Summer 2025: GOVT-2306-S25-Texas Government Final Study Guide

A professor drops the student from the class for excessive absences. State law requires the student receive a "W" for the course and retake the class. This illustrates which stage of the policy making process?

Policy Implementation

According to public opinion polls, most Texans __

support capital punishment

After a policy is formulated, a government body must act to put the policy into effect. This step in the policy process is known as __

policy adoption

Which of the following situations best illustrates agenda setting?

A local newspaper prints a series of articles focusing on the problem of vacant, boarded up apartment complexes becoming hangouts for drug dealers.

The development of courses of action for dealing with the problems on the government's agenda is the definition for which of the following?

policy formulation

The school superintendent chairs a special committee of teachers, parents, and community leaders to develop a plan to discourage drug use. The committees action illustrates which stage of the policy process?

policy formulation

Which of the followinf best illustrates policy adoption?

The local board of school trustees votes to purchase metal detectors to search students for weapons on school grounds.

At which stage of the policy process are policies actually carried out?

policy implementation

An editorial praises the legislature for passing a law that requires public college and university students to complete six semester hours in national, state, and local government, including the study of the Texas Constitution. The editorial illustrates which stage of the policy process?

policy evaluation

Which of the following situations best illustrates policy evaluation?

A city police department conducts a study to determine whether the location of police substations in high crime neighborhoods affects the crime rate in those neighborhoods.

Which of these would best describe the relationship between state laws and federal laws?

Most states, including Texas, have constitutional and statutory provisions that conflict with federal laws.

A format, written change or addition to a state's governing document is known as __

a constitutional amendment

How many constitutions have governed over Texas at some point since the state's independence from Mexico in 1836?

six

The __ provided for appointed judges and annual legislative sessions.

Constitution of 1869

Carpetbaggers would have had the most influence in the drafting of which state constitution?

Radical Reconstruction Constitution

Which statement about the initial Reconstruction Constitution of 1869 or the Civil War Constitution of 1861 is NOT true?

The 1869 constitution provided for improved conditions for African Americans.

Which of these were most influential in initiating and shaping the outcome of the Texas Constitutional Convention of 1875?

members of the Grange

Edmund J. Davis was elected governor of Texas when the state was governed under which constitution?

Radical Reconstruction Constitution

Which of these was NOT a provision of the constitution adopted in 1876?

holding annual regular legislative sessions

The Texas Constitution specifies that __ is/are to be elected.

all of the above (The lieutenant governor, the comptroller of public accounts, and the Commissioner of the General Land Office)

The term civil liberties refers to the __.

individual freedoms from government interference needed to sustain democracy

In the 1989 decision of Texas v. Johnson, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that __.

burning the flag is a form of symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment

In the Santa Fe ISD case involving student prayer spoken over a stadium public address system, the courts ruled that __.

the school district was imposing an establishment of religion on the football game attendees

Your text concludes that politics of religious freedom is often characterized by inconsistency and hypocrisy because __.

all of these (people are passionate about the issue of faith, elected government officials often follow public opinion, and the freedom to worship requires the freedom not to worship)

In the case of McDonald v. Chicago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that __.

citizen ownership and use of firearms is protected by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Which of these was a U.S. Supreme Court case that arose in the Texas courts and was used to overturn antiabortion laws in all states?

Roe v. Wade

An example of a civil liberties issue would be __, and an example of a civil rights issue would be __.

religious freedom; educational equality

The term civil rights refers to __.

treating members of all groups equally with the members of other groups

The "equal protection of the laws" clause, which was the basis of the Supreme Court's 1954 ruling declaring racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional, is part of the __ Amendment.

Fourteenth

Which of these is NOT true of the school funding problems in the Texas legislature in the last ten years?

Problems in Texas are about educational quality, not funding levels.

When the Texas Legislature passes legislation that delegates public programs to nonpublic service providers, what is the legislature doing?

Privatizing

What name is given to the unifying philosophy that holds laws together?

policy

What is the most obvious function of the legislature?

making public policy through the passage of legislation

Constituents often overlook which type of legislator responsibility?

casework

The Texas Senate has __ members.

31

Members of the Texas Senate serve __ - year staggered terms, while members of the Texas House of Representatives serve __ - year terms.

four; two

The process of drawing boundaries of electoral districts in such a way that one party or faction has an advantage over another is called __.

gerrymandering

Which statement concerning party organization in the Texas legislature is NOT correct?

Partisanship has absolutely no effect in the Texas legislature, especially in recent years.

Since 1975, legislative salaries in Texas have been __ per year.

$7,200

Which of these describes the typical Texas legislator?

all of these (college educated, a white male, and married)

Since 1974, the length of the Texas governor's term has been set at _____ years.

four

Who was the longest serving governor in Texas history?

Rick Perry

Which governor was the only one ever removed through impeachment proceedings?

Jim Ferguson

As of 2009, the annual salary of the Texas governor was set at __.

$150,000

Which individual would NOT be eligible to serve as governor of Texas?

a 40-year-old woman born and raised in New Mexico who moved to Texas last year

In 1990, which of these may arguably have been the biggest factor in the election of Ann Richards as Texas governor over Clayton WIlliams?

Williams off color remarks directed toward women and ordinary taxpayers

Which governor was often labeled the "thorny rose of Texas"?

Ann Richards

How is the plural executive best described?

as highly fragmented

Under which governor did the state legislature significantly increase the governors' formal powers?

Rick Perry

By law, the governor must submit a biennial budget message to the state legislature within five days after that body convenes in regular session. This budget is prepared by the __.

