mid-October 2003?
U.S. Congressman Tom DeLay
In holding biennial sessions, Texas is
Unusual; only four states have biennial sessions
Which of the following are among the formal qualifications for being a member of the Texas House?
a U.S. citizen has lived in Texas for two years at least 21 years old
Which of the following would be barred from holding a seat in the Texas state government?
a convicted felon
In the 2016 Texas House election,
a majority of candidates ran unopposed.
In Texas, a state legislator may not also be
a paid public employee.
The lieutenant governor in Texas has the power to
appoint the chairs of all senate committees. refer bills to committees.
Which of the following are duties of the speaker of the Texas House of Representatives?
appointing committee chairs presiding over all sessions referring all bills to committees
As compared to the size of other state legislatures, and relative to its population, the Texas House and Senate
are small.
The percentage of legislators in Texas who report their full-time occupation as ______ is far higher than the national average.
attorney
Multimember districts tend to promote
broader representation.
Special sessions of the Texas legislature
can only be called by the governor
A ______ resolution must pass both the house and senate and generally require the governor's signature.
concurrent
For candidates who are not facing opposition, money
continues to come in from various sources.
Most of the money contributed to a state legislator's election campaign comes from
contributors who live outside the representative's district.
Because there could be no agreement among the various parties involved in the state of Texas's redistricting in 2001, the congressional map used in the 2002 election cycle was
drawn by a three-judge federal court.
Which of the following are among the primary issues raised by reapportionment and redistricting?
equity of representation minority representation gerrymandering
The offices and committee hearing spaces for Texas legislators is best described as
excellent.
How often does the state of Texas hold special sessions?
frequently
From 1971 to 2016, the number of female state legislators in the U.S.
grew by more than five times.
A national survey has revealed that the number of legislators in the U.S. who report their occupation as full-time legislators
has been declining.
The salary of the Texas legislature
has not been increased in 40 years leads most legislators to consider themselves part-time is in line with the traditionalistic political culture of the state
To________ means to formally accuse an officeholder of misconduct.
impeach
The number of uncontested seats in the Texas Senate has ______ over the last decade.
increased
What issue spurred the creation of the Legislative Redistricting Board?
inequality of representation
Where are Democrats most likely to have safe election districts?
inner-city areas South Texas East Texas
What district maps were used in Texas's 2012 election cycle?
interim maps that had been ordered by the federal court
Which of the following could be a factor contributing to the high turnover among state legislators in Texas?
low pay
Normally, turnover is higher for the ______ than for the ______ in state legislatures.
lower house; upper chamber
What are the characteristics of the average state legislator?
male professional well-educated
Texas legislators are allowed to use campaign contributions to pay for which of the following?
meals while the legislature is in session parking in Austin mobile phone services
According to the current law, legislative districts must be approximately equal in population and should also allow for
minority representation.
The Texas legislature has ______ permanent and session-only staff than most other states.
more
In terms of constituent per state senator, Texas senators have
more constituents than any other state except one.
A large legislative body is
more likely to be inefficient at decision making. more democratic.
Most states failed to provide equity of representation when, in the early to mid-twentieth century, their populations increasingly
moved from rural to urban areas.
In Texas House and Senate races recently, the number of races in which two major-party candidates squared off against each other in the general election is ______ compared to uncontested or minor-party candidate elections.
much smaller
Which of the following are informal qualifications that come into play in election to the Texas legislature?
occupation income
A biennial session is one that happens
once every two years.
The election for Texas speaker of the house is usually
predetermined before the session begins. won by a long-term member of the house.
The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Bush v. Vera (1996) ruled that
race can be considered when drawing district lines, but it cannot be the predominant factor.
One of the major reasons for a lack of competition in Texas legislative races is
racial and political gerrymandering
Which of the following refers to the drawing of legislative districts to create minority districts?
racial gerrymandering
Texas state legislators spend campaign funds primarily to pay for
rentals in Austin.
Which of the following types of bills must originate in the House of Representatives?
revenue bills
From where does the office of the speaker of the Texas House of Representatives derive its power?
rules adopted by the house
In Texas, the creation of majority-minority districts results in the creation of ______ districts.
safe Republican
Which of the following identifies the type of election system practiced in Texas?
single-member districts
Where are Republicans most likely to have safe election districts?
the Panhandle the Hill Country the suburbs
Ultimately, who was successful in Texas's 2003 redistricting?
the Republicans
The first U.S. woman elected to serve in a state legislature was elected, in Colorado, in
the late nineteenth century.
The rules regarding legislative sessions in Texas give the governor stronger veto powers because
the legislature cannot call a special session after it has adjourned to override a veto.
Who controls the output of legislation in the Texas legislature?
the speaker of the house and the lieutenant governor
In cities, safe Republican districts are most likely found in
the suburbs.
According to a rule passed by the 84th Legislature, how many senators must support consideration to bring a bill to the floor?
three-fifths
For what purpose do Texas lawmakers use joint resolutions?
to propose constitutional amendments
In what way can the Texas legislature perform its oversight function?
use of committees the Sunset Advisory Commission financial mechanisms
