GOVT 2306 Chapter 6, GOVT 2306-Chapter 6-Lehmann, GOVT 2306 Chapter 6, Interest Groups and Lobbying, TX GOVT Ch. 6

Attorney General

chief legal advisor for the state who represents the state in courts and issues advisory opinions on legal matters to the governor, legislature, and other state agencies

Comptroller of Public Accounts

collects fees and taxes, invests state funds, estimates revenue, and oversees payments by the state for goods and services

Commissioner of General Land Office

this office administers state-owned lands, controls the Permanent School Fund, and controls leases for the development of mineral and other resources on public lands; the office is sometimes called the land commissioner

Permanent School Fund

a fund set aside to finance education in Texas; the state's largest source of investment income

Secretary of State

this position is responsible for business licensing and regulation and also administrates and supervises elections; also serves as the chief protocol officer of Texas

Bureaucracy

a method of organizing any large public or private organization that includes hierarchical structure, division of labor, standard operating procedures, and advancement by merit

Elected Board

a directly elected board, such as the Railroad Commission of Texas that oversees a specific department of Texas Government

Appointed Regulatory commission

an agency of the state government whose members oversee a specific department of state government, are appointed by the governor, and are confirmed by the Setate

Patronage System

when individuals who supported a candidate for public office are rewarded with public jobs and appointments and government contracts

Merit-based civil service system

a system in which people receive government jobs based upon a set of qualifications and formal training; job promotion and pay raises are based upon job performance

Sunshine Laws

laws designed to make government transparent and accessible

Sunset Review Process

a formal assessment of the effectiveness of all statutory boards, commissions, and state agencies

What is a temporary organization?

They exist for a night or a weekend every 2 years ie conventions.

What is a permanent organization?

They exist year round.

When is the Precinct Convention?

Same night as the primary.

What do you have to do to get in the Precinct Convention?

Vote in the primary.

Party platform?

List of values and actions which are supported by a political party or an individual candidate.

When is the County Convention?

A few weeks after the Precinct Convention.

What is the purpose of the County Convention?

To adopt resolutions and sending delegates to the State Convention.

What is the purpose of the Precinct Convention?

To adopt resolutions and sending delegates to the County Convention.

What is a State Senatorial District Convention?

These are held in Mega-counties instead of a county convention.

When do State Conventions happen?

June.

What happens at a State Convention?

To adopt resolutions and sending delegates to the National Convention.

How many electoral college delegates does Texas elect at the State Convention?

38.

What is the Precinct Chair?

Runs party business on the lowest level. Runs Precinct Convention on the night of the primary.

Who is the County Executive Committee?

They guide the party at a county level. It is made of Precinct Chairs and the Committee Chair. In charge of fund raising.

Who is the County Chair?

Head of party's activities at county level and lead County Convention.

How many County Chairs are there?

One Democrat and one Republican from all 254 counties.

How many State Senate Districts are there?

31.

Who is in the State executive Committee?

One man and one woman from each 31 Senate Districts.

State Chair?

One Democrat and one Republican. They are paid because it is a full time job.

What were the hot politics after Reconstruction ended?

Liberal Democrats vs. Conservative Democrats.

Who was Jim Hogg?

First liberal Democratic governor.

What was Jim Hogg's daughters name?

Ima Hogg.

Who was James "Pa" Ferguson?

He was a Progressive that ran as a Democrat. He was a governor in the 1910's. He was impeached. His wife was governor in the 1920's and 1930's.

What is the left wing?

Liberal. They want the biggest level of government to solve all the problems.

What is the right wing?

Conservative. Generally want small government or no government to solve problems.

What did Franklin D. Roosevelt do for the Democrats and when?

He took the democrats from conservative to liberal in the 1930's.

What did Eisenhower do for the Republican party and when?

Eisenhower took the Republicans from liberal to conservative in 1952.

Who was Bill Clements?

He was the first Republican governor in over 105 years in 1978.

Who was Phil Gramm?

He started as a House Democrat and eventually became a Republican Senator.

Who was Kay Bailey Hutchison?

She was a Republican Senator in Washington during the 1990's. When she was elected it marked the first time both seats were occupied by a Republican since Reconstruction.

Who was on the Dream Team?

Tony Sanchez and Ron Kirk.

Why was the TAMSA founded?

Because one mother was mad because her daughter was being tested on material she had never seen and it was part of 15% of her final grade.

What big interest groups opposed the TAMSA's goals in the legislature?

Texan Association of Business & Pearson publishing.

What did TAMSA accomplish?

They decreased the end grade from 15% to 5%.

What is an interest group and what are the goals of an interest group?

Interest groups are organizations established to influence the government's programs and policies.

What is the free rider problem?

The incentive to benefit from others' work without making a contribution, which leads individuals in a collective action situation to refuse to work together.

What was the 8F Crowd?

A pro-business interest group.

