Texas Government Pre-Test Questions
Course Introduction
This course provides an in-depth examination of the structure, functions, and processes of Texas government within the context of the states unique political culture and history. Students explore the Texas Constitution, the roles of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as well as state and local government institutions. Key topics include political parties, elections, public policy, and the interaction between Texas and the federal government. The course also examines contemporary issues facing Texans and encourages informed civic participation.
Recommended Textbook
Texas Politics 2015 2016 13th Edition by Charldean Newell
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14 Chapters
868 Verified Questions
868 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/1812
Page 2
Chapter 1: The Context of Texas Politics
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62 Verified Questions
62 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/36028
Sample Questions
Q1) Sharing aborder with Mexico has resulted in which consequence for Texas?
A)Texas leaders have developed foreign policies toward Mexico independent of the national government.
B)Mexico's proximity to Texas has no impact on the Texas economy or Texas politics.
C)The political choices of Texas leaders have no consequences beyond their own borders.
D)Decisions made by Texas policymakers can have repercussions on relations between the United States as a whole and Mexico.
E)Since the passage of NAFTA, commerce between Mexico and the United States has decreased.
Answer: D
Q2) In a federal system,governmental powers _____.
A)reside solely in the national government
B)are shared between the national and state governments
C)are given only to the states
D)are divided between the national government and the private sector
E)are divided between state and local governments
Answer: B
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Chapter 2: The Constitutional Setting
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62 Verified Questions
62 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/36029
Sample Questions
Q1) E.J.Davis was elected governor of Texas when the state was governed under which constitution?
A)Radical Reconstruction Constitution
B)Coahulla y Tejas Constitution
C)Reconstruction Constitution
D)Republic Constitution
E)Civil War Constitution
Answer: A
Q2) The traditionalistic-individualistic political culture of Texas resulted in a constitution _____.
A)that centralizes power in the governor
B)with a heavy emphasis on limiting government's ability to act
C)that does not have a bill of rights
D)with unlimited controls on spending
E)with a high degree of flexibility
Answer: B
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4
Chapter 3: Interest Groups
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62 Verified Questions
62 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/36030
Sample Questions
Q1) Which person is least likely to join an interest group?
A)a high school dropout
B)a high school graduate
C)a college dropout
D)a college graduate
E)a graduate student
Answer: A
Q2) Which group of people is the least likely to be organized?
A)high school dropouts currently in poverty
B)wealthy businessmen
C)teachers
D)doctors
E)none of these, as all are equally likely to be organized
Answer: A
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Political Parties
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62 Verified Questions
62 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/36031
Sample Questions
Q1) During the last two decades of the twentieth century,Texas went through a political
A)realignment
B)dealignment
C)revolution
D)devolution
E)social conservatism
Q2) Which of these is not one of the reasons why third parties stay minor?
A)Third parties are illegal in the United States;people who form third parties are essentially breaking the law.
B)Texas has some of the toughest ballot-access laws in the nation.
C)A person nominated for statewide office by one of the major parties is automatically awarded a spot on the ballot whereas a person nominated by a third party is not.
D)To be awarded a place on the ballot, third-party candidates must collect signatures from registered voters totaling one percent of all the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election.
E)Populist Party
Q3) How might factions within a political party disrupt party unity?
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6
Chapter 5: Voting,campaigns,and Elections
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62 Verified Questions
62 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/36032
Sample Questions
Q1) Cross-Chapter Essay Question (Chapters 5 and 13): Explain why Texas has low voter turnout.How do you think such low voter turnout affects the state's policies on issues like education and health and human services?
Q2) Compare and contrast the implications for democracy of private financing versus public financing of election campaigns.What has been done in Texas to try to control money in campaigns? What,if anything,should be done by the state to improve campaign finance regulation? Explain why your suggested reform might have a positive effect.
Q3) Which of these is not afactor that reduces voter turnout in Texas?
A)Texas has no law that requires all registered voters to turn out during elections.
B)Voting levels tend to be lower in states lacking competitive party systems.
C)The poverty rate in Texas is high and the poor tend not to vote.
