Smartbook Chapter 3

In the election that follows reapportionment, how many seats in the Texas Senate are up for election?

All

In Texas, the governor determines the subject matter of all special sessions of the legislature

True

Which of the following would be barred from holding a seat in the Texas government?

A convicted felon

Which of the following is true about the compensation received by Texas legislature?

The Texas legislature's salaries have not increased since 1975

The offices and committee hearing spaces for Texas legislators is best described as

excellent.

The Texas House of Representatives has \___ members

150

The rules regarding legislative sessions in Texas give the governor stronger veto powers because \______.

The legislature cannot call a special session after it has adjourned to override a veto

Which of the following are among the formal qualifications for being a member of the Texas Senate?

- has lived in the state for five years
- at least twenty-six years old

Which of the following are true of the salary of the Texas legislature?

- It leads most legislators to consider themselves part-time.
- It is in line with the traditionalistic political culture of the state.
- It has not been increased in more than forty years.

The funding Texas legislators receive for staff salaries and office expenses is set by \____.

The senators and representatives at the beginning of each session

The Texas legislature is \_______, meaning that it has two chambers: the senate and House of Representatives

Bicameral

Special sessions of the Texas legislature

Can only be called by the governor

Which of the following are among the formal qualifications for being a member of the Texas House?

- at least twenty-one years old
- a U.S. citizen
- has lived in Texas for two years

How does the salary for legislators in Texas compare with that paid to legislators in the other nine most populous states in the United States?

It is the lowest salary for legislators.

The Texas legislature has \_______ permanent and session-only staff than most other states

More

Which of the following is true of single-member districts?

A party or candidate must only win a plurality in order to win one seat

At the end of its 140-day session, the Texas legislature must adjourn. This is referred to as \_______.

sine dine

True or False: Apportioning seats in any legislative body is a highly political process

True

What U.S. Supreme Court decision, decided in 1964, stated that both houses of state legislatures has to be reapportioned based on population, and that state legislative districts needed to be roughly equal in population?

Reynold v. Sims

Each legislative district in Texas elects \______ member(s) for each senatorial district and \______ member(s) for each house district.

1:1

\__________ candidates gained many seats in the Texas legislature because of the redistributing that occurred in the 1990s and into the 2000s

Minority

Every ten years, following the census, representatives are allocated to districts in a process known as \______.

reapportionment

What U.S. Supreme Court decision, decided in 1962, stated that "one man's vote" should equal any others "as nearly as practicable"?

Baker v. Carr

Political gerrymandering refers to legislative districts drawn to the advantage of \______.

a political party

As a result of the Texas House and Senate adjourning the 2001 session without approving new redistricting plans, the \______ was left to establish new districts for the Texas House and Senate.

Legislative Redistricting Board

In the 1970s, to allow for more minority representation in Texas, the federal courts \______ multimember districts.

Invalidated

Which of the following are among the primary issues raised by apportionment and redistricting?

- Minority representation
- Equity of representation
- Gerrymandering

Who or what was most instrumental in the redistricting map that was passed by both houses of the Texas legislature in mid-October 2003?

U.S. Congressman Tom Delay

What court cases required that state legislative districts contain about the same number of citizens and led to the "one person, one vote" rule? More than one answer may be correct.

- Reynolds v. Sims (1964)
- Baker v. Carr (1962)

The initial redistricting maps drawn by the Texas legislature in 2011 favored \______.

Republicans

The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Bush v. Vera (1996) ruled that \______.

race can be considered when drawing district lines, but it cannot be the predominant factor.

For candidates who are not facing opposition, money \______.

continues to come in from various sources.

Texas democrats managed to win 17 of 32 congressional seats up for election the 2002 election cycle. What happened next?

U.S. House Majority Leader Tom Delay proposed an unprecedented mid-decade redistricting.

As of 2019, Tom Craddick, the representative with the longest tenure of service, has served \______ years.

50

According to the current law, legislative districts must be approximately equal in population and should also allow for \______.

minority representation

Ultimately, who was successful in Texas's 2003 redistricting

The Republicans

In the Texas legislature, power over the outcome of legislation is \_______.

concentrated in leadership positions

In Texas's 2001 redistricting, the proposed redistricting map has decided to be submitted to a federal court. Why?

The 1965 Voting Rights Act required it

A group that collects money for campaign contributions and other activities is known as a(n) \________ committee

Political Action

Members of the Texas legislature are limited to how many terms in office?

The Texas legislature is not term limited

The election for Texas speaker of the house is usually \______.

- predetermined before the session begins
- won by a long-term member of the house

How do lieutenant governors assume office?

The lieutenant governor is elected by voters.

Power in the Texas legislature is concentrated in the hands of which two individuals?

Speaker of the House and the lieutenant governor.

Most of the work done in the Texas legislature us done in \________ committees

Standing

The necessity of redistricting in 2011 was the result of

increased population in the 2010 census

Which of the following types of bills must originate in the House of Representatives?

revenue bills

Most of the money contributed to a state legislator's election campaign comes from \_______.

Contributors who live outside the representative's district

The speaker of the Texas house is chosen \___________.

by majority vote of the members of the house

Which of the following types of tax have been established by the Texas legislature?

- franchise tax
- "sin" tax
- sales tax

Which of the following is true of the Texas lieutenant governor's power?

The lieutenant governor must forge an alliance with key senators to effectively utilize powers of the office

Joint committees of the Texas house and senate that work of differences in bills passed in each chamber are referred to as \________.

