Public Policy in Texas Exam Solutions
Course Introduction
This course examines the formulation, implementation, and impact of public policy within the unique political, social, and economic context of Texas. Students will explore the roles of governmental institutions, interest groups, and the public in shaping policy areas such as education, healthcare, immigration, and energy. Emphasis is placed on the interplay between state and local governments, as well as the influence of federal mandates. Through case studies and current events, the course provides a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities in addressing public issues in Texas.
Recommended Textbook
Governing Texas 1st Edition by Anthony Champagne
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13 Chapters
842 Verified Questions
842 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/463
Page 2
Chapter 1: The Political Culture, People, and Economy of Texas
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55 Verified Questions
55 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8298
Sample Questions
Q1) Who led the Grange and Populist movements of the late nineteenth century?
A) tenant farmers
B) cattle barons
C) Hispanic laborers
D) the railroad industry
E) oil prospectors
Answer: A
Q2) Which of the following has traditionally dominated the political culture of Texas?
A) labor unions
B) business interests
C) environmentalist groups
D) the Catholic Church
E) lawyers
Answer: B
Q3) The high-tech economy of Texas emerged during the 1920s.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 2: Texas and the Nation
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70 Verified Questions
70 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which prominent Texan served as FDR's vice president until 1940?
A) John Nance Garner
B) Sam Rayburn
C) Sam Houston
D) Jesse Jones
E) Edward House
Answer: A
Q2) The Great Depression of 1929 was the catalyst that led many Americans to support the New Deal.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) Unfunded mandates requiring states to meet federal guidelines without financial support are associated with coercive federalism.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Page 4
Chapter 3: The Texas Constitution
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56 Verified Questions
56 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The main problem that stalled the admission of Texas into the United States was
A) the lack of enough people in Texas.
B) Texas's overly large debt, which would have to be assumed by the federal government.
C) that Texas would be a proslavery state.
D) that foreign nations had refused to recognize an independent Texas.
E) that Texas was still under the control of Mexico.
Answer: C
Q2) The Texas Constitution of 1869 was created
A) because Texas needed a new constitution when it joined the Confederacy.
B) by members of the Texas Republican Party.
C) in order to limit the power of state government.
D) as a reaction against Reconstruction.
E) to abolish slavery.
Answer: B
Q3) The Texas Constitution creates two top appellate courts, one for civil cases and one for criminal cases.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 4: Political Parties in Texas
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70 Verified Questions
70 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Providing a label that helps voters identify those seeking office is an important function of
A) the state.
B) political parties.
C) interest groups.
D) the media.
E) the governor.
Q2) Compared to other southern states, Texas has a large African American population.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following is not true?
A) Democrats are winning most local races in large urban areas like Dallas and Harris County.
B) Republicans are winning most local races in suburban areas like Collin County.
C) It is difficult for an independent to win a local election in any area of Texas.
D) The Republican Party is losing ground at the state level.
E) The Democratic Party has basically been shut out of state-level elections.
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Chapter 5: Elections in Texas
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70 Verified Questions
70 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) In Texas elections, the ______ play(s) the largest role in running campaigns.
A) national party
B) state party
C) candidates
D) media
E) local party
Q2) The most recent renewals to the Voting Rights Act require
A) special voting booths reserved specifically for minority voters.
B) polling places to stay open until midnight for shift workers.
C) polling places to open on Saturdays for people who work.
D) bilingual ballots in areas where over 5 percent of citizens speak a language other than English.
E) Internet voting for people who cannot make it to the polls.
Q3) Primary elections in Texas are generally held in March.
A)True
B)False
Q4) It is relatively easy for an independent candidate to get on the Texas ballot.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Explain why it is difficult to be elected as an independent candidate in Texas.
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Chapter 6: Interest Groups and Lobbying
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52 Verified Questions
52 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Spending on issue advocacy ads by PACs need not be reported by a candidate.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following groups have had notable political success by litigating in federal courts?
A) professional groups
B) public employee interest groups
C) civil rights groups
D) chemical company lobbyists
E) business lobbyists
Q3) When individuals or interest groups take out ads concerning a campaign issue but do not tie them directly to any particular candidate, it is called
A) soft-money spending.
B) bundling.
C) issue advocacy.
D) direct advocacy.
E) hard-money spending.
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Page 8
Chapter 7: The Texas Legislature
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53 Verified Questions
53 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Legislative districts in the Texas House and Senate are
A) based on proportional representation.
B) single-member districts.
C) multiple-member districts.
D) redistricted every four years.
E) redistricted every six years.
Q2) In Texas, why is a governor's post-adjournment veto so powerful?
A) It cannot be overturned by the legislature.
B) It can be overturned only by a two-thirds majority of both houses.
C) It allows the governor to veto parts of a bill but not all of it.
D) It allows the governor to get maximum media coverage.
E) It can only be overturned by a unanimous vote in both houses.