Budget, Planning and Policy Division

Which statements reflects the idea that judges in Texas are "above politics"?

All of these statements apply (Judges rely on neutral, impersonal criteria in making decisions; people are more likely to comply with decisions of judges if the judges are nonpolitical; Judges are moved less by personal issues and are more outside influence than governors and legislators are)

Which phrase reflects the idea that judges in Texas are "political"?

all of these (Judicial interpretations; being elected officeholders in Texas; representing different political parties, ideologies, and personal philosophies)

Advisory opinions are important because they __.

save time and money for Texas officials as an alternative to going to court

Which of these is NOT a concern about the structure of the Texas court system?

The structure is subject to the attorney general's control.

Which of these courts have no civil jurisdiction and deal mainly with violations of traffic laws?

municipal courts

Which judge may serve as a coroner to certify cause of death despite having no medical training?

justice of the peace

Which of these best describes a court with "Original jurisdiction"?

a court that has the authority to consider cases in the first instance or at the beginning

The Texas court with final appellate jurisdiction in civil cases is the __.

Supreme Court

In what way are social and fiscal conservatives in Texas at odds over how to deal with crime?

Social conservatives want to punish criminals harshly, but fiscal conservatives object to the expense of long prison sentences and prefer alternative sentencing to avoid the high cost of building and maintaining prisons.

In Texas, all judges except municipal judges are __.

chosen in partisan elections

Due to Texas's individualistic/traditional political culture, policymakers focus upon __.

all of these (cost avoidance; tax cutting; providing a business environment with minimum regulations)

Why is state administration in Texas confusing?

All of these are reasons why the state administration is confusing. (There is no single, uniform organizational pattern; There are numerous exceptions to the traditional bureaucratic characteristic of hierarchy; There are at least five different types of top policymakers in state agencies)

Which of these offices represents the state and its agencies in court when the state is a party to a case?

attorney general

Which elected official in Texas is responsible for supervising the leasing of state owned lands for such purposes as oil production and grazing?

commissioner of the General Land Office

Which statewide executive office is responsible for consumer protection, particularly with regard to determining the relative safety of pesticides?

agriculture commissioner

The State Board of Education is chosen by the __.

voters

Administration of most of the states laws is carried out by __.

appointed boards and commissioners

American business philosophy has been characterized as "pseudo laissez faire." What does this mean?

Businesses oppose government involvement in the economy in general but support assistance for their individual businesses.

Which of these is not a feature of modern bureaucracies?

Modern organizations are static and rarely reorganize.

As a practical matter, when higher level governments (like the national government and states) cut funding for services, __.

costs of funding the services are pushed downward to local governments

Which statement about interest groups and political parties is true?

Both interest groups and political parties are concerned with public policy.

Which statement is NOT accurate with regard to the general rules of interest group formation?

Those in the working class are more likely to join groups than those in the upper class.

The transition of an agency from guarding the public interest to defending the private interest is called __.

cooptation

Lobbying is an activity that refers to __.

efforts to influence policymakers face-to-face

Which statement would be Illustrated by the success of an interest group?

Citizens who are willing to get organized, inform themselves, and spend time talking to politicians can sometimes influence policy.

The 2003 Ethics Bill was an improvement over the 1991 bill because it __.

required candidates to file campaign finance reports via the Internet, with a few exceptions

In 1929,__ ,the oldest of the Hispanic organizations in Texas, was formed to combat discrimination against Mexican Americans.

the League of United Latin American Citizens

Consistent with human nature, individuals are more likely to prefer policies that benefit__ above all else.

themselves

The right of the people to assemble into groups can be found in which amendment to the U.S. Constitution?

First

Which of these best describes a political action committee?

a committee formed by an organization, industry, or individual for the purpose of collecting voluntary contributions and then distributing that money to selected political candidates and causes

A __ year is the budget year for a government or corporation.

fiscal

The Texas economy is shifting from one based on natural resources to one based on __.

information and technology

Because the tax system in Texas is not easily adjusted to ups and downs in the economy, it is said to __.

lack elasticity

Which official serves as the state's tax collector?

Comptroller

Because the framers of the state constitution believed in "pay-as-you-go"

government, __.

state government borrowing is highly restricted; and emergency borrowing by the state must be approved by a four-fifths majority vote of the legislature

Which statement about state university tuition in Texas is NOT true?

The lottery in Texas keeps college tuition affordable.

The effect of pari-mutuel betting and the lottery has been __.

that they have not been major sources of revenue for state government

Tax equity refers to __.

the idea that taxes should be fair

The two most significant problems with the tax system in Texas are __.

fairness and the lack of elasticity

Which characterization of the Texas system of taxation is not accurate?

The business franchise (margins) tax in Texas is a significant burden on the business community and has raised far more money for the state than expected.

When it comes to running a business, conservatives favor which of these?

government involvement only when there are problems with the marketplace

It is fair to say that parents in general __.

pass along their political attitudes and philosophy to their children

Which of these is considered a basic agent of political socialization?

All of these (churches; families; schools)

In Texas, which type of voter would most likely support the Republican Party?

Anglo, upper-class, professional, evangelical Protestant

Which statement is true of the mass media in Texas?

They are more likely to reinforce the conservatism espoused by parents.

Which industry is considered a strong supporter of the Democratic Party?

entertainment

Which type of religious followers are considered to be strong supporters of the Republican Party?

Evangelical Protestants

After Reconstruction ended, most Texans came to identify with the __ Party.

Democratic

Texas has often been described as which type of state until the 1970s?

A one party conservative democratic state

Minor political parties are known as __.

Third parties