Conference

When do nonemergency bills become effective in Texas?

September 1 following the session

Which of the following are oversight responsibilities of the Texas legislature?

- Access the performance of state agencies
- Determine whether state agencies are providing the necessary functions
- Keep track of the activities of state agencies

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

- Governor James Ferguson

- Judge O.P. Carillo

Once it passes, how does a budget bill differ from other legislative bills in Texas?

It goes to the comptroller before it goes to the governor for signature.

The lieutenant governor in Texas has the power to \______.

- refer bills to committees
- appoint the chairs of all senate committees

In what way can the Texas legislature perform its oversight function?

- the Sunset Advisory Commission
- use of committees
- financial mechanisms

To \_______ mess to formally accuse an officeholder of misconduct

Impeach

The main source of revenue in Texas is the \_______ tax

state sales

If the Texas governor receives a bill and neither signs nor vetoes it, what happens to the bill?

It becomes a law

Which of the following are ways that a bill can be killed on its way through the Texas legislature?

- The speaker refers it to committee with an unfriendly committee chair.
- It fails to get a majority vote on either the second or third reading on the floor.
- It is not acted on by the Calendars Committee.

Most bills are passed in the Texas legislature in the last \______ weeks of the session

two

What was established by the Texas legislature to review state agencies and determine whether they should be continued or abolished?

Sunset Advisory Committee

In impeachment, what must happen to remove a Texas official from office?

a two-thirds vote in the Senate.

\______ is a representational role of a member that states that the member will make decisions based on his or her own judgment about what is best for voters.

Trustee

Constitutionally, the governors veto can be overridden. Why does this rarely happen in practice?

Most bills are passed in the last days of the session, leaving no time for overrrides.

True or False: In the past coalitions in the Texas legislature organized more around party than around ideology, but ideology has played a much larger role in recent years

False

What happens to a bill that passes initially in the Texas house but is then amended in the Texas senate?

The house can accept the senate amendments or send the bill to conference committee.

When can bills be introduced in the Texas legislature?

- up to the sixtieth day of the 140-day session
- after the sixtieth day, in special circumstances
- at any time before the session

Compared to al other states, Texas ranks \_______ most professional in the Squire Legislative Professionalism Index

Nineteenth

Which of the following are oversight responsibilities of the Texas legislature?

- Assess the performance of state agencies
- Kept track of the activities of state agencies
- Determine whether state agencies are providing the necessary functions

Legislators usually vote on bills based on \_____.

how the issue affects their district

Traditionally, how strong a factor has political party been in the Texas legislature?

not strong

Legislators in Texas are most likely to \______.

champion local interests

States with a higher degree of legislative professionalism have \______.

- more staff support
- longer sessions

In the role of \______, a legislator represents the voters' interests regardless of how he or she personally feels about the issue.

Delegate

Which of the following are characteristic of state legislatures according to Thomas R. Dye?

- State legislators are predominantly influenced by local interests.
- State legislatures reflect the socioeconomic conditions of their states.

The term "\________ legislatures" is a positive way of describing legislatures characterized by low pay, short sessions, and fewer staff resources

Citizen

Most bills that are introduced in state legislatures are written by \______.

someone other than state legislators

Multimember districts tend to promote \______.

broader representation

Which of the following identifies the type of election system practiced in Texas?

single-member districts

A noncompetitive election district is one that can be counted on to have at least \________ percent of the vote for the dominant party in the district.

55

What was unusual about attempts to redistrict Texas's congressional districts in 2003?

- The governor called special sessions of the legislature to consider the issue.
- They took place mid-decade.
- To avoid a quorum, a number of Democrats left the state.

Normally, turnover is higher for the \______ than for the \______ in state legislatures.

lower house

upper chamber

What district maps were used in Texas's 2012 election cycle?

interim maps that had been ordered by the federal court

Which position generally controls the passage of legislation in the Texas house?

speaker of the house

One reason for the low level of competition in Texas legislative races is \______.

racial and political gerrymandering

A limitation on the number of times a person can be elected to the same office in a state legislature is referred to as a(n) \______.

term limit

Which of the following powers do committee chairs have over their committees?

- deciding the time and agendas for meetings of the committee
- deciding how much time to devote to a bill in the committee
- giving a bill they do not like to a subcommittee that will kill it

The number of new members of the legislature each session is referred to as \______.

turnover

What are companion bills?

A member of the house and a member of the senate file an identical bill at the same time.

Who controls the output of legislation in the Texas legislature?

the speaker of the house and the lieutenant governor

To \______ means to formally accuse an officeholder of misconduct.

impeach

The most important type of committee in the Texas legislature is the \______ committee.

standing

Constitutionally, the governor's veto can be overridden. Why does this rarely happen in practice?

Most bills are passed in the last days of the session, leaving no time for overrides.

Which of the following Texas speakers was known for being mild-mannered and bipartisan?

Joe Straus

Place the primary steps in how a bill becomes a law in Texas into the appropriate order.

1. The bill is introduced.
2. The bill is referred to the appropriate standing committee.
3. There is committee action on the bill.
4. The bill is referred to the Calendars Committee.
5. There is floor action on the bill.
6. The bill is referred to the other chamber.
7. There is any necessary subsequent legislative action on the bill.
8. The governor acts on the bill.

The first \______ days of the legislative session are used to set the agenda for both chambers of the legislature.

60

Historically, the speaker of the Texas house \______.

dominated the legislative process