Q3) The governor of Texas has the authority to exercise a line-item veto.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The lieutenant governor is also a member of the Texas House of Representatives.
A)True
B)False
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9
Chapter 8: The Texas Executive Branch
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55 Verified Questions
55 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Describe the most important formal powers of the Texas governor under the state constitution. How do these powers reflect a commitment to the principle of checks and balances?
Q2) What is the purpose of the Sunset Advisory Commission in Texas?
A) It reviews state agencies every twelve years to see if they are still needed.
B) It administers state programs for the elderly.
C) It oversees the retirement of state bureaucratic workers.
D) It runs the Texas Chamber of Commerce.
E) It operates all state retirement homes.
Q3) The Texas governor has many formal powers, making him or her one of the United States's strongest chief executives.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What is the plural executive? Describe the offices that constitute the plural executive in Texas. How does this compare with the executive branch of government under the U.S. Constitution? What are the political principles behind the creation of the plural executive?
Q5) The governor has the ability to declare martial law in Texas.
A)True
B)False
Page 10
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Chapter 9: The Texas Judiciary
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77 Verified Questions
77 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The majority of cases in municipal courts involve
A) family law.
B) traffic and parking violations.
C) civil cases, especially torts.
D) felony crimes.
E) city ordinances.
Q2) In Texas, trial lawyers tend to support
A) Democratic judicial candidates.
B) Republican judicial candidates.
C) anti-death-penalty judicial candidates.
D) pro-business judicial candidates.
E) pro-death-penalty judicial candidates.
Q3) Judicial elections in Texas are nonpartisan.
A)True
B)False
Q4) In Texas, appellate court judges are elected, but the governor appoints trial judges to six-year terms.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 10: Crime and Corrections Policy
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69 Verified Questions
69 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is NOT a controversy that has led to the questioning of the integrity of the Texas criminal justice system?
A) the false drug arrests in Tulia
B) the false witness case in Burleson County
C) the Houston Crime Lab scandal
D) the Dallas DNA exonerations
E) the University of Texas corruption scandal
Q2) Which of the following is not likely to be included in a plea bargain?
A) a drop of some of the charges
B) a recommendation for a lighter sentence
C) a recommendation for a higher sentence with a lower fee
D) a reduction of some of the charges
E) a recommendation for a lower sentence with a higher fee
Q3) In Texas, the legal standard of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt is used in which types of cases?
A) felony
B) misdemeanor
C) civil
D) both felony and misdemeanor cases
E) "Beyond a reasonable doubt" is a standard used in federal, not state, court.
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Chapter 11: Public Finance in Texas
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74 Verified Questions
74 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Compared to other states, which statement regarding revenue sources for the state of Texas is true?
A) Texas has low sales tax and low income tax.
B) Texas has no income tax and low sales tax.
C) Texas has high income tax and high sales tax.
D) Texas has no sales but high property tax.
E) Texas has no income tax but high sales tax.
Q2) From an overall standpoint, which statement is true?
A) The Texas economy is closely tied to the national economy.
B) The Texas economy is largely immune to the national economy.
C) The Texas economy is much larger than the national economy.
D) The Texas budget cycle effectively insulates the state economy from the rest of the world.
E) Oil and natural gas production within the state's borders generate over two-thirds of state tax revenue.
Q3) Federal expenditures play an important role in the Texas state budget.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Explain the impact of the Great Recession on the budget of Texas.
Q5) Explain the strengths and weaknesses of the budgetary process in Texas.
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Chapter 12: Public Policy in Texas
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82 Verified Questions
82 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Since the program's creation, participation rates for Medicaid have remained fairly constant throughout the nation and in Texas.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Desegregation of public schools was supported from the beginning by Texas law.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Welfare reforms are measured along which two dimensions?
A) the number of people receiving welfare and the crime rate
B) waste and fraud within each welfare program
C) the number of people on welfare and the success of getting people into the workforce
D) the number of welfare recipients who continued receiving welfare benefits for more than five years versus those who received benefits for a shorter period of time
E) the percent of children, versus the percent of adults, on the welfare rolls
Q4) Poverty among children in Texas is about the same as the national average.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Discuss the controversy surrounding the issue of welfare dependency.
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Chapter 13: Local Government in Texas
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59 Verified Questions
59 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What are the main sources of revenue for special districts in Texas?
A) property taxes and user fees
B) income taxes and user fees
C) income taxes and sales taxes
D) sales taxes and property taxes
E) property taxes and federal grants
Q2) Since 1954, there have been no home-rule chartered cities in Texas.
A)True
B)False
Q3) How are most special districts in Texas administered?
A) County judges administer all special districts within their jurisdiction.
B) They are run by a board elected by residents within the district.
C) For each special district, the governor appoints members to a review board.
D) They are run by special district administrators who answer directly to the state legislature.
E) The county commissioners' court administers all special districts within its jurisdiction.
Q4) Community colleges in Texas are allotted their own special districts.
A)True
B)False
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