POLS - 2312 Exam 4

First step in policymaking process

the agenda-setting stage

Redistributive policy

moves benefits from one group to another to make society equal

Number of states with no general income tax

nine

Franchise tax

the primary tax on businesses in Texas, which is based on the taxable margin of each company

Cochairs of Legislative Budget Board

"co-chaired by the Speaker of the Texas House and the lieutenant governor

Largest source of state investment income

“The largest sources of investment income came form the states’s Permanent School Fund (PSF)…”

STEM

one of the five diploma “endorsements”

Ad valorem tax

a tax based on property value, which is subject to periodic appraisals

State with highest per capita spending

Alaska

Amount per gallon of state gasoline tax in Texas

20 cents

Economic Stabilization fund aka -

“Rainy Day Fund”

Roll of state comptroller in budget -

provides a revenue forecast and ensures that the budgets passed by the legislature is within that revenue estimate

State with highest combined state and local sales tax -

Tennesse and Louisiana

Excise tax -

a tax paid at the time or purchase, with the cost of the tax included in the price of the product

Original name of UTA -

Arlington College

Eminent domain -

the power of the government to take private property for public use, generally for public functions, such as roads

Use for fracking -

extracting natural gas chemicals that cause the natural gas to rise to the surface of the well

Harm from pumping too much groundwater -

can cause subsidence (ground loses elevation)

TCEQ -

the agency that oversees state environmental policy, including air and water quality

Rule of capture -

if you own property I the state, you own the water underneath that property

First light rail system in Texas -

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART)

NAFTA members -

Canada, Mexico, and the United States

Largest supplier of FDI to Texas -

France

Purpose of PPPs -

to procure and implement public infrastructure and/or services using the resources and expertise of the private sector

Fifth amendment and private property

- the fifth amendment prohibits the taking of private property for “[public use, without just compensation.”

Good Road Amendment -

a requirement that 75% of road-user fees be spent on building and maintaining roads and the remaining 25 percent be used for education

TxDOT -

responsible for road construction and road maintenance in the state

Attorney general who pushed for creation of Railroad Commission -

James Stephen Hogg

Friday Night Lights -

“… Texans identify with the Friday Night Lights experience of football, marching bands, high-stepping drill teams, and competitive cheer squads

Medicare -

a federal health insurance program available to senior citizens who has worked and paid into the medicare system for ten or more years; an entitlement program

Medicaid

- a federal redistributive program providing medical coverage for low-income people and some elderly and disabled people

CHIP

- a federal-state program that offers health insurance and medical care to the children of families that make too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford private health insurance

State with highest percentage of foreign-born residents -

California

HEF

- designed to provide the kind of support previously enjoyed only by schools in the UT and Texas A&M systems

Example of entitlement program -

Social Security and Medicare

Texas Senate bill 4

- allows Texas police to arrest people for illegally crossing the Mexico border

TAKS and STAAR

- In the spring of 2012, the STAAR replaced the TAKS

Brown v Board of Education

- declared segregated public schools to be a violation of the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Largest funding source for Texas public universities -

student tuition and fees

No Child Left Behind -

under NCLB, states developed and administered tests to all students at select grade levels in order to receive federal funding.

Texas Tea -

oil

Tesla -

Tesla giga factory opened in Austin, Texas, in 2022

ERCOT primary energy source -

Natural gas

New possible Texas high speed rail line

- Texas Central Partner has a proposal to build a high-speed rail

Length of Texas/Mexican border -

1,254 miles

Last step in policymaking process -

the policy evaluation stage

Largest state expenditure area -

education and health care programs

60x30TX -

a strategic plan with the goal of 60 percent of young Texans having some type of postsecondary certificate or degree by 2030

Greg Abbott -

current governor of Texas