What interest groups were powerful in Texas at the 1875 Constitutional Convention?

The Grange.

What is bundling?

The interest groups practice of combining campaign contributions from several sources into a large contribution from the group, as to increase the group's impact on the candidate.

What is a lobbyist?

An individual employed by an interest group who tries to influence governmental decisions on behalf of that group.

Corporate interest groups tend to use either ___________ to represent their interests in Austin.

Government relations departments or law firms.

The largest and most effective public-employee interest group is the ____________.

Public School Teachers.

One important way for interest groups to gain access to those in Texas government is to employ __________ as lobbyists.

former officials

According to the chart on page 183, the biggest share of money spent on lobbying in Texas comes from?

Energy & natural resources interests.

What is a PAC?

Political Action Committee, a private group that raises and distributes funds for use in election campaigns.

What is issue advocacy?

Independent spending by individuals or interest groups on a campaign issue but not directly tied to a particular candidate.

The largest and most effective public employee interest group in Texas is made up of

teachers

The practice of combining several individual campaign contributions into one larger contribution from a group in order to increase the group's impact is known as

bundling

What did "Bo" Pilgrim do in 1989?

He distributed $10,000 checks to state senators while lobbying them on a bill.

Interest groups are often powerful in states

dominated by one party

Which of the following groups have had notable political success by litigating in federal courts?

civil rights groups

Which of the following is the farmers' interest group that influenced the writing of the Texas Constitution of 1876?

the Grange

Which PACs spend the least amount of money in Texas elections?

labor unions

Which of the following is not a reason that interest groups are useful to politicians?

Interest groups provide politicians with an agenda on which they may run for office.

_________ was the former Texas Speaker of the House who was indicted for taking an illegal gift from a law firm that specialized in collecting delinquent taxes for local governments.

"Gib" Lewis

The Texas Medical Association is best described as what kind of interest group?

professional

What is the function of EMILY's List?

It provides early campaign funding for female candidates.

When individuals or interest groups take out ads concerning a campaign issue but do not tie them directly to any particular candidate, it is called

issue advocacy

Most PAC spending in Texas represents

business

A private group that raises and distributes funds for use in election campaigns is called a(n)

political action committee.

What does it mean for an interest group to "get on the late train"?

An interest group gives contributions after the election to a winning candidate the group had earlier opposed.

Which of the following is not a reason for forming a PAC?

A PAC is allowed to donate unlimited amounts of money directly to a particular candidate.

The 8F Crowd was

a loose but influential group of Texas businessmen.

All of the following are benefits an interest group has over private citizens except

interest groups have greater legitimacy with politicians than citizens do.

On average, incumbents in the Texas House of Representatives are able to fund-raise ______ challengers.

twice as much as

Lobbyists can do all of the following except

write bills.

Which interest is not represented in a list of the top interest groups in Texas?

the environment

Which of the following is not a common way for interest groups to gain access to politicians and policy makers?

running for office themselves

Texas has ______ laws dealing with lobbying by former government officials.

weak

Which of the following is not a typical threat to an incumbent running for re-election?

the greater fund-raising opportunities of challengers

Individuals are most likely to successfully lobby government when they

are not challenged by powerful, organized interest groups.

Which of the following is the best example of a public interest group?

Common Cause

What was the problem Speaker Sam Rayburn identified with the "steak men" at the beginning of the twentieth century?

They were legislators who would "sell" their votes on a bill for free steak dinners.

One important way for interest groups to gain access to those in Texas government is to employ ______ as lobbyists.

former legislators and government officials

Which of the following is not a description of an interest group?

It is typically active only at the national level of government.

As in the U.S. Congress, most campaign contributions in Texas go to

incumbents.

What is the 15% rule?

15% of a student's final grade in history would come from new mandated statewide test

What farmers' interest group influenced the Texas Constitution of 1876?

The Grange

What is the "free-rider" problem?

People getting the benefit from other's work without making a contribution

According to the text, what do interest groups want from policy makers?

Interest groups want policy that is beneficial for their groups

What is bundling?

Bundling is the interest-group practice of combining from several sources into one large contribution

How do interest groups gain access to policy makers?

By lobbying

What did Lonnie "Bo" Pilgrim do in 1989?

Lonnie distributed $10,000 checks to state senators in the capital while lobbying on workers comp reform

How does the text characterize Texas law regulating lobbying in the states?

The laws on lobbying are not major regulations on restricting lobbying practices, but put limits on lobbying

Why was the Texas Ethics Commission created?

The results of scandals when senators or representatives will sell their vote for money or a steak dinner

Why would an interest group form a PAC?

To collect contributions for candidates

What is issue advocacy? Why do PACs engage in this activity?

Independent spending by individuals or interest groups on a campaign issue but not directly tied to particular candidate. They spend money to support an issue rather than a candidate

What is TEXPAC? Who do they represent?

A Texas Medical Association who represents physicians