American Government 2306 Study Guide – Unit 4 Exam Notes

County Government in Texas

• Primary purpose: To provide basic services and administer state laws at the local level.

County Officials

• County Attorney: Represents the county in legal matters; prosecutes misdemeanor cases.
• District Attorney: Prosecutes felony cases.
• County Clerk: Maintains county records and documents, including vital statistics.
• County Tax Assessor-Collector: Collects taxes and fees for the county and state.
• Sheriff: Chief law enforcement officer of the county.
• Constable: Law enforcement officer, primarily serving legal documents and providing courtroom security.

County Commissioners’ Court

• The governing body of the county, responsible for setting the county budget and tax rate, overseeing county services, and managing county property.

Avery v. Midland County (1968)

• Supreme Court case that established the principle of "one person, one vote" in county government.

Special Districts

• Define: units of local government created to perform specific functions.
• Created by: Voters in the area to be covered by the special district.

Cities: Home-Rule vs. General-Law

• Home-Rule City: A city with a population of more than 5,000 can adopt its own charter and structure its government as it sees fit, within certain limitations.
• General-Law City: A city with a population of 5,000 or fewer, which is governed by state laws.

City Budget Types

• General Revenues Fund Budget: Funds for discretionary spending.
• General Revenue-Dedicated Funds Budget: Funds for specific purposes.
• Federal Funds Budget: Funds received from the federal government.
• Other Funds Budget: Funds from sources other than those listed above.
• All Funds Budget: The aggregate of all the budgets.

Oil Severance Tax

• A tax on the extraction of oil and gas.

Balanced Budget Requirement

• Texas Constitution requires the state to maintain a balanced budget.

Fluctuating Oil and Natural Gas Revenue

• Due to market prices and production levels varying over time.

Personal Income Tax

• Difficult to implement in Texas due to political opposition and constitutional provisions.

State Funds

• General Revenue Fund: The state's primary operating fund.
• Available School Fund: Supports public education.
• State Highway Fund: Funds the construction and maintenance of state highways.
• Economic Stabilization Fund (Rainy Day Fund): A reserve fund for times of economic distress.

Permanent School Fund

• A state endowment that provides funding for public education.
• Factors considered when distributing money: Number of students, local property values, and other factors.

Biennial Revenue Estimate

• A forecast of state revenue for the upcoming two-year budget cycle.

Dual-Budget System

• The governor and the legislature both prepare budget proposals.

Rationality and Optimality

• Rationality: Making decisions based on logic and reason.
• Optimality: Choosing the best possible option.

Challenges Facing Education Policy in Texas

• Funding disparities, teacher shortages, and achievement gaps.

Policy-Making Process

• 1. Problem identification
• 2. Agenda setting
• 3. Policy formulation
• 4. Policy adoption
• 5. Policy implementation
• 6. Policy evaluation

Public Policy

• Government actions designed to address public problems.

Measuring Welfare

• Poverty rates, income inequality, and access to healthcare.

Problems Impacting Education Policy in Texas

• Inadequate funding, high-stakes testing, and teacher quality.

Court Cases

• Plessy v. Ferguson (1896): Upheld segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine.
• Brown v. Board of Education (1954): Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, declaring state-sponsored segregation in public schools unconstitutional.
• San Antonio v. Rodriguez (1973): Upheld the Texas system of financing public schools, which relied heavily on local property taxes, even though it resulted in unequal funding across districts.
• Edgewood ISD v. Kirby (1984): Ruled that the Texas school finance system was unconstitutional because it violated the state constitution's requirement for an efficient and equitable public school system.
• Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Burrell Day & Joel McDaniel (2012): Determined ownership and usage rights of groundwater.

Problems Felons Face After Leaving Prison

• Difficulty finding employment, housing, and social stigma.

Integrity of the Texas Criminal Justice System

• Examples questioning integrity: Wrongful convictions, racial bias, and inadequate legal representation.

Probation

• A sentence that allows an offender to remain in the community under supervision instead of going to prison.

Court Cases

• Ruiz v. Estelle (1980): Ruled that the Texas prison system was unconstitutional due to overcrowding, inadequate healthcare, and mistreatment of inmates.
• Gideon v. Wainwright (1963): Established the right to counsel for indigent defendants in criminal cases.

Parole

• The conditional release of a prisoner before the end of their sentence.
• Granted by: The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Felonies vs. Misdemeanors

• Felonies: More serious crimes, punishable by imprisonment in a state or federal penitentiary.
• Misdemeanors: Less serious crimes, punishable by fines or imprisonment in a county jail.

Constitutional Carry Law

• Allows individuals to carry firearms without a permit.

Plea Bargain

• An agreement between the prosecutor and the defendant in a criminal case in which the defendant pleads guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for a reduced sentence.

Clemency

• The process of seeking a pardon or commutation of a sentence from the governor.

Steps After Arrest

• Arrest, booking, arraignment, preliminary hearing, indictment, trial, sentencing, and appeal.

Grand Jury

• A panel of citizens that decides whether there is enough evidence to indict a defendant.
• Criticism: The grand jury often serves as a rubber stamp for the prosecutor.

Controversies Surrounding Policing

• Excessive force, racial profiling, and police brutality.

Law of Capture

• A legal principle that grants landowners the right to pump as much groundwater as they can capture, regardless of the impact on neighboring wells.

Water Sources in Texas

• Most of the water in Texas comes from groundwater and surface water sources.

Naturalized Citizen

• The process by which an immigrant becomes a U.S. citizen.

Roads and Highways Funding

• Funded through a combination of federal, state, and local sources, including gas taxes, vehicle registration fees, and tolls.

Bullet Train

• A high-speed train system.
• Positive impacts: Reduced travel time and increased economic activity.
• Negative impacts: Environmental concerns and land acquisition issues.

Community Colleges Funding

• Funded through a combination of state appropriations, tuition, and local property taxes.

Sanctuary City

• A city with policies designed to limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.