Civics: Texas Emphasis Exam Preparation Guide
Course Introduction
This course explores the foundations and functions of government, emphasizing the political systems and civic life in Texas. Students will examine the Texas Constitution, the structure and roles of state and local governments, and the impact of civic participation on public policy. Key topics include the history of Texas government, the rights and responsibilities of citizens, electoral processes, and contemporary issues affecting the state. Through discussion, analysis, and practical activities, students will gain a deeper understanding of how government operates at both the state and local level, and how individuals can actively engage in civic life in Texas.
Recommended Textbook
Practicing Texas Politics 16th Edition by Lyle Brown
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Chapter 1: The Environment of Texas Politics
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Q1) Which of the following statements regarding the population of Texas is false?
A) The state population has grown at a rate faster than the national average.
B) Urbanization has occurred.
C) During the 20th century, the state shifted from an urban to a rural society.
D) Texas is experiencing suburbanization on a very large scale.
Answer: C
Q2) Since 2011, land-based industries in Texas have experienced record financial losses as a result of
A) increased taxes.
B) a drought.
C) immigration.
D) fraud.
Answer: B
Q3) According to Professor Daniel Elazar, the political culture of Texas is dominated by the
A) individualistic subculture.
B) individualistic and traditionalistic subcultures.
C) moralistic and traditionalistic subcultures.
D) moralistic and individualistic subcultures.
Answer: B
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Chapter 2: Federalism and the Texas Constitution
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Q1) In 1974, the draft constitution prepared by the constitutional revision commission A) was passed by the state legislature at the constitutional revision convention.
B) fell three votes short of passage at the constitutional convention.
C) dissolved state government until a new constitution was written.
D) proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Answer: B
Q2) Because of the prevailing political philosophy among delegates in 1875, the Texas government mayexercise
A) any power it chooses.
B) any power not prohibited by the Texas Constitution.
C) only those powers specified in the Texas Constitution.
D) only those powers defined by the Texas Supreme Court.
Answer: C
Q3) Trace the history of constitutional development in Texas between 1827 and 1845.
Describe the historical and political events that led to the creation of the Republic of Texas, and then to the admission of Texas as a state within the United States.
Answer: Student Answers will vary
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4
Chapter 3: Local Governments
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Q1) Cities must redistrict every __________ years.
A) 2
B) 5
C) 10
D) 20
Answer: C
Q2) Approximately how many municipalities are there in Texas?
A) 200
B) 350
C) 900
D) 1,200
Answer: D
Q3) Under the Texas Constitution, counties
A) pass laws to be implemented by cities.
B) possess home-rule and ordinance-making authority.
C) are administrative arms of the state.
D) are primarily responsible for conducting common school education.
Answer: C
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Political Parties
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Q1) Briefly explain why conservatives tend to support the Republican party and liberals tend to support the Democratic party.
Q2) Resolutions adopted at the precinct convention will be submitted first to the A) national convention.
B) city-wide convention.
C) county or district convention.
D) state convention.
Q3) One of the reasons why Anglo voters opposed Governor E. J. Davis was that he A) returned slaves and the vote to former members of the Confederacy.
B) appointed African Americans to office throughout the state.
C) supported Robert E. Lee and the Confederate slave owners.
D) allowed blacks to legally marry whites.
Q4) Precinct conventions in Texas are usually A) heavily attended.
B) lightly or sparsely attended.
C) held at times other than after the polls close.
D) held in odd-numbered years.
Q5) Explain the difference between temporary and permanent party organizations.
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Chapter 5: Campaigns and Elections
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Q1) Discuss differences in voting behavior among groups in Texas. Which groups vote more than others and why? What might be done to make voting rates more equal among the various groups in Texas?
Q2) Which of the following amendments to the U.S. Constitution broadened the franchise, extending the right to vote to new groups?
A) Thirteenth, Eighteenth, and Twenty-Second.
B) Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Twentieth.
C) Nineteenth, Twenty-First, and Twenty-Third
D) Fifteenth, Nineteenth, and Twenty-Sixth.
Q3) How are primary elections funded in Texas?
Q4) For a candidate to win a general election, she must receive a ________ of the total votes cast.
A) plurality
B) simple majority
C) two-thirds majority
D) three-fourths majority
Q5) Why is voter turnout so low in Texas? What steps have been taken to increase voter turnout, and what further steps do you think might be taken? Do you vote? Explain why or why not.
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Chapter 6: The Media and Politics in Texas
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Q1) Commercial television began in Texas
A) after World War II.
B) in 1928.
C) in 1975.
D) before the Civil War.
Q2) How has the Internet (and social media in particular) had an impact on campaigns in Texas? What are the positive and negative aspects of the rise of social media in elections?
Q3) Which of the following best describes the status of radio as a news source in America?
A) Twenty-five percentof American homes have at least one radio, but radio is the best source of political news.
B) Seventy-five percent of American homes have at least one radio, but radio has a limited value as a source of political news
C) Fifty percent of American homes have at least one radio, but radio is perhaps the best source of political news.
D) Ninety-nine percent of American homes have at least one radio, but radio has limited value as a source of political news.
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Chapter 7: The Politics of Interest Groups
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Q1) Which of the following is an example of an electioneering technique?
A) Coordinating a "Get Out the Vote" (GOTV) campaign
B) Lunch meetings with elected officials to establish personal relationships
C) Getting group members to email or call legislators to influence their vote on an important issue
D) Testifying at a committee hearing
Q2) Which of the following is among the oldest and most effective racial and ethnic interest groups in Texas?
