GOVT chapter 4

____________ has been a central feature of the state’s population growth and the transformation of its economy.

urbanization

In some instances, the growth rate for the central city has been relatively modest, whereas growth in surrounding suburban areas has been quite high, reflecting _________ _____ ______

continued urban sprawl

the Texas Municipal League (TML), maintains a full-time staff in Austin to

monitor the activities of the legislature and state agencies

______ _________ are a shared function of the state, counties, and special districts.

public hospitals

general law city

A Texas city with fewer thatn 5,000 residents, only allowed to excersize powers specifically granted to them by state legislature (majority of Texas cities)

home rule city

Texas city with 5,000+ residents, can adopt any form of government that the residents choose so long as it doesnt conflict the state constitution, powers adopted by local voters of a city charter

city charter

a document under which a city operates

which form of government…

the most common type of municipal government in Texas, derived from the English model of city government. The legislative function of the city is vested in the city council, and the executive function is assigned to the mayor. This type of government is based on the separation of powers principle, which also characterizes the state and federal governments.

mayor-council

The city charter determines a mayor’s ________

strength

The strong mayor form of government is found in many larger U.S. cities, but it now is used by only one major city in Texas—

Houston

which two forms of government…

Both reflect, in part, efforts to reform city governments through administrative efficiency, the reduction of partisan conflict, and the adaptation of a businesslike approach to running city government.

city commission and council-manager

which form of government…

elected commissioners serve as the city’s policy making body and individually serve as administrative heads of different departments. there are none of these cities in Texas. combines the executive, administrative and legislative functions

city commission

which form of government…

principal characteristics are a professional city management, nonpartisan city elections, and a clear distinction between policymaking and administration.

council-manager

which form of government…

policy is set by an elected city council, which hires a professional city manager to head the daily administration of city government. Most larger cities in Texas are under this form of government

council-manager

in a council-manager form of government, the city council is primarily responsible for developing ______ _______

public policy

under a council-manager form of government…

A delicate line exists between policymaking and administration, and a city manager is, in principle, supposed to be ___________ _________

politically neutral

ity officials in Texas are selected in nonpartisan

elections

nonpartisan elections

a local election in which candidates file for place, position, or district with no political party label attached to their names

the nonpartisan ballot, has historicaly benefited higher …

social and economic groups

at-large elections

all of a city’s voters participate in the selection of all the members of the city-council

runoff election

a required election if no candidate receives an absolute majority of the votes cast in a primary race or in many nonpartisan elections (between the top two vote-getters)

single-member district

a legislature, city council member, or other public official is elected from a specific geographic area

a federal law that helped people of color in Texas and certainother states with a history of racial discrimination in elections win fairer election procedures, such as single-member districts

Voting Rights Act

city governments are heavily dependent on _________ ______

regressive taxes

rollback election

local voters can nullify a proprty tax increase that exceeds 3.5% for most local governments of 2.5% for school districts in a given year

general obligation bonds

a method of borrowing money to pay for new construction projects, such as prisons, hospitals, streets, or drainage systems. interest on these bonds, which require voter approval, is paid with tax revenue

revenue bonds

a bond sold by a government that is repaid from the revenues generated from income-producing facilities

homestead exemption

legal provision that permits a person who owns a home and is living init to brain a reduction in property taxes on the house

“Texas is now the only state that denies state financial assistance to its cities even as the legislature imposes greater responsibilities __ ___ ______”

on its cities

Since the late 1970s, bureaucrat bashing by political candidates, legislators, think tanks, and the media has helped increase public hostility toward government. This, in turn, has discouraged many highly skilled young people from seeking careers in ______ ______

public service

Unlike home rule cities, counties lack the basic legislative power of enacting ___________

ordinances

the principle policymaking body for county government. it includes four commissioners, a county judge, and all elected offices. it sets the county tax rate and supervises expenditures

commissioners court

Like other elected county officials, the judge and the commissioners serve four-year terms and are elected in ________ _________

partisan elections

A county judge in most urban counties takes on active administrative roles and is generally perceived as a county’s ______ _________ _______

chief executive officer

the chief record-keeping officer of a county

county-clerk

• an elected attorney who prosecutes lesser criminal offenses such as misdimeanors in county courts

• an elected attorney who prosecutes more serious criminal offenses like felonies in state or district courts

• county attorney

• district attorney

which tax is the primary source of revenue for counties?

property tax

county wide tax office that appraises the value of property and certifies the tax rolls used by every taxing authority in the county

appraisal district

Jail construction was a “growth” industry during this period, but by the mid-1990s, some counties found that they had overextended their finances to construct these jails. They also were left with excess jail capacity after the state built new prisons. To compensate for these problems, several counties contracted with other states to house prisoners in _____ _____

