Texas Politics Question Bank
Course Introduction
Texas Politics examines the structures, processes, and dynamics of the political system in Texas. The course explores the state's unique political culture, its constitution, and the organization and functions of local and state government. Topics include political parties, elections, the legislative process, policy-making, civil rights, and the influence of social and economic forces on state politics. Special attention is given to the relationship between Texas and the federal government, as well as contemporary issues and challenges facing the state. The course aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of Texass political landscape and its impact on both state and national affairs.
Recommended Textbook
Governing Texas 1st Edition by Anthony Champagne
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13 Chapters
842 Verified Questions
842 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/463 Page 2
Chapter 1: The Political Culture, People, and Economy of Texas
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55 Verified Questions
55 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8298
Sample Questions
Q1) Throughout its history, business interests have dominated Texan political culture.
A)True
B)False Answer: True
Q2) ______ was the chief economic product of Texas during the early twentieth century.
A) Cattle
B) Cotton
C) Oil
D) Manufacturing
E) Steel
Answer: C
Q3) Which statement regarding urbanization in Texas is incorrect?
A) More than 85 percent of Texans now live in urban areas.
B) Historically, Texas urbanization depended on the spread of the railroads.
C) The origins of cities in Texas are found in Native American civilizations.
D) Urban development started in east Texas and spread west.
E) In the 1850s, only about 4 percent of Texans lived in urban areas.
Answer: C
Page 3
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Chapter 2: Texas and the Nation
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70 Verified Questions
70 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8299
Sample Questions
Q1) The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is the legal basis for
A) Congress's power to tax the states.
B) federal intervention into state responsibilities.
C) rights to privacy.
D) freedom from unlawful searches.
E) states' authority to regulate on behalf of their citizens via "police powers."
Answer: B
Q2) Before the Sixteenth Amendment allowed the federal government to tax an individual's income, federal revenue came primarily from
A) funding requests submitted to each state.
B) tariffs assessed on imported goods.
C) property taxes paid by individuals.
D) corporate income taxes.
E) corporate property taxes.
Answer: B
Q3) Unfunded mandates infringe upon state sovereignty.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Page 4
Chapter 3: The Texas Constitution
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56 Verified Questions
56 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8300
Sample Questions
Q1) Under the 1836 Republic of Texas Constitution:
A) Texas had no president.
B) Congress had only one house.
C) Congress was bicameral.
D) there was no formal judicial system.
E) slavery was completely outlawed.
Answer: C
Q2) The Texas Constitution requires which of the following for amendment?
A) a two-thirds vote in both houses of the state legislature and a majority vote from the voters of Texas
B) only a majority vote from the voters of Texas
C) the governor's signature
D) a two-thirds vote in county conventions convened for the purpose of amending the constitution
E) a majority vote in both houses of the state legislature
Answer: A
Q3) The current Texas Constitution has been amended more than four hundred times. A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 4: Political Parties in Texas
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70 Verified Questions
70 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8301
Sample Questions
Q1) The Republican Party was the dominant force in Texas politics for most of the twentieth century.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The system of allocating representatives to Congress and the Texas legislature by individual districts, rather than by allocating votes proportionally, is referred to as
A) the electoral college.
B) a single-member district.
C) nonproportional representation.
D) a one-party government.
E) bipartisanship.
Q3) Parties at the state level have less power than at the national level because
A) they are not as well-financed as the national parties.
B) voters are not familiar with the party's candidates at the state and local levels.
C) local issues are usually not ideological in nature.
D) state and local parties are poorly organized.
E) interest groups co-opt the powers of the parties at the state level.
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6
Chapter 5: Elections in Texas
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70 Verified Questions
70 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8302
Sample Questions
Q1) General elections for all national, state, and local offices must be held in November.
A)True
B)False
Q2) In Texas, the ______ Party usually experiences higher voter turnout than the ______ Party does.
A) Republican; Democratic
B) Democratic; Republican
C) Reform; Democratic
D) Reform; Republican
E) Independent; Democratic
Q3) The Motor Voter law requires all voters to have a driver's license.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Primary elections in Texas are generally held in March.
A)True
B)False
Q5) It is relatively easy for an independent candidate to get on the Texas ballot.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 6: Interest Groups and Lobbying
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52 Verified Questions
52 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) On average, incumbents in the Texas House of Representatives are able to fund-raise ______ challengers.
A) 50 percent more than B) twice as much as
C) three times the amount of
D) five times as much as
E) ten times as much as
Q2) Which of the following is the farmers' interest group that influenced the writing of the Texas Constitution of 1876?
A) the Grange
B) the 8F Group
C) EMILY's List
D) the Texas Natural Resource Council
E) the Texas Farm Bureau Association
Q3) Which of the following is the best example of a public interest group?
