Texas Government Chapter 3

Which of the following are oversight responsibilities of the Texas legislature?

1. Access the performance of state agencies 2. Determine whether state agencies are providing the necessary functions 3. Keep track of the activities of state agencies

When can bills be introduced in the Texas legislature?

1. Anytime before the session 2. Up to the sixtieth day of the 140-day session 3. After the sixtieth day, in special circumstances

Which of the following are oversight responsibilities of the Texas legislature?

1. Assess the performance of state agencies 2. Kept track of the activities of state agencies 3. Determine whether state agencies are providing the necessary functions

Which of the following are among the formal qualifications for being a member of the Texas Seate

1. At least twenty-six years old 2. Has lived in the state for five years

What court cases required that state legislative districts contain about the same number of citizens and led to the "one person, one vote" rule?

1. Baker v. Carr 2. Reynolds's v. Sims

In what way can the Texas legislature perform its oversight function?

1. Financial mechanisms 2. the Sunset Advisory Commission 3. Use of committees

Which of the following types of tax have been established by the Texas legislature?

1. Franchise tax 2. Sales tax 3. "Sin" tax

Which two officials have been impeached, convicted, and removed from office in Texas?

1. Governor James Ferguson 2. Judge O.P. Carillo

Which of the following are among the formal qualifications for being a member of the Texas House?

1. Has lived in Texas for two years 2. At least twenty-one years old 3. a U.S. citizen

Which of the following are true of the salary of the Texas legislature?

1. It is in line with the traditionalistic political culture of the state 2. It has not been increased in more than forty years 3. It leads most legislators to consider themselves part-time

States with a higher degree of legislative professionalism have _______.

1. Longer sessions 2. More staff support

Which of the following are among the primary issues raised by apportionment and redistricting?

1. Minority representation 2. Equity of representation 3. Gerrymandering

The election for Texas speaker of the house is usually _____.

1. Predetermined before the session begins 2. Won by a long term member of the house

The lieutenant governor in Texas has the power to _______.

1. Refer bills to committees 2. Appoint the chairs of all senate committees

Which of the following are characteristic of state legislatures according to Thomas R. Dye

1. State legislatures reflect the socioeconomic conditions of other states 2. State legislators are predominantly influenced by local interests

The Primary Steps in how a bill becomes a law but Texas into the appropriate order

1. The bill is introduced 2. The bill is referred to the appropriate standing committee 3. There is committee action on the bill 4. The bill is referred to the Calendars committee 5. There is floor action on the bill 6. The bill is referred to the other chamber 7. There is any necessary subsequent legislative action on the bill 8. The governor acts on the bill

Which of the following are ways that a bill can be killed on its way through the Texas legislature?

1. The speaker refers it to committee with an unfriendly committee chair 2. It is not acted on by the Calendars Committee 3. It fails to get a majority vote on either the second or third reading on the floor

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

As of 2019, Tom Craddick, the representative with the longest tenure of service, has served _____ years.

50

Which of the following would be barred from holding a seat in the Texas government?

A convicted felon

Which of the following is true of single-member districts?

A party or candidate must only win a plurality in order to win one seat

In the election that follows reapportionment, how many seats in the Texas Senate are up for election?

All

What U.S. Supreme Court decision, decided in 1962, stated the "one man's vote" should equal any others "as nearly as practicable"?

Baker v. Carr

The Texas legislature is _______, meaning that it has two chambers: the senate and House of Representatives

Bicameral

Special sessions of the Texas legislature

Can only be called by the governor

The term "________ legislatures" is a positive way of describing legislatures characterized by low pay, short sessions, and fewer staff resources

Citizen

Joint committees of the Texas house and senate that work of differences in bills passed in each chamber are referred to as ________.

Conference

Most of the money contributed to a state legislator's election campaign comes from _______.