D)The state's African American and Mexican American citizens are less likely to vote than Whites.
E)All of these are suchfactors.
Q4) Discuss variations in the level of political participation in Texas by wealth,education,and ethnicity.Explain the effect that higher voter turnout might have on state politics.
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Page 7
Chapter 6: The Texas Legislature
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62 Verified Questions
62 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/36033
Sample Questions
Q1) Which of these would likely be a problem if the number of legislators in the Texas Housewere reduced?
A)Texas's physical size would require that legislators representlarger geographic areas.
B)As the population and geographic size of districts continued to grow, citizens would increasingly lose contact with their representatives.
C)People would protest such a change, as itwould go against years of Texas tradition.
D)Citizens would object, as theyprefer to represented by someone from a small enough geographic and population area to understand the needs of the people of the district.
E)All of thesewould likely be problems.
Q2) What functions besides making laws do legislatures have in government?
Q3) What name is given to the unifying philosophy that holds laws together?
A)policy
B)publication
C)execution
D)reapportionment
E)casework
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8
Chapter 7: The Governor
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62 Verified Questions
62 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/36034
Sample Questions
Q1) Generally speaking,most people are _____ of the limitations of the governor's powers,and thus look to _____.
A)unaware;the governor to successfully solve the state's problems
B)aware;the governor to fail at solving the state's problems
C)aware; the state's lieutenant governor instead
D)aware; the state's attorney general instead
E)aware;the cities and local communities instead
Q2) Which of these is not considered a formal power of the governor?
A)chief of party
B)chief intergovernmental diplomat
C)chief of state
D)chief executive
E)chief legislator
Q3) Elections for Texas governor are held every _____.
A)even-numbered year
B)even-numbered year when there is no presidential election
C)odd-numbered year
D)odd-numbered year when there is no presidential election
E)three years
Q4) Why is it so hard for the Texas legislature to override the governor's veto?
Page 9
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Chapter 8: The Administrative State
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62 Verified Questions
62 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/36035
Sample Questions
Q1) Sources of bureaucratic power include all of these except _____.
A)gubernatorial support
B)technical expertise
C)agency leadership
D)sunset laws
E)merit-based personnel systems
Q2) Cross-Chapter Essay Question (Chapters 3 and 8): What is co-optation? What are its causes? How does it affect the public interest?
Q3) In a civil service system,workers are _____.
A)hired based on merit
B)evaluated on job performance
C)insulated from undue interference from politicians
D)imperfectly accountable to the people
E)all of these
Q4) What is sunset review and how is it important in limiting the bureaucracy?
Q5) Why dothe state and local governments in Texas continue to grow despite public opposition?
Q6) Discuss the roles that clientele groups play in the survival of bureaucracies.
Q7) What are the pros and cons of a civil service system?
Q8) What characteristics of the state's administration cause confusion?
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Chapter 9: The Judiciary
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62 Verified Questions
62 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/36036
Sample Questions
Q1) Which of these best describes a court with "original jurisdiction"?
A)a court that hears death penalty cases
B)a court that gets its authority from the Texas Constitution
C)a court that has the authority to consider cases in the first instance or at the beginning
D)an appellate court
E)a court that has been granted both civil and criminal jurisdiction
Q2) Lower-court trial juries consist of _____ members,whereas district court juries consist of _____ members.
A)3; 9
B)6; 12
C)8; 15
D)9; 18
E)5; 10
Q3) District and appellate judges in Texas may be removed from office by _____.
A)impeachment after a vote of two-thirds majority in the legislature
B)the attorney general
C)removingtheir funding from the budget
D)a statewide referendum
E)the governor
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Chapter 10: The Substance of Justice
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62 Verified Questions
62 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/36037
Sample Questions
Q1) Tort reformers pushed to _____.
A)limit punitive damages
B)restrict lawsuit filings to the area where the injury occurred
C)limit joint and several liability
D)increase penalties against those filing frivolous lawsuits
E)all of these
Q2) A _____ is a civil wrong or injury resulting from a breach of a legal duty that exists by reason of society's expectations about appropriate behavior.