Texas jails

the person primarily responsible for reviewing every bill and expenditure of a county to ensure that it is correct and legal (2-year term)

county auditor

system of awarding public jobs to one’s political friends or supporters with little regard to abilities or skills

spoils system

system in which public employees are selected for governmental jobs through competition and thorough examination

civil service system

a unit of government created to perform a specific function including provision of public servies to unincorporated areas

special districts

Counties are particularly limited by state law and the constitution and do not have the authority to provide many of the services now demanded by their citizens. Therefore, special districts were created to fill the gap. Because many districts can be created by statute, it has been far easier to create an additional layer of government than to change the authority or powers of existing governments by _____________ _________

constitutional amendment

A _______ ________ has been called a “halfway house between cityhood and non-cityhood, between incorporation and nonincorporation.”

special district

During Reconstruction, the Radical Republicans attempted to centralize the education system at the state level. With the end of Republican control prior to the Constitutional Convention of 1875, the centralized system was eliminated, and the control and financing of public education were transferred to the ________

counties

George Peabody of Massachusetts created the Peabody Education Fund in 1867 and was followed by others, including John D. Rockefeller, who established the _______ _________ _____

General Education Board

Revenue for public schools in Texas now exceeds $__ billion a year.

$60 billion

chief administrator of a school district who is hired by the school board

school superindendent

In organization and management structure, the school district is similar to the _______-_______ form of government used by many cities.

council-manager

As local governments have juggled their financial problems with increased demands for public services, they have resorted to contracting out some services to _______ _________

private companies

government contracting with private companies to provide some public services

privitization

the authority of cities to add territory, subject to restrictions set by state law

annexation

the power of an incorporated city to control development within nearby unincorporated areas

extraterritorial jurisdiction

With the Municipal Annexation Act of 1963, the legislature granted cities considerable discretionary authority over nearby ______________ areas.

unicorporated

Cities even have annexed thin strips of land, miles from urban development, along major roads and arteries leading into them. Because a city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction extends as far as five miles on either side of the strip that is annexed, this practice enables a city to control future development over a _____ ____

large area

A major change in the annexation powers of some large Texas cities was enacted in a special session of the 2017 legislature. This law now requires annexations by these cities to be approved by landowners or voters in the ________ _____

affected areas

City governments provide most basic public services in urban areas, and as cities expand to county boundaries and beyond, overlapping jurisdictions of county and city governments increase along with a reduction of county services in the annexed areas. Counties, nevertheless, still play an important role in Texas. Rural Texans, in particular, continue to rely on counties to provide a number of services, and demands on counties will increase. Recommendations to modernize county government include another attempt at county home rule; granting counties some legislative or ordinance-making authority; modernizing county information and communications systems; and creating an office of county administrator, appointed by a commissioners court, to run the departments now assigned to commissioners. Another recommendation is to extend the _____ _______ ______ to smaller counties and to all county employees.

civil service system

a devie used by governments to attract new businesses through the reduction or elimination of property taxes for a specific period of time; includes exepmtions from property taxes on a business for a period of time to encourage that business to locate or expand in Texas cities

tax abatements

The legislature permits counties to form industrial development corporations or enterprise zones and to relax state regulatory policies to encourage the redevelopment of _________ areas.

depressed

Portions of a county may be designated as _____________ zones, in which tax abatements can be offered to attract new businesses. Counties also can create county boards of development, civic centers, foreign trade zones, and research and development authorities

reinvestment

Because many small governments have limited tax bases and staffs, they enter into contracts with larger governments for various public services. In 1971, the legislature, following a constitutional amendment, enacted the __________ ___________ ___ which gave cities, counties, and other political subdivisions rather broad authority for such contracts.

Interlocal Cooperation Act

the consolidation (strengthening) of city and county governments to avoid the duplication of public services

metro government

property owners can petition the city to create this type of district in a specific area of a city in which property owners pay special taxes in return for improvements to streets and other public facilities in their neighborhood

public improvement district (PID)

School districts are funded by a combination of state revenue and local property taxes with a small percentage of _______ _______

federal funding

lietuenant governor vs vice president

liutenant governor has power to devlop a dominant legislative role in texas while vice president is limited legislative functions

standing committees…

specialize in bills by subject matter or play a procedural role in the lawmaking process

if a bill passes both the house and senate but in different forms, the bill is sent to

a conference committee

for what types of bills can the governor of texas use a line-item veto?

appropriations

what is the most meaninful threat a governor can make to a legislator

can threaten to veto legislation of importance to the legislator

a plural executive is…

a fragmented system of authority …

what effect has the increase cost of campaign had on the gubernatorial election?

prevented many good potential condidates from running because of the burden of raising funds

the governor of Texas faces a difficult situation because the governor…

has relatively weak formal powers, but the public has high expectations

the governors veto power to call special sessions

can allow the governor to influence the legislature thorugh the threat of using those powers

what was Governor George W Bush’s greatets legislative challege during the 1999 legislative session?

inability to find a way to comproomise over school property tax reform