A) the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund
B) the Texas Medical Association
C) Common Cause
D) Texans for Lawsuit Reform
E) the Texas Bar Association
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Chapter 7: The Texas Legislature
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53 Verified Questions
53 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) If the Texas legislature fails to redistrict, the task of redistricting then falls to the federal district courts.
A)True
B)False
Q2) If the legislature grants a particular corporation an exception from a state law, it is called
A) logrolling.
B) a special bill.
C) a private resolution.
D) a filibuster.
E) a general bill.
Q3) In the Texas legislature, the House has ______ members and the senate has ______ members.
A) 435; 100
B) 100; 25
C) 150; 31
D) 31; 150
E) 100; 50
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Chapter 8: The Texas Executive Branch
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55 Verified Questions
55 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8305
Sample Questions
Q1) It has often been claimed that the Texas governor's greatest political power is the power of appointment. What kind of opportunities does the governor have to exercise this power, and what are some of the possible effects of this power on the executive branch?
Q2) The chief lawyer for Texas is the
A) chief justice of the state supreme court.
B) attorney general.
C) secretary of state.
D) state comptroller.
E) lieutenant governor.
Q3) In Texas, the plural executive is held accountable through all of the following EXCEPT A) the budgetary process.
B) Sunset review.
C) the impeachment process.
D) elections.
E) appointment by the governor.
Q4) The governor of Texas currently serves a two-year term in office.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 9: The Texas Judiciary
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77 Verified Questions
77 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) In ______, the first woman to serve as a Texas state judge was appointed.
A) 1887
B) 1902
C) 1935
D) 1967
E) 1985
Q2) Appealing a case to the federal courts of appeal when all justices will hear the case, rather than the typical panel of three, is referred to as hearing a case ______.
A) on merit selection
B) based on the preponderance of the evidence
C) en banc
D) stare decisis
E) per curiam
Q3) In 1996, the voters of Texas chose to adopt the merit selection of judges.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Texas justices of the peace do not have to be lawyers.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 10: Crime and Corrections Policy
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69 Verified Questions
69 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What percentage of Texas prison inmates has been convicted of drug offenses?
A) 6 percent
B) 15 percent
C) 18 percent
D) 28 percent
E) 55 percent
Q2) 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.
Q3) The lowest class of misdemeanor is which of the following?
A) Class A
B) Class B
C) Class C
D) state jail
E) second degree
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Page 12
Chapter 11: Public Finance in Texas
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74 Verified Questions
74 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8308
Sample Questions
Q1) Taking into account increasing Medicaid and school district funding, the general revenue shortfall for the 2012-2013 biennium budget was
A) between $24 and $27 million.
B) between $24 and $27 billion.
C) about $87 million.
D) well over $100 billion.
E) nearly $1 trillion.
Q2) Appropriations bills work their ways through both the House and the senate simultaneously. When there is disagreement on two versions of a bill, the bill is reconciled by
A) a state judge.
B) the governor.
C) a select committee.
D) a conference committee.
E) a vote of the House and senate.
Q3) Explain the impact of the Great Recession on the budget of Texas.
Q4) The Legislative Budget Board (LBB) plays an important role in the budget process in Texas.
A)True
B)False
Page 13
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Chapter 12: Public Policy in Texas
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82 Verified Questions
82 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Why does Texas have a relatively underperforming public education sector in comparison to national norms and averages?
Q2) Under the Gilmer-Aikin Laws
A) various bureaucratic institutions were established to be responsible for public education in the state of Texas.
B) public funding for education was drastically cut because of the lackluster state economy during the 1960s.
C) the Texas school districts were subdivided to provide for more local control.
D) the Texas school districts were not affected at all by this legislation.
E) this legislation became known as the Robin Hood bill.
Q3) The most persistent social problem facing Texas is
A) severe droughts.
B) poverty.
C) crime.
D) environmental degradation.
E) political corruption.
Q4) The law of capture works in support of conservation efforts.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 13: Local Government in Texas
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59 Verified Questions
59 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8310
Sample Questions
Q1) In Texas, what is the name of the officer who presides over the county commissioners court?
A) county judge
B) executive commissioner
C) justice of the peace
D) sheriff
E) constable
Q2) The chief law-enforcement officer in county governments is the
A) sheriff.
B) constable.
C) justice of the peace.
D) city police chief.
E) county attorney.
Q3) What is an at-large election?
A) an election for offices that receive no official salary
B) an election in which voters elect officials from the entire geographical area, rather than from a smaller district within the area
C) an election held under the commission system of city government
D) an election in which one or more candidates are under criminal indictment
E) an election in which anyone can vote, even those not previously registered
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