Poli Sci 2312 FINAL

chapters 8-14

Which of the government judicial powers are described in the textbook?

Clemency and Pardon

The military power the Governor of Texas is to direct the national guard to certain locations, where is the national guard usually present?

Natural disasters or state of emergencies

What best describes the agenda setting of the governor?

an informal power where the Governor uses the public platform to address the state's political and policy agenda

Read carefully: The only option for a special session to end is only for 30 days to pass??

False

Historically, special sessions are much more present in times of......?

War, financial crisis, or a depression in the state.

What best describes a veto? 

a constitutional decision by the Governor to reject a resolution or bill by the legislature.

Which chamber of the legislative branch approves the appointment/appointees of the Governor? 

Senate

What term is being described: A government organization that implements laws and provides services to individuals. 

Bureaucracy

According to the scale of the Governor influence, which of the 4 types TX Bureaucracy has less governor influence?

Agencies head elected by the people (independent elected)

Regarding power and political role, the Lieutenant Governor (LG) in Texas is...

Strong

What is the name of the organization that periodically reviews executive agencies for efficiency?

Sunset Commission

If the Senate is evenly split, which individual is responsible for being the "tiebreaker" vote?

The Secretary of State

Which Governor appointee, single-headed agency is the "Chief election officer".

Secretary of State

Which multimember agency manages and protects wildlife habitats and acquires Texas State parks and historic areas?

TX Park and Wildlife Department (TPWD)

This plural executive position is considered the State of Texas Lawyer, he or she defends the law and the TX Constitution by representing the in state court. 

Attorney General

There are three reasons why there are 2,712 courts in the state of Texas, what are those reasons?

Large Popultion, Economy, and TX Constitution

What best defines an appeal in a court? 

Reverse a decision from a lower court

In general, what type of cases are reviewed at courts, this determines it they are either:

Criminal and civil

In class what talked about how interpretation is very important in the courts, what are examples that justices use to interpret the law?

TX Constitution, Legislation, and Common Law

True or False: Trial courts are the higher courts in the Courts hierarchy. 

False

True or False: The appellate courts have much higher volume of cases when compared with the trial courts.

False

Judicial selection: There are different ways that justices are selected, what are those methods? (Judge De León mentioned)

Elections by the people, appointed by the executive branch, and election of judges by the legislators.

What court in Tarrant County does Justice De León serve? 

Court 5

True or False: Justice of the Peace (JP) need to be lawyers? 

False

In JP Courts, which type of cases will appear more at these court levels?

Civil cases

The oldest law enforcement agency in the state of Texas is....

The Texas Rangers

Which of the following is the order of the Criminal Justice process in Texas? 

Pretrial, Trial, and Punishment

True or False: Texas has a history of being "tough on crime."

True

There are three types of misdemeanours: which of the three is considered to be the most severe? 

Class A

Which state agency oversees the following states facilities: psychiatric facilities, private units, transfer facilities, and state jail facilities? 

Texas Department of Criminal Justice

What best defines recidivism? 

The tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend

What best describes the "Texas Control Model"?

Inmate obedience, discipline, work, and education.

This individual is the state's lawyer who is responsible for bringing charges against the accused lawbreaker. 

Prosecutor

Once the Supreme Court was again permitted the death penalty, in 1977 Texas adopted the following option for the death penalty.

Lethal injection

What term is being described in this definition? A ruling that establishes state government can place restrictions on municipalities if these rules do not violate the state's constitution. 

Dillions Rule

Which of the following definitions best describes an ordinance?

Local laws of municipal area, passed by the city council.

There are 5 elected officials serving across each county in Texas. What are the titles for these that serve in the Texas County Commissioner's Court and how many are there.

1 County Judge and 4 County Commissioner's

In the section of types of City Government, this particular system serves as a (corporate system): a system of local government in which the city council appoints a manager to run city business.

Council-Manager Systerm

This particular district is not technically considered a special district, but posses government like power to issue fines and foreclose on homes. 

Homeowner's Association (HOA's)

One issue in local government is described as specialized zone created to attract businesses and develop the economy with the geographic area. 

Tax Increment Zones (TIRZ)

A rapid growth of urban and suburban areas spreading into the undeveloped land surrounding it.

Sprawl

True or False: Are County Sheriffs are elected in office?

True

Which of the following is the city-level equivalent to a constitution?

Charter

What is the process called whereby a home a rule city joins unincorporated land into the boundary of an existing city?

Annexation

What district is councilwoman representing?

District 11

In county administration, this particular county official is a legal recordkeeper, (handles background checks), administers child support payments, processing court fees, and records all proceedings of district courts.

District Clerk

What is the name of the Ft. Worth Councilwoman?

Jeanette Martínez

This type of tax is considered the 4th largest source of revenue for the state. It is applied to corporations, partnerships, business trusts, limited liability companies, and many other businesses. Which of the following tax is being described? 

Franchise Business Tax

What tax is being described? This tax is assessed locally, for use of school boards, local, and county governments. 

Property Tax

According to the textbook and its reference to 2019, what is the current homestead exemption for most Texans?

$25,000

Which two taxes account for most of the state's budget? 

Property Tax and Sales Tax

True or False: Do small businesses and nonprofit organizations fall into the Franchise Business Tax?

False

True or False: If you object to the appraisal of your house's value, can one appeal it? 

True

This particular fund is a surplus (unspent money) and the majority of these funds are drawn from oil and gas productive tax revenue. 

Rainy Day Fund

The budget process is very complex as it involves many budget players and its process. The budget rule that Texas cannot spend more money than it receives in revenue is which of the following terms? 

"Pay as you go"