State and Local Government Question Bank
Course Introduction
This course examines the structures, functions, and processes of state and local governments within the United States. Students will explore topics such as federalism, the roles of governors and state legislatures, local political institutions, public policy, finance, and intergovernmental relations. Emphasis is placed on understanding how state and local governments address public issues, interact with citizens, and collaborate with federal agencies. The course also covers contemporary challenges such as budgeting constraints, policy innovation, and the impact of demographic and technological changes on subnational governance.
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) People of Hispanic origin make up over 30 percent of the population of Texas today.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) The high-tech economy of Texas emerged during the 1920s.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Which city is located in the Great Plains region of Texas?
A) Lubbock
B) Fort Worth
C) El Paso
D) San Antonio
E) Austin
Answer: A
Q4) NAFTA has created a free-trade market throughout North and Central America.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Page 3
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Chapter 2: Texas and the Nation
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70 Verified Questions
70 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8299
Sample Questions
Q1) Acting as a self-appointed spokesman for many in the Tea Party movement, ______ alleged that the United States took another step toward socialism with the passage of FDR's New Deal.
A) Woodrow Wilson
B) Rick Perry
C) Edward House
D) Sam Rayburn
E) Barack Obama
Answer: B
Q2) In general, the Tea Party's position on Obamacare is that it
A) is an unconstitutional, overly broad exercise of Congress's power to regulate interstate commerce.
B) is fully supported under the interstate commerce clause.
C) is justified under the precedent set in Wickard v. Filburn (1942).
D) can be properly defended under the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
E) The position remains unclear as the Tea Party generally takes a pragmatic approach to social legislation and withholds judgment, depending upon the program's effectiveness.
Answer: A
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4
Chapter 3: The Texas Constitution
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56 Verified Questions
56 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8300
Sample Questions
Q1) The Texas Constitution makes no requirements for the establishment and upkeep of a public school system.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) Who made up the Grange, and what effect did they have on the writing of the Texas Constitution?
A) They were a consortium of railroad entrepreneurs who wanted a constitution that would aid business interests.
B) They were a group of pro-Union Republicans who controlled the state after the Civil War.
C) They were an agricultural group who wanted a government that would improve the plight of farmers.
D) They were early wildcatters who wanted land grants from the state so they could explore for oil.
E) They were a group of pro-independence landowners who wanted Texas to secede from the Union.
Answer: C
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Political Parties in Texas
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70 Verified Questions
70 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8301
Sample Questions
Q1) The Republican Party was the dominant force in Texas politics for most of the twentieth century.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Describe the structure of political parties and elections in Texas. What are the different levels of party organization?
Q3) In Texas, the highest level of temporary party organization is the
A) governor's convention.
B) state executive committee.
C) state convention.
D) civil executive committee.
E) precinct convention.
Q4) The mass exodus of more affluent whites from urban areas to suburban areas is sometimes referred to as
A) urban withdrawal.
B) white flight.
C) tax-base erosion.
D) urban racism.
E) urban sprawl.
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Chapter 5: Elections in Texas
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70 Verified Questions
70 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8302
Sample Questions
Q1) The Motor Voter Act of 1993
A) allows states to offer voters "drive-thru" voting booths.
B) allows citizens to register to vote while applying for a driver's license.
C) restricts one's right to vote because of unpaid traffic tickets.
D) was declared unconstitutional by the Texas Supreme Court.
E) only allows citizens with a valid Texas driver's license to register to vote.
Q2) General elections for all national, state, and local offices must be held in November.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Reapportionment involves the determination of how district lines will be drawn in each state for the state legislature and Congress.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Redistricting in Texas occurs
A) every ten years.
B) every four years.
C) after every general election.
D) after a new governor is elected.
E) after each legislative session.
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Chapter 6: Interest Groups and Lobbying
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52 Verified Questions
52 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8303
Sample Questions
Q1) Redistricting and scandal are the two greatest threats to an incumbent's electoral advantage.
A)True
B)False
Q2) A private group that raises and distributes funds for use in election campaigns is called a(n)
A) interest group.
B) political action committee.
C) campaign revenue association.
D) advocacy association.
E) 8F crowd.
Q3) Interest groups representing labor organizations dominate Texas politics.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Interest groups are limited to lobbying the legislature; they cannot lobby executive agencies or the courts.
A)True
B)False
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Page 8
Chapter 7: The Texas Legislature
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53 Verified Questions
53 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8304
Sample Questions
Q1) A special legislative session may last as long as it takes to complete the session's agenda.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The governor of Texas has the authority to exercise a line-item veto.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The lieutenant governor is also a member of the Texas House of Representatives.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Which of the following is not a legislative power of the Texas governor?
A) calling special sessions
B) signing or vetoing bills
C) setting an agenda in the State of the State address
D) removing, for suitable cause, the Speaker or lieutenant governor
E) visiting with legislators to obtain their votes on a bill
Q5) In Texas, both the lieutenant governor and the Speaker of the House are elected in statewide elections.
A)True
B)False
Page 9
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Chapter 8: The Texas Executive Branch
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55 Verified Questions
55 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8305
Sample Questions
Q1) Almost one-half of the attorney general's employees are involved in what government task?
A) enforcing civil rights laws
B) investigating complaints about local police behavior
C) collecting child-support payments
D) defending state laws in federal court
E) providing advisory opinions to state agencies
Q2) The Texas governor has strong powers for granting clemency.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The governor of Texas has
A) strong formal powers granted by the Texas constitution.
B) few formal powers, so the office is one of the weakest chief executives in the United States.
C) the power to appoint all of the other officials in the executive branch.
D) the power to appoint all state judges.
E) an average amount of power compared to governors of other states.
Q4) 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?
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Chapter 9: The Texas Judiciary
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77 Verified Questions
77 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8306
Sample Questions
Q1) In 1996, the voters of Texas chose to adopt the merit selection of judges.
A)True
B)False
Q2) What types of cases does the Texas Supreme Court hear?
A) civil appeals
B) appeals on civil and criminal cases
C) both trial and appeals in tort-law cases
D) final appeals on all civil and death penalty cases
E) any cases it chooses to hear
Q3) Texas justices of the peace do not have to be lawyers.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Each incorporated town or city in Texas has a municipal court.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Like the U.S. Supreme Court, the Texas Supreme Court has nine justices, including one chief justice.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 10: Crime and Corrections Policy
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69 Verified Questions
69 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8307
Sample Questions
Q1) The ______ attorney is more likely to represent the state in felony criminal cases, while the ______ attorney is more likely to represent the state in misdemeanor criminal cases.
A) system; district
B) district; county
C) county; district
D) state; district
E) state; county
Q2) Stalking is an example of a third-degree felony.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Explain and discuss Texas's correctional system. What is the history of the system? What presents hurdles to an effective system? Can Texas prisons ever be considered the best in the nation?
Q4) If a grand jury returns a "no bill," they did not find probable cause to move forward with a criminal trial.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 11: Public Finance in Texas
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74 Verified Questions
74 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8308
Sample Questions
Q1) According to the text, just as the economy began to improve and state revenues started increasing, a new threat arose to threaten the newly balanced budget. It was the
A) rising interest rates that increased the cost of borrowing.
B) increasing health care costs due to recent efforts to reform the health care system.
C) underfunded state pension system.
D) rising salaries of teachers.
E) state's public unions threatening a strike.
Q2) The Texas economy is tied to the booms and busts of the national economy.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Texas is known as a high tax state; because of this, it is a good place to do business.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The Rainy Day Fund is more properly known as the National Research University Fund.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 12: Public Policy in Texas
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82 Verified Questions
82 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8309
Sample Questions
Q1) The Religious Viewpoints Antidiscrimination Act of 2007
A) was ruled unconstitutional by the Texas Supreme Court.
B) was rejected by social conservatives.
C) required Texas schools to adopt a number of policies that would protect religious speech on campus.
D) was ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.
E) was vetoed by the governor and never went into effect.
Q2) During the 1980s, a growing number of critics alleged that welfare programs
A) had nearly eliminated poverty.
B) were helping to create a dysfunctional underclass of people who depended upon it for survival.
C) were being abused, mostly by the wealthy.
D) benefited only the middle class at the expense of the poorer class.
E) should be turned back over to private charities and religious institutions because government resources had been exhausted.
Q3) According to the law of capture, private property owners are not entitled to water taken from under the land they own.
A)True
B)False
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Page 14
Chapter 13: Local Government in Texas
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59 Verified Questions
59 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8310
Sample Questions
Q1) What is the level of popularity of the commissioner system of city government in Texas today?
A) It is the most popular form of city government in Texas.
B) No city in Texas today has a pure commissioner system, but a handful claim a variation of the system.
C) While less popular than the mayor-council system, over one hundred cities in Texas today use the commissioner style.
D) Commissioner systems have never been used in Texas.
E) About half the cities in Texas use a pure commissioner form of government.
Q2) Special districts in Texas are
A) democratic in theory, but often not in practice.
B) created and administered by county clerks.
C) the best example of participatory democracy in Texas.
D) a less common form of government than fifty years ago.
E) among the most studied areas of Texas politics.
Q3) The strong mayor form of government was created as a response to the 1900 Galveston hurricane disaster.
A)True
B)False
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Page 15