Gov Exam 4

Texas Constitution, the legislature is ___: it has a Senate and a House of Representatives.

bicameral

T/F Texas operates under a biennial session

True! biennial session means they met every two years

At the end of 140 days, Texas must sine die, also known as-

-adjourn their regular session.

In Texas the Governors can call special sessions that last for ___

30 days

In the Supreme Court case Baker v. Carr, they decided-

- that state legislative districts should have the same number of citizens in each district.

What case enforced Baker v. Carr?

Reynolds v. Sims

Reynolds v. Sims says-

-that both the House and Senate of state legislatures had to be based on population and roughly equal to each other.

Political gerrymandering-

-drawing legislative districts to achieve an advantage for a political party.

Racial gerrymandering-

creating districts so that they consist of a particular racial group.

T/F Racial gerrymandering and Political gerrymandering are the same thing

False! One to exclude a racial group, and the other is a political group

The Supreme Court case Hunt v. Cromartie said that while ___ could be a factor in redistricting, it can’t be the primary factor.

race

T/F The Supreme Court case Hunt v. Cromartie said Political gerrymandering is fine, but racial gerrymandering is not.

True! Political is fine and racial is not.

In the case of Shelby County v. Holder, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the portion of the Voting Rights Act, Section 4(b), which laid out the formula used to determine which jurisdictions were subject to preclearance. As a result-

Texas no longer needs preclearance for its redistricting maps from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Voting Rights Act, Section 4(b) said-

- "covered jurisdictions" (mainly southern states needed preclearance for its redistricting maps from the U.S. Department of Justice.

T/F The Speaker of the House is one of the most powerful political figures in Texas Politics.

True! They are powerful

Much like the Speaker of the House at the national level. The speaker ultimately-

-controls which bills are going to pass and fail in the Texas Legislature.

T/F The lieutenant governor is a senator in the Texas Senate

False! The lieutenant governor is not a senator

A lieutenant governor can select the chair and members for the senate committees, appoint members for the-

-conference committees, interpret the rules of the senate, can refer all bills to the committees, and they serve on other agency boards such as the Legislative redistricting board.

T/F Most lieutenant governors are figureheads. This includes Texas.

False! Texas’s is unusually powerful.

In Texas, bills concerning revenue and spending have to go through the ___: everything else can go through both houses.

House of representative

Texas has a balanced budget. Which means-

-When a bill gets considered, it must include a fiscal note that explains how much money the bill will cost the state of Texas.

T/F Texas can also make laws through resolutions.

True! Texas can make laws like that.

Texas can also make laws through which resolutions?

• Concurrent resolutions

• Joint resolutions

• Simple resolutions

The State legislature has to create a ___ budget, and it must make sure that the spending does not exceed the revenues of the State of Texas.

biennial

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

Governor James Ferguson in 1917 and Judge O.P. Carillo in 1975

When the governor leaves the state, the____ becomes the acting governor.

Lieutenant Governor

Why was Governor Jim Ferguson indicted by the House and removed from office?

Misusing state funds

Jim Ferguson felt the University of-

-Texas’s professors were picking on him, but he couldn’t fire them. So, he line-item vetoed everything related to the University of Texas budget.

The powers of the governor can be measured in six ways

• The election of other statewide executives-little power

• Tenure of office-can be re-elected indefinitely so potentially quite great of a power

• Appointment powers-limited

• Budgetary powers-limited power

• Veto powers-great power, can veto out right or line item

• And, Control over the party-mixed power

Texas’s plural executive system-

-a system where power is divided among several statewide officials

Texan voters can chose many of the state administrators. This is a example of-

-Texas’s plural system

The Attorney General is the chief counsel to the Governor and the state agencies. They will also assist with criminal cases sometimes, partly as a way to show that they are ___.

“tough on crime”

The Comptroller of Public Accounts is the-

-chief tax collector and investor of state funds.

Tenure of Office-

-the ability of the Governor to be re-elected and the term lengths or limits.

In Texas, the governor serves a ____ term and has no limit to the terms they can serve.

four-year

Why is Governor tenure important?

because it can decide whether a can focus on their own programs or focus on being re-elected all the time.

The Texas Governor has limited power to appoint the head of agencies. Some appointments are subject to approval by the Senate. The governor in these cases must seek approval from the State Senator from the appointee’s home district. This is known as a-

-senatorial courtesy.

What does the Secretary of State (SOS) do?

They are the chief election official and keeper of records.

T/F In many states, the Governor has full control of the budget however, in Texas, the power over

the budget is shared by the Governor and others.

True! The power is controlled

Line item veto-

-the power to veto part of a bill, but not the whole bill.

Sunset Advisory Commission-

-An organization evaluates state agencies and advises the legislature on necessary actions for the agencies.

T/F Sunset Advisory Commission can abolish agencies.

True! They have abolished 44 state agencies

What are the roles that citizens expect of governors?

• chief legislator

• party chief

• ceremonial duties

• crisis manager

• chief intergovernmental coordinator.

What are the 3 types of laws?

• Civil,

• Criminal

• Family.

Civil Laws-

-disputes between individuals and the goal is not figuring out who is guilty but who is responsible.

Criminal Law-

-brought against those who violate the law.

T/F The Texas Family Code prohibits juries in cases of adoption and “certain parenting situations”.

True! No juries are allowed

____ are juries that decide if a person will be charged with a crime

Grand juries

Informational or administrative hearing-

-The judge reviews the case and decides if it should be tried.

Petit juries-

-Juries that decide if someone is guilty or not guilty,

Texas has ___ Supreme Courts.

two

Texas’s two Supreme Courts are-

-Texas Supreme Court, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals