GOVT 2306 Exam 2 Study Guide

How is the executive branch organized and why is this significant

consists of six offices, five of which are elected; significant as it leads to the Texas governor to have less formal power than most state governors

which executive position is appointed rather than elected

secretary of state position (appointed by governor)

who is the current TX governor

Greg Abbott

3 qualifications to be governor

30 years old

a U.S. citizen

resident of TX for at least 5 years immediately before election

who was the longest serving governor in TX

Governor Rick Perry

what TX governor has been impeached and removed from office

Jim Ferguson

impeachment process

impeachment = majority in House

removal = 2/3 of the Senate

next 3 in line to succeed governor

lieutenant governor → the Senate’s presidential pro tempore → the speaker of the house

Ann Richards

last democrat to hold office as governor (served from 1991-1995)

executive position: Lieutenant Governor

performs as acting governor when governor is unable to perform duties, casts a deciding vote in the Senate when there is a tie, and appoints Senate committees and chairs; the current ___ is Dan Patrick (REMEMBER THIS NAME)

executive position: TX Attorney General

represents the State in all suits and pleas in the Supreme Court and of the State in which the State may be a party; state’s highest civil attorney

executive position: TX Secretary of State

Texas’ chief election officer; conducts voter registration drives, collects election-night returns, and provides media and voters with the latest official election returns

executive position: Commissioner of General Land Office

was created immediately after the Texas Revolution to manage public land, provide map and land surveys, and raise money through land grants to finance the Revolution; current ___ is Dawn Buckingham, and the current office manages just over 13 million acres of land

executive position: Head of Texas Department of Agriculture

implements all agriculture laws in the state, is responsible for enforcing agricultural laws, and is not a constitutionally required position

executive position: Comptroller of Public Accounts

current is Glenn Hegar; responsible for collecting a variety of taxes, invests state money, oversees taxation, and estimates state revenues

what sorts of positions (other than secretary of state) can the governor appoint

the governor can appoint members in 4 other policy areas: water, health, law enforcement, and professional licensing

which political party currently dominates the executive

republican

civil law

contractual relationships between parties

criminal law

concerned with violations of the law (covers felonies and misdemeanors, indictment and Grand juries, plea bargains, and guilt beyond reasonable doubt)

2 highest courts in Texas

Texas Supreme Court and Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

what sort of cases are in Texas courts and what sort of cases go to federal court

civil cases take place in TX Supreme Court, while criminal cases take place in the TX Court of Criminal Appeals; cases that go to the federal court generally involve federal laws or the U.S. Constitution

what court are death penalty cases appealed to

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

which Texas courts has jurisdiction over major civil cases and felony cases

453 District Courts

what do grand juries (juries of citizens) do

determine if a person will be charged with a crime

trial vs appellate courts

Trial Courts - learn the facts, determine how the law applies, and are where trials actually occur

Appellate Courts - panel of judges and no juries; focus only on application of the law, process, and procedures; if new facts are found or a flawed trial occurs, the case is sent back to trial court

how are judges selected in Texas and why is this significant

they are elected in partisan contests, which is significant as it is very controversial and is subjected to voter “punishment” (there is less freedom to make unpopular decisions)

civil rights

the rights of citizens guaranteed by a constitution; require government to treat all citizens equally under the law; focus on groups (public accommodations, voting, fair trials, etc)

civil liberties

individual freedoms that limit the powers of the government and prevent unjust interference by the government; focus on individuals (inalienable rights, Bill of Rights, etc)

Civil Rights movements in Texas

Jim Crow laws and Black codes limited civil rights of African Americans; the Civil Rights Act of 1964 addressed segregation in public accommodations

criminal justice

this system intersects civil liberties and civil rights; it is intertwined with public policy and is one of the central purposes of government

what happened in the 1960s regarding law and order

the U.S. began to adopt a “get tough on crime” attitude

purposes of the criminal justice (CJ) system

to protect society, enforce the law, and ensure justice by preventing crime, punishing offenders, and rehabilitating those who have committed crimes

incarceration rates in US and how they compare to rest of world

the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world, housing 25% of the prisoners of the population (The U.S. houses 5% of the world’s population and has around 25% of its prisoners)

stand your ground laws

remove the duty to retreat, legalizing deadly use of force and allowing people to kill someone they perceive as an attacker without being found criminally liable (expands the castle doctrine, a legal principle allowing individuals to use force to defend themselves against intruders in their homes, even if they could escape)

what is Texas’ stance on crime like

Texas holds a reputation for being “tough on crime,” with its average sentence time for violence, property, and drug offenses being higher than the national average

Texas incarceration rate (high or low)

780 per 100,000 people (high)

what is recidivism

the rate at which criminal offenders commit crime after they leave the state’s custody

prison conditions in Texas

reputation for some of the toughest prisons in the country: prisoners overseeing other prisoners, harsh living conditions, violence is common, aging prisoners, lack of air conditioning

where does Texas rank on death penalty use

approves of the death penalty use and believes it does not violate the 8th or 14th amendments

statistics of the death penalty in Texas

the death penalty in TX is used for capital punishment. It was first carried out through hangings, then the electric chair, and now lethal injection. Texas leads the nation in executions and has executed 593 people since 1979

Harris County effect

this county alone has condemned more people to death than 45 other states

what happened in Tulia, how was it resolved, and what does this tell us about the drug war

in 1999, the “Tulia drug bust” involved the arrest of over 47 people, mainly African Americans, for cocaine dealing. Rock Perry later pardoned 35 of those incarcerated, but the event highlighted the racial injustice, bias, and discrimination in the criminal justice system

why are elections significant

they select representatives, shape policy, and promote accountability; they are the cornerstone of a representative democracy

Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA)

limited amount individuals, parties, and groups could contribute to campaigns and provided guidelines for how campaign funds could be spent

McCain-Feingold Act

also known as the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act; banned soft money contributions by political committees and prohibited labor unions/corporations from advocating for candidates on broadcast, cable, or satellite

Citizens United vs. FEC (2010)

overturned the McCain-Feingold Act; Supreme Court ruled that corporations could exercise free speech in the form of monetary contributions (led o much more money in elections)

largest source for campaign funding

individuals

Smith vs. Allwright (1944)

overturned the Texas state law that authorized the Democratic Party to set its internal rules, including the use of white primaries (elections where only whites could vote)

qualifications to vote

1. 18 years old

2. U.S citizen

3. resident of Texas for 30 days

4. resident of the county for 30 days

5. photo ID

6. no active felonies (convicted felons lose right til sentence is complete)

what are some reasons people don’t vote

low education levels, low per capita income, high poverty rates, ethnicity, residing in the south, young population, traditionalistic/individualistic political culture, weal political parties, lack of substantive advertising, (in Texas now:) restricted ballot access, felony convictions, party competition, rationalist explanation

sore loser law

the loser in the primary election cannot then run as an independent in the general election

voter rates in Texas

below the national average (voter turnout in the U.S. is also low compared to other nations)

describe current GOP (Republican Party)

hold all of the major elected offices in the state (promote conservative policies, traditional values, free market, and harsh punishment for criminals)

describe current Democratic Party

has been the minority since 1994 (supportive of civil rights, sympathetic to regulation, social welfare, mainly consists of African Americans, Latinos, and white liberals in urban areas)

what political party used to be dominant and which is dominant now

democratic was dominant, now republican is

prominent 3rd parties in Texas

Raza Unida Party, Socialist Workers Party, Libertarian Party, Green Party, etc.

how have the political parties changed

after the Civil War, Texas entered a one-party rule era (Republicans frequently did not run any candidate at all for many offices, but this changed later when many believed that the national Democratic Party had become too liberal

Blue Dog Democrats

also known as Conservative Democrats; are becoming an endangered species in the South

interest group

an organization of individuals sharing common goals that tries to influence governmental decision

function of interest groups

speak on behalf of members, mobilize citizens, keep citizens informed, hold officials accountable, litigate on behalf of individuals, and more

who spent the most on lobbyists in Texas

business organizations??

pluralism

theory that citizens connect to the government through interest groups that compete in the public sphere

what makes an interest group successful

assets ($$), objectives, alliances, visibility of policy involvement (often most successful when their actions are unreported by media)

Iron Triangles

often make policy with very little visibility and low opposition; have 3 parts: legislative committees, bureaucratic agency, and interest groups

council-manager form of local government

common in home rule cities; all or most administrative duties are placed in the hands of a city manager

strong mayor-council form of government

the mayor tends to exercise an array of executive powers, while the council functions like a legislative branch

what large city in Texas uses a strong mayor-council form of local government (which is very rare)

Houston

what kind of local government do most cities in Texas, besides Houston, have

council-manager

what are special districts and what purpose do they serve

a unit of local government that performs a single service in a limited geographic area; perform services such as education and sanitation

how much of Texas’ budget comes from federal government

38% (Texas generates about 62% of its own revenue)

public goods

certain goods or services provided to the public (ex. collective benefit, redistributive goods, and regulatory goods)

tax capacity

the measure of a state’s potential to tax its citizens (measures wealth of a state or its ability to raise revenues relative to all other states)

tax effort

measure a state’s actual level of taxation (ideally a state’s tax effort would equal its tax capacity; Texas’ is below)

biggest sources of revenue for state governments

consumer taxes

what does Texas not have (fiscal policy)

a state income tax

regressive taxes

takes a higher percentage from low-income people

progressive taxes

takes a higher percentage from higher-income people

proportional taxes

takes the same percentage of income from all citizens

tax shifting

passing taxes on to other citizens (ex. businesses shift their tax burden to consumers by raising prices)

what does the Texas Constitution say about welfare spending

prohibits spending more than 1% of the state budget on welfare

what are the 3 biggest items of the Texas budget

education, health and welfare, and transportation

tax supported local debt

taxpayer-supported debt is backed by local property taxes and is one of the main types of local debt issued in Texas

policy making process: Problem Identification

recognition of a problem; awareness of the event and the interpretation of that event

policy making process: Agenda Setting

public knows about the issues; issues often get on the public agenda through crises, individual activism, technological change, and media coverage

policy making process: policy formulation

occurs when the government actively considers the problem; both federal and state governments may attempt to address the problem through the legislative, executive, or judicial branch; policy analysis - considers cost, benefits, and alternatives

policy making process: Policy Adoption

occurs when an actual decision is made - when legislation passes, an executive order or administrative regulation is issued, or a court decision is handed down

policy making process: Budgeting

happens during formulation and implementation; requires funding provided by the law or the program cannot operate; if a program is generously funded through the appropriations process, policy implementation may occur quickly

policy making process: Policy Implementation

when goals and objectives are translated into an ongoing program; to be truly effective, a policy must be implemented; often very political; sometimes more difficult than actually formulating the policy

policy making process: Policy Evaluation

when the policy is assessed to see how it works; boring and tedious by definition; important because sometimes well-intended policies create unintended consequences

right to work state

prohibits collective bargaining agreements between employers and unions from including clauses that require employees to pay agency fees to the union as a condition of employment

medicaid

state and federal program that provides health coverage to low-income individuals and families (in Texas, mainly just pregnant women and children are covered)

medicare

federal program that provides coverage to elderly people (65+) and young people with disabilities

what is Texas’ spending for welfare overall like

texas spends less than most states on welfare programs, with public welfare and veterans’ services totaling only 3% of the state economy

what kind of sex-ed do most schools teach

94% of Texas public schools follow abstinence only policy

funding in education

although the state pays for part of public K-12 education, the state’s share in the cost has declined, forcing local school districts to pick up the tab through property taxes; this has led to inequality leading to several schools being severely underfunded and unable to afford basic necessities

where does most $ come for school funding

property taxes

old Robin Hood

consolidated property taxes into 188 districts; the districts collected property taxes and distributed to the school districts in their jurisdiction on a per-student basis (1991; was deemed unconstitutional)

new Robin Hood

school district’s property tax wealth per pupil is capped; when a district meets or exceeds that wealth they can send the excess wealth to the state which will distribute it to poor districts or it can combine its wealth with another specific district; most give it to state; 10% send money to state

2019 education bill

the 2019 legislative session passed landmark $11.6 billion finance law (HB 3)

border crisis-where are the refugees coming from

most are from Mexico