Government and Politics of Texas Exam Materials
Course Introduction
This course provides an in-depth examination of the Texas government and its political processes, both historically and in the contemporary era. Topics include the Texas Constitution, federalism, political culture, the structure and functions of state and local government, political parties and interest groups, electoral politics, and policymaking. Students will analyze the unique characteristics of Texas politics, including its legislative process, the role of the Governor, the judiciary, and the impact of demographic and economic changes on public policy. The course also explores current issues and challenges facing the state, helping students develop a comprehensive understanding of how government operates within the context of Texas.
Recommended Textbook
Texas Politics 12th Edition by Charldean Newell
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14 Chapters
798 Verified Questions
798 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: The Context of Texas Politics
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62 Verified Questions
62 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) A well-run democracy is characterized by all but which one of the following features?
A) Government decisions are dominated by special interests.
B) Government decisions are made on the basis of law.
C) The media report public policy debates in a fair manner.
D) Citizens pay attention to public policy debates and then vote their preferences.
E) Politicians debate questions of public policy honestly.
Answer: A
Q2) In which kind of Daniel Elazar's political cultures in the fifty states do citizens emphasize deference to elite rule within a hierarchical society?
A) Liberalistic
B) Moralistic
C) Individualistic
D) Collectivistic
E) Traditionalistic
Answer: E
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Chapter 2: The Constitutional Setting
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60 Verified Questions
60 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Rather than granting broad powers,the legislative article of the Texas Constitution emphasizes the specific actions the legislature may not take.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) The Texas Constitution and the U.S.Constitution are alike in that
A) both provide for a chief executive able to control the executive branch.
B) both specify the salaries of members of the legislative branch.
C) both divide governmental functions among three branches.
D) neither provides for an elected judiciary.
E) neither protects against discrimination based on gender.
Answer: C
Q3) The Texas Constitution specifies that ____ is/are to be elected.
A) the lieutenant governor
B) the comptroller of public accounts
C) the Commissioner of the General Land Office
D) the attorney general
E) all of the above
Answer: E
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Interest Groups
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59 Verified Questions
59 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Interest groups enhance democratic government by supplying information to citizens,contributing to debates about issues,getting people involved in politics,and changing the established order by influencing institutions.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) In which of the following arenas do interest groups attempt to affect public policy?
A) Electoral politics
B) The legislature
C) Administrative agencies
D) The courts
E) All of the above
Answer: E
Q3) Define "co-optation" and discuss how it might occur in Texas politics.Illustrate the phenomenon by discussing an example.
Answer: Students' Answerwers will vary.
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Political Parties
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54 Verified Questions
54 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Since the 1960s,Mexican American voters have mostly supported the Republican party in Texas.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Schools in Texas generally encourage students to become politically active citizens.
A)True
B)False
Q3) In Texas,party membership is determined by
A) the payment of dues.
B) the act of voting in a primary election.
C) the indication of party preference on the voter registration card.
D) attendance at a party convention.
E) the voter's choice on a general election ballot.
Q4) Describe the structures and primary functions of the permanent party organizations in Texas.Explain some of the factors that make the permanent party organization less important than might be expected.
Q5) Prior to joining the Union,Texas had no political parties.
A)True B)False
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Chapter 5: Voting,campaigns,and Elections
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57 Verified Questions
57 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The election of 2010 resulted in a sweep of winning statewide offices for the Republican Party.
A)True
B)False
Q2) In Texas,primary elections are administered by officials of the
A) city government.
B) county government.
C) state government.
D) national government.
E) political parties.
Q3) From the perspective of an individual,there may seem to be no reason to vote since public elections are almost never won by the margin of a single vote.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The United States has publicly funded campaigns for a wide variety of offices at every level of government.
A)True
B)False
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Page 7
Chapter 6: The Texas Legislature
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63 Verified Questions
63 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Seniority is more important for members of the U.S.Congress than it is for members of the Texas legislature.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The governor's item veto applies only to
A) education bills.
B) revenue bills.
C) appropriations bills.
D) welfare bills.
E) constitutional amendments.
Q3) Describe how are the presiding officers of the Texas legislature are selected.Explain why the selection of presiding officers might be more important in Texas than it is in other states.Elaborate on the powers these officers have with regard to the organization of the legislature.
Q4) The positions of president pro tempore of the Senate and speaker pro tempore of the House rival the positions of lieutenant governor and speaker in importance.
A)True
B)False
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Page 8
Chapter 7: The Governor
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Sample Questions
Q1) Elections for Texas Governor are held in the same year as presidential elections.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The length of the Texas Governor's term is ____ years.
A) three
B) four
C) five
D) six
E) eight
Q3) Governor George W.Bush's legislative successes during his first year in office were largely the result of his highly partisan style of leadership.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Discuss the informal roles that the Governor of Texas is expected to play.Since these roles are not constitutionally mandated,discuss how they came about.Explain the value of these roles to the Governor in the exercise of power.