Contributors who live outside the representative's district

In the role of _______, a legislator represents the voters' interests regardless of how he or she personally feels about the issue

Delegate

True or False: In the past coalitions in the Texas legislature organized more around party than around ideology, but ideology has played a much larger role in recent years

False

To _______ mess to formally accuse an officeholder of misconduct

Impeach

In the 1970s, to allow for more minority representation in Texas, the federal courts _______ multi member districts

Invalidated

If the Texas governor receives a bill and neither signs nor vetoes it, what happens to the bill?

It becomes a law

Once it passes, how does a budget bill differ from other legislative bills in Texas?

It goes to the comptroller before it goes to the governor for signature.

How does the salary for legislators in Texas compare with that paid to legislators in the other nine most populous states in the United States

It is the lowest salary for legislators.

As a result of the Texas House and Senate adjourning the 2001 session without approving new redistributing plans, the ______ was left to establish new districts for the Texas House and Senate

Legislative Redistricting Board

__________ candidates gained many seats in the Texas legislature because of the redistributing that occurred in the 1990s and into the 2000s

Minority

The Texas legislature has _______ permanent and session-only staff than most other states

More

Constitutionally, the governors 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.

Compared to al other states, Texas ranks _______ most professional in the Squire Legislative Professionalism Index

Nineteenth

A group that collects money for campaign contributions and other activities is known as a(n) ________________ committee

Political Action

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 has to be reapportioned based on population, and that state legislative districts needed to be roughly equal in population?

Reynold v. Sims

When do nonemergency bills become effective in Texas?

September 1 following the session

Power in the Texas legislature is concentrated in the hands of which two individuals?

Speaker of the House and the lieutenant governor.

Most of the work done in the Texas legislature us done in ________ committees

Standing

What was established by the Texas legislature to review state agencies and determine whether they should be continued or abolished?

Sunset Advisory Committee

The offices and committee hearing spaces for Texas legislators is best described as

Texas

In Texas's 2001 redistricting, the proposed redistricting map has decided to be submitted to a federal court. Why?

The 1965 Voting Rights Act required it

Ultimately, who was successful in Texas's 2003 redistricting

The Republicans

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 Texas legislature?

The Texas legislature's salaries have not increased since 1975

What happens to a bill that passes initially in the Texas house but is then amended in the Texas senate?

The house can accept the senate amendments or send the bill to conference committee.

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

How do lieutenant governors assume office?

The lieutenant governor is elected by voters.

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 powers of the office

The funding Texas legislators receive for staff salaries and office expenses is set by ____.

The senators and representatives at the beginning of each session

In Texas, the governor determines the subject matter of all special sessions of the legislature

True

True or False: Apportioning seats in any legislative body is a highly political process

True

__________ is a representational role of a member that states that the member will make decisions based on his or her own judgement about what is best for voters

Trustee

Who or what was the 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

Texas democrats managed to win 17 of 32 congressional seats up for election the 2002 election cycle. What happened next?

U.S. House Majority Leader Tom Delay proposed an unprecedented mid-decade redistricting.

In impeachment, what must happen to remove a Texas official from office?

a two-thirds vote in the Senate.

The speaker of the Texas house is chosen ___________.

by majority vote of the members of the house

Legislators in Texas are most likely to _____.

champion local interests

In the Texas legislature, power over the outcome of legislation is _______.

concentrated in leadership positions

For candidates who are not facing opposition, money ______.

continues to come in from various sources.

Legislators usually vote on bills based on _____.

how the issue affects their district

The necessity of redistricting in 2011 was the result of

increased population in the 2010 census

According to the current law, legislative districts must be approximately equal in population and should also allow for _____.

minority representation

Traditionally, how strong a factor has political party been in the Texas legislature?

not strong

Political gerrymandering refers to legislative districts drawn to the advantage of _______.

political party

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.

Every ten years, following the census, representatives are allocated to districts in a process known as _______.

reapportionment

Which of the following types of bills must originate in the House of Representatives?

revenue bills

At the end of its 140-day session, the Texas legislature must adjourn. This is referred to as _______.

sine dine

Most bills that are introduced in state legislatures are written by ______.

someone other than state legislators

The main source of revenue in Texas is the _______ tax

state sales

Most bills are passed in the Texas legislature in the last ______ weeks of the session

two