A) National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
B) League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
C) Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF)
D) All of these choices are among the oldest and most effective racial and ethnic groups in Texas.
Q3) The principal purpose of political party activity is to
A) achieve changes through the constitutional amendment process.
B) gain control of government by winning elections and thus achieve party goals.
C) influence public officials who are already in office to respond to the party's goals.
D) obtain favorable treatment for party members in governmental activities.
Q4) What is an interest group and how is it different from a political party?
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Chapter 8: The Legislative Branch
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Q1) The federal court case that applied the doctrine of "one-man, one-vote" to Texas was
A) Reynolds v. Sims (1964).
B) Lells v. Kavenaugh (1991).
C) Kilgarlin v. Martin (1965).
D) Ruiz v. Estelle (1980).
Q2) Which of the following statements is true regarding the Texas legislature?
A) It does not recognize the party affiliation of its members.
B) It has no party organization-not even informal caucuses.
C) It is dominated by the Democratic Party, with no Republican influence.
D) It has Democratic and Republican caucuses that are increasingly important.
Q3) Which of the following is not a power accorded to the lieutenant governor by the Texas Constitution or Senate rules?
A) Voting on all bills before the Senate
B) Recognizing senators who wish to speak
C) Appointing the chairs of all Senate committees
D) Referring all bills to standing committees
Q4) Describe the constitutional checks held by the Texas legislature over the executive branch. How does the legislative branch exercise control over the executive branch?
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Page 10
Chapter 9: The Executive Branch
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Q1) Which official is responsible for ensuring that gas pumps, grocery store scales, and other meters areaccurate?
A) Director of the National Bureau of Standards
B) Texas commissioner of agriculture
C) U.S. attorney general
D) U.S. secretary of agriculture
Q2) In Texas, the primary responsibility for enforcing the law rests with the A) state troopers.
B) municipal police and county sheriff's departments.
C) Texas Rangers.
D) constables in the various counties.
Q3) The Texas Constitution requires that the governor and all other elected officials acknowledge
A) the supremacy of the U.S. Constitution.
B) the existence of a Supreme Being.
C) right of Texas to secede from the Union.
D) the unrestricted right to bear arms.
Q4) Explain how the governor may get involved in pork-barrel politics.
Q5) Explain the governor's clemency powers. What other influence does the Texas governor have over the state judiciary?
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Chapter 10: Public Policy and Administration
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Q1) Identify and explain the significance of the Top Ten Percent Rule. Explain why you think the rule should be discarded, reformed, or maintained as it is.
Q2) Which interests tend to benefit most from Texas business and regulatory policies?
A) Business
B) Environmental
C) Consumer
D) Public interest
Q3) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
A) enforces state and some federal air and water quality standards.
B) regulates timber cutting in East Texas forests.
C) regulates air pollution but not water pollution.
D) lost its oversight authority of toxic waste dumping in 1997.
Q4) How does the way that Texas government is organized affect public policy? What other influences outside of the government itself affect how policy is made in Texas?
Q5) Explain the difference between the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Explain why Texas provides relatively low levels of health care for those with lower incomes.
Q6) Identify and explain the significance of TANF, SNAP, Medicaid, and Medicare.
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Page 12
Chapter 11: The Judicial Branch
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Q1) A court that has specific authority to decide a particular type of case has A) concurrent jurisdiction.
B) exclusive jurisdiction.
C) civil jurisdiction.
D) original jurisdiction.
Q2) Since the 1990s there has been much heated debate on tort reform. What is a tort? What reforms were made limiting recoveries in 2003, and what has been the result?
Q3) The term court of record means that
A) cases may not be appealed from these courts.
B) the decisions of the judges are recorded and published.
C) a written or electronic record is made of the proceedings.
D) proceedings may be audiotaped or videotaped for public release.
Q4) Justice of the peace in the Texas have jurisdiction over all of the following, except A) divorces.
B) small claims.
C) evictions.
D) traffic violations.
Q5) Briefly explain the roles of the judge and jury in a civil trial.
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Chapter 12: The Criminal Justice System
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Q1) When someone is executed, their death certificate lists the cause of death as "Death caused by __________."
A) execution of the state
B) lethal injection by state order
C) order of the governor of Texas
D) judicially ordered execution
Q2) How does the state decide on the proper punishment for an individual's criminal offenses? Should incarceration continue to be used as aggressively as it is today? Why or why not?
Q3) In the 1972 Furman vs. Georgia case the death penalty was found unconstitutional because
A) the justices disagreed generally with the practice of executions.
B) the death penalty's use was arbitrary and its application was racially biased.
C) of the Eighth Amendment ban on "cruel and unusual punishment."
D) different methods of execution were being used in different states, making it unfair.
Q4) Under what circumstances may Texas not impose the death penalty on a person convicted of a capital felony? Are these restrictions justified? Should there be more restrictions?
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Page 14
Chapter 13: Finance and Fiscal Policy
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Q1) The tax that produces the most significant amount of revenuein Texas is the
A) general sales tax.
B) selective sales tax.
C) business franchise tax.
D) gross receipts tax.
Q2) The state of Texas provides workers compensation under monies collected from A) payroll taxes.
B) severance taxes.
C) selective sales taxes.
D) general obligation bonds.
Q3) Texas has one of the most __________ state tax systems in the United States.
A) regressive
B) progressive
C) responsible
D) expensive
Q4) The largest share of public land revenue in Texas is derived from A) the sale of land to private individuals.
B) the sale of timber.
C) oil lease fees and royalties.
D) recreational use fees.
Page 15
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