Texas Legislative Process Solved
Exam Questions
Course Introduction
The Texas Legislative Process course provides a comprehensive overview of how laws are made and enacted in the state of Texas. Students will examine the structure, powers, and procedures of the Texas Legislature, including both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The course covers the stages of bill introduction, committee review, floor debate, amendments, and the governors role in the legislative process. Emphasis is placed on understanding the unique features of Texass bicameral system, the influence of political actors and interest groups, and the impact of historical and contemporary issues on legislative decision-making. Through case studies and analysis of recent legislative sessions, students will gain insight into the dynamics and complexities of state lawmaking in Texas.
Recommended Textbook
Governing Texas 1st Edition by Anthony Champagne
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13 Chapters
842 Verified Questions
842 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: The Political Culture, People, and Economy of Texas
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55 Verified Questions
55 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The largest city in Texas is San Antonio.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) Provincialism has been a defining pattern of Texas political culture.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) Which of the following contributed most to the increase in the population of Texas?
A) domestic migration from other states
B) international immigration
C) a natural increase of births, in proportion to deaths
D) people moving to Texas from Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina
E) domestic migration and international immigration contributed equally
Answer: C
Q4) Agriculture accounts for 35 percent of the contemporary Texan workforce. A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Page 3
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Chapter 2: Texas and the Nation
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70 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) During the Nullification Crisis of 1833, South Carolina and several northern states attempted to nullify key provisions of FDR's New Deal.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) Many conservatives believe that Americans are overtaxed and overregulated by the federal government.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) Under the Articles of Confederation, states played a primary role in governing Americans, while the national government had very limited powers.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) Unfunded mandates infringe upon state sovereignty.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 3: The Texas Constitution
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following statements about the Texas Constitutional Convention of 1865 is not true?
A) Texas had to accept the abolition of slavery.
B) Texas had to repudiate the war debt incurred by the state.
C) Texas had to return to the federal government parts of Oklahoma seized by Texas Confederate soldiers.
D) The state had to formally reject the right of secession.
E) There were strong Union and secessionist factions at the convention.
Answer: C
Q2) Controversy about admitting a new slave state held up the annexation of Texas into the United States for nine years.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) The current Texas Constitution has been amended more than four hundred times.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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5
Chapter 4: Political Parties in Texas
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Latino movement known as La Raza Unida occurred during the A) 1920s.
B) 1940s.
C) 1960s.
D) 1980s.
E) 1990s.
Q2) The last Democratic president that carried the state of Texas was
A) Franklin Roosevelt in 1932.
B) John F. Kennedy in 1960.
C) Jimmy Carter in 1976.
D) Bill Clinton in 1992.
E) A Democratic president has never carried the state of Texas.
Q3) Partisan polarization refers to situations in which members of the same political party begin to fight over policy and ideological issues.
A)True
B)False
Q4) In the 2010 general election, every official elected at the state level was Republican.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 5: Elections in Texas
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is the significance of the Supreme Court case Smith v. Allwright?
A) The Court declared the use of literacy tests a violation of the equal protection clause.
B) The case compelled Texas to integrate Hispanic students into "whites only" public schools.
C) It announced that in primary elections states could not restrict voters on account of race.
D) It restricted the use of closed primaries.
E) The Court declared the use of poll taxes a violation of the equal protection clause.
Q2) Which of the following is the purpose of special elections?
A) to choose which candidates will run in the general election
B) to fill vacancies in elected offices
C) to allow voters to vote directly on public policy
D) to choose which candidates will run in the primary elections
E) to elect judges to the Texas Supreme Court
Q3) Texans tend to vote less than the national average.
A)True
B)False
Q4) List and discuss the reasons why campaigns in Texas are so expensive.
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Page 7
Chapter 6: Interest Groups and Lobbying
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Sample Questions
Q1) Interest groups representing labor organizations dominate Texas politics. A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following is not a reason for forming a PAC?
A) Candidates are more likely to notice a substantial contribution from a PAC than numerous small contributions from individuals.
B) Lobbyists who deliver substantial PAC money to a candidate can more likely gain access to that candidate.
C) A PAC is a way for an interest group to send a message to a candidate that it is willing to back with money.
D) A PAC can serve as a middleman to provide money to candidates that the PAC's members do not want to support publicly.
E) A PAC is allowed to donate unlimited amounts of money directly to a particular candidate.
Q3) It is vital for lobbyists to gain access to politicians and policy makers. Describe some of the ways in which interest groups and their representatives gain access in Texas politics. What are some of the potential abuses of this process?
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8
Chapter 7: The Texas Legislature
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Sample Questions
Q1) Why is the comptroller of public accounts so important to the legislature?
A) The comptroller is responsible for setting the salary and compensation packages for legislators.
B) The comptroller informs the legislature how much money it has to spend on the budget.
C) The comptroller investigates suspected illegal campaign contributions.