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Page 9
Chapter 8: The Administrative State
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55 Verified Questions
55 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Explain to whom unelected bureaucrats are accountable in Texas.Discuss whether the methods used by Texas to ensure bureaucratic accountability are adequate.Explain how sunset laws and whistle blowing might lead to greater accountability.
Q2) Which of the following offices represents the state and its agencies in court when the state is a party to a case?
A) Attorney General
B) Secretary of State
C) Treasurer
D) Comptroller of Public Accounts
E) Agriculture Commissioner
Q3) Factors that help make the bureaucracy in Texas accountable include all of the following except
A) the long ballot.
B) sunset reviews.
C) legislative oversight.
D) a more integrated executive branch.
E) an open records law.
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10
Chapter 9: The Judiciary
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57 Verified Questions
57 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Indictments are issued in Texas by
A) district courts.
B) the prosecuting attorney.
C) trial juries.
D) the law enforcement agency that made the original arrest.
E) a grand jury.
Q2) Most of the cases handled in municipal courts in Texas involve traffic violations.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The appellate courts in Texas operate without
A) presentation of factual evidence in a case.
B) political considerations.
C) juries.
D) arguments of legal counsel.
E) written records.
Q4) The courts of appeals are multi-judge courts that operate without juries.
A)True
B)False
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Page 11
Chapter 10: The Substance of Justice
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56 Verified Questions
56 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) In the 1989 decision of Texas v.Johnson,the U.S.Supreme Court ruled that
A) burning the flag is a form of symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment.
B) public prayers at high school football games violate the First Amendment.
C) the First Amendment protects the right of antiabortion activists to picket abortion clinics.
D) Ku Klux Klan demonstrations are protected by the First Amendment.
E) the Second Amendment does not guarantee the right of private citizens to carry firearms.
Q2) The constitutionality of allowing prayer at football games as practiced by the Santa Fe,Texas School Board was affirmed by the U.S.Supreme Court in 2000.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The cases of Tulia and Jasper show how far Texas has progressed in granting equal rights to all its citizens.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 11: Local Government
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58 Verified Questions
58 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Most large cities in Texas are moving to a place system rather than a district system for selecting members of the city council.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Annexation has been used by Texas cities as a means of avoiding the erosion of the tax base caused by the migration of the middle class to the suburbs.
A)True
B)False
Q3) All of the following issues or developments have affected and will affect local government except
A) the necessity for increased strategic planning.
B) the loss of population in metropolitan areas.
C) the desirability of increased interlocal cooperation.
D) increased needs for funding.
E) the need for ordinance-making power for counties.
Q4) According to the 2010 Census,Loving County has fewer than 100 residents.
A)True
B)False
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Page 13
Chapter 12: The State Economy and the Financing of State Government
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55 Verified Questions
55 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Because the framers of the state constitution believed in "pay-as-you-go" government,emergency borrowing by the state must be approved by
A) a two-thirds majority vote of the legislature.
B) a four-fifths majority vote of the legislature.
C) the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the House.
D) the governor, the treasurer, and the comptroller of public accounts.
E) the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the House, and the treasurer.
Q2) A ____ tax is a tax levied on the removal of natural resources (especially oil and gas)from the earth.
A) franchise
B) property
C) corporate income
D) severance
E) motor fuels
Q3) The three committees of the legislature with primary responsibility for budgeting and appropriating are the House Ways and Means Committee,the House Appropriations Committee,and the Senate Finance Committee.
A)True
B)False
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Public Policypeople
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Sample Questions
Q1) Redistributive public policy redistributes wealth from those who have the most to those who have the least.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The poverty threshold for a family of three in the United States for fiscal year 2011 is approximately
A) $10,000.
B) $18,500.
C) $29,200.
D) $34,600.
E) $38,100.
Q3) A policy that allows tax deductions for families who send their students to private schools is known as
A) school vouchers.
B) Charter schools.
C) home schooling.
D) Texas School Choice.
E) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
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Chapter 14: Public Policyresources
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50 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Texas traditionalist-individualist culture places an emphasis on A) preserving the Texas environment for future generations.
B) renewable sources of energy.
C) conserving water resources by deemphasizing economic development.
D) private, short-run exploitation of nature.
E) investing heavily in mass public transportation.
Q2) The Texas Water Plan of the 1960s would have
A) made the Trinity River running from Dallas to Houston into a ship canal.
B) used the water of the Edwards Aquifer to build a massive lake near Odessa.
C) created a "cloud seeding" agency to increase annual rain in Texas.
D) taken water from the Mississippi River to provide resources in Texas.
E) doubled the number of water reservoirs in Texas.
Q3) The two nuclear energy plants in Texas,Comanche Peak and South Texas Nuclear Project,produce what percentage of Texas electricity?
A) 10%
B) 25%
C) 48%
D) 70%
E) 90%
Q4) Define "Faustian bargain." Explain how it applies to energy politics in Texas.
Page 16
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