A)felony
B)misdemeanor
C)white-collar crime
D)tort
E)civil rights violation
Q3) The cases in Jasper and Tulia,Texas demonstrated that _____.
A)residual racism continues to exist
B)Texas has made progress in granting equal treatment to its citizens
C)some parts of the state have made more racial progress than others
D)all of these
E)none of these
Q4) Contrast the terms civil rights and civil liberties.Provide an example of each.
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Local Government
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62 Verified Questions
62 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/36038
Sample Questions
Q1) Residents of the ETJ _____.
A)pay city taxes
B)receive city services
C)conform to city building and construction regulations
D)vote in city elections
E)all of these
Q2) Why are there concerns about the long-term economic challenges faced by local governments?
A)Texas has an increasing number of residents with less revenue to provide services.
B)The public opposes tax increases.
C)State and national governments are unableto provide funds.
D)State and national governments mandatespending money on certain programs.
E)All of these are reasons for concern.
Q3) Special districts have the advantage of _____.
A)being easy to establish and operate
B)offering great flexibility to governmental organizations
C)being able to remove technical problems from the political arena
D)bypassing the legal and organizational limitations of existing governments
E)all of these
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Page 13
Chapter 12: The State Economy and the Financing of State Government
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62 Verified Questions
62 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/36039
Sample Questions
Q1) Your text states that rather than developing public policy and then seeking ways to fund services,Texas creates a budget and then funds services.How do you think Texas would be different if it chose its public policies first and provided funding second?
Q2) What is tax elasticity?How does Texas's lack of tax elasticity create problems for budgeting in Texas?
Q3) In what ways would you consider Texas's taxing and spending system to be "democratic"?In what ways would you consider it to be "undemocratic"?
Q4) In order for tax restructuring to occur in Texas,_____.
A)the public would have to be more accepting of a state income tax
B)businesses would have to accept an activity tax like a corporate income tax
C)state politics and attitudes would have to change
D)regular revenue shortfalls would have to end and taxes would have to be more elastic
E)all of these
Q5) Cross-Chapter Essay Question (Chapters 1 and 12): Explain how Texas's taxing and spending system reflects its individualistic and traditionalistic political cultures.Give examples to support your explanations.
Q6) What tools does the governor have for dealing with the state's budget?
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Public Policy: People
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62 Verified Questions
62 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/36040
Sample Questions
Q1) Which statementabout academic standardized testing in Texas public schools is correct?
A)Texas has had multiple different standardized exams over time.
B)Critics charge that the testing has resulted in teachers who "teach to the test."
C)Current testing requires more days of standardized testing than previous testing systems.
D)There is general agreement that the state had begun to require far too much educational testing, and thus testing was reduced.
E)All of these statements are correct.
Q2) Which of these is not associated with the term poverty threshold?
A)the level of income below which a family is officially considered to be poor
B)established annually
C)a health care program for the elderly
D)the federal poverty line
E)the basis for determining eligibility for a variety of social programs
Q3) Your text argues that several factors make it likely that social services spending will be a long-term issue in Texas.Why is this the case?
Q4) Why is textbook selection in Texas a cause of concern for other states?
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Page 15
Chapter 14: Public Policy: Resources
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62 Verified Questions
62 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/36041
Sample Questions
Q1) Ifa landowner pumps so much water from underneath his or herland thata neighbor's well or lake runs dry,under the rule of capture,this is _____.
A)illegal, because the state has an interest in protecting underground water for future generations
B)illegal, because people and businesses cannot own underground water just like they cannot own surface water
C)legal, even if it puts others' access to water in jeopardy
D)legal, even though it conflicts with laws passed by the legislature that recognize that underground and surface water are connected
E)legal, even if it puts others' access to water in jeopardy and even though it conflicts with laws passed by the legislature that recognize that underground and surface water are connected
Q2) Explain why the future of Texas politics is likely to be full of conflicts over water supply.Explain the nature of the disputes between eastern and western parts of the state,between cities and rural areas,between agriculture and industry,and between sports groups (particularly fishing organizations)and developers.
Q3) Define Faustian bargain and explain how it relates to energy policy in Texas.
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Page 16