D) Whoever is comptroller is also the Speaker of the House.
E) The comptroller has to certify the budget for every agency before the budget can be passed.
Q2) Describe how a bill becomes a state law. Consider the following questions: Who writes bills? What are the rules for debate on the floor? What are some of the powers of the governor throughout this process?
Q3) If the Texas legislature fails to redistrict, the task of redistricting then falls to the federal district courts.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The lieutenant governor is also a member of the Texas House of Representatives.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 8: The Texas Executive Branch
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Sample Questions
Q1) In Texas, why are gubernatorial elections held in off years?
A) so that gubernatorial elections will not be influenced by a presidential election
B) so that candidates cannot run for governor and a federal office at the same time
C) so that voters will not become overwhelmed by too many candidates in one year
D) because Texas happened to become part of the United States during an off year
E) so that presidential elections will not be influenced by the gubernatorial election
Q2) The ______ is the oldest state agency in Texas.
A) General Land Office
B) Texas Ranger Division
C) Railroad Commission
D) Department of Public Safety
E) Agriculture Commission
Q3) Texas has a plural executive made up of multiple popularly elected offices.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 9: The Texas Judiciary
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Sample Questions
Q1) Approximately how many justice of the peace courts exist in Texas?
A) 4
B) 175
C) 500
D) 800
E) 2,000
Q2) Which of the following statements about retention elections is correct?
A) Texas currently uses retention elections for municipal court judges and justices of the peace.
B) A retention election requires at least one non-incumbent in the race.
C) A proposal for retention elections in the mid-1990s failed to pass.
D) In retention elections, the Texas Senate votes for judges.
E) In retention elections, judges must run against another judge from a different district.
Q3) Like the U.S. Supreme Court, the Texas Supreme Court has nine justices, including one chief justice.
A)True
B)False
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Page 11
Chapter 10: Crime and Corrections Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) In cases in which the accused cannot provide bail or cannot pay a bondsman, what option may this individual have?
A) The individual can provide his or her home as collateral to the court.
B) The individual can work off his or her payment in community service.
C) The individual can voluntarily serve time to avoid bail costs.
D) The individual can be released on his or her personal promise to appear.
E) The individual has no options and must remain incarcerated.
Q2) Which of the following best describes capital punishment in Texas?
A) The number of prisoners executed in Texas has been slowly decreasing since the 1970s.
B) Texas has both the highest rate of executions and the highest rate of successful death sentence appeals in the nation.
C) Texas executes more individuals than any other state and has a statistically low rate of successfully appealed capital cases.
D) The number of executions in Texas is double the number of executions in every other state combined.
E) Texas has had more death penalty cases overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court than any other state.
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Chapter 11: Public Finance in Texas
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Sample Questions
Q1) Prior to 2003, tuition for public colleges and universities in Texas was set by
A) the Board of Education.
B) the state Department of Education.
C) the governor's Department of Education.
D) the state legislature.
E) the federal government.
Q2) Which is the single largest source of tax revenue for the state of Texas?
A) income
B) sales
C) property
D) gasoline
E) various taxes on the energy industry
Q3) Federal matching funds are
A) state monies going to support the federal government in its efforts to reduce the deficit.
B) awarded to states that agree to fund a federal program on behalf of their own citizens.
C) always distributed to states without any strings attached.
D) only awarded to states that have an income tax.
E) so small that they are an inconsequential part of state budget policy.
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Chapter 12: Public Policy in Texas
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Sample Questions
Q1) The legal doctrine at issue in the Plessy v. Ferguson case is the
A) separate but equal doctrine.
B) privileges and immunities clause.
C) hold and save harmless doctrine.
D) supremacy clause.
E) doctrine of eminent domain.
Q2) Which statement is true?
A) Texas has about the same rate of health insurance coverage as the rest of the nation.
B) Texas has a higher proportion of its citizens with health insurance coverage because of Texas individualism.
C) Texas leads the nation in the percentage of residents who lack health insurance coverage.
D) Texas has maintained stringent control of health insurance coverage, and to receive welfare benefits you must have private insurance coverage.
E) Every Texan is covered under Medicaid.
Q3) Aquifers are a significant source of water in Texas.
A)True
B)False
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14
Chapter 13: Local Government in Texas
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is a source of often unanticipated costs faced by county governments?
A) the expense of city police salaries
B) the financial burden of capital murder trials
C) the spiraling costs of public education
D) the growing number of constables being employed at the county level
E) unexpected road and bridge maintenance
Q2) San Antonio and Dallas both have council-manager forms of government.
A)True
B)False
Q3) San Antonio operates under which form of city government?
A) mayor-council style
B) council-manager style
C) commissioner style
D) council-mayor style
E) at-large style
Q4) General-law cities have more autonomy from the state than home-rule charter cities.
A)True
B)False
Page 15
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