Texas Politics
Textbook Exam Questions
Course Introduction
Texas Politics provides an in-depth exploration of the political structure, processes, and issues unique to the state of Texas. The course examines the historical development of Texas government, its constitution, and the interplay between state and federal powers. Students analyze key political institutions, including the legislature, executive, and judiciary, while also considering the role of parties, elections, interest groups, and public opinion in shaping policy outcomes. Emphasis is placed on contemporary challenges such as demographic shifts, economic changes, and debates over education, immigration, and energy policy, equipping students with a comprehensive understanding of the dynamic and often distinctive political landscape of Texas.
Recommended Textbook Governing Texas 1st Edition by Anthony Champagne
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13 Chapters
842 Verified Questions
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Chapter 1: The Political Culture, People, and Economy of Texas
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Q1) The economy of San Antonio rests on all of the following except A) national military bases.
B) educational institutions.
C) the high-tech industry.
D) tourism.
E) a large medical research complex.
Answer: C
Q2) The largest city in Texas is San Antonio.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Houston is located in the Gulf Coastal Plains region.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) Oil was the primary industry in Texas during the nineteenth century.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Page 3
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Chapter 2: Texas and the Nation
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Q1) With the weakening public support for the New Deal, the Reagan era reoriented Texans' support for all of the following EXCEPT
A) economic deregulation.
B) a strong national defense.
C) support for "Don't ask, don't tell."
D) traditional family values.
E) a balanced federal budget.
Answer: C
Q2) When Phil Gramm, a lifelong Democrat, switched to the Republican Party and easily won reelection, it signaled
A) an increasing ideological division between Republicans and Democrats.
B) the seniority system in Congress.
C) consequences of economic regulation.
D) the end of the Democratic Party in Texas.
E) the growing division between the two factions in the Democratic Party.
Answer: A
Q3) 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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Q1) Which of the following was not a goal for those writing the Texas Constitution?
A) restrictions on the power of the government to get into debt
B) limits on the ability of the government to impose taxes
C) checking the powers of the governor
D) giving independence to the judiciary by making all judges appointed, instead of elected
E) strong popular control of state government
Answer: D
Q2) The Texas Constitution is
A) a tightly argued, brief document of general principles.
B) a long, complex, and detailed document.
C) difficult to amend, compared to the U.S. Constitution.
D) an economic treatise disguised as a blueprint for government.
E) based on the fundamental principle of liberal progressivism.
Answer: B
Q3) The current Texas Constitution has been amended more than four hundred times.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Political Parties in Texas
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Q1) The pattern, beginning in the 1950s, of Texans voting for a Republican president but sticking with conservative Democrats for state offices is called
A) Yellow Dog democracy.
B) presidential Republicanism.
C) the white primary.
D) the Eisenhower syndrome.
E) the Republicrat movement.
Q2) In Texas, why were primary elections more important than general elections during most of the twentieth century?
A) The general election was often fixed.
B) The primary election was the only election held in many Texas counties.
C) The primary election was open to more voters than the general election.
D) In a one-party state, the winner of the primary will most likely win the general election.
E) More people voted in the primary elections than in the general elections.
Q3) During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Texas was a competitive, two-party state.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 5: Elections in Texas
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Q1) In which of the following elections is voter turnout the highest?
A) presidential elections
B) gubernatorial general elections
C) off-year congressional elections
D) runoff elections
E) primary elections
Q2) General elections are held
A) in odd-numbered years.
B) in even-numbered years.
C) each November.
D) every four years, in line with the presidential election.
E) when called for by the legislature.
Q3) A ______ was a tax charged to voters as a prerequisite for registration.
A) registration tax
B) voter tax
C) registration fee
D) poll tax
E) ballot fee
Q4) List and describe the different types of elections in Texas.
Q5) List and discuss the reasons why campaigns in Texas are so expensive.
Page 7
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Chapter 6: Interest Groups and Lobbying
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Sample Questions
Q1) Individuals are most likely to successfully lobby government when they
A) are not challenged by powerful, organized interest groups.
B) form their own political action committee.
C) seek pardons or clemency.
D) limit their requests to personal issues.
E) write letters to legislators.
Q2) No large interest groups in Texas represent the environment.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Interest groups are limited to lobbying the legislature; they cannot lobby executive agencies or the courts.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Which PACs spend the least amount of money in Texas elections?
A) single-issue PACs
B) labor unions
C) business groups
D) lawyers
E) consumer groups
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Chapter 7: The Texas Legislature
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Q1) In the Texas House of Representatives, who has the power to allow members to speak in floor debates?
A) the Speaker of the House
B) the leader of the party of which the representative is a member
C) the lieutenant governor
D) no one-House members do not need official permission to speak in floor debates.
E) the governor
Q2) A bill in the Texas legislature that would allow a county to establish a new community college would be classified as a
A) general bill.
B) special bill.
C) local bill.
D) concurrent resolution.
E) simple resolution.
Q3) A special legislative session may last as long as it takes to complete the session's agenda.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 8: The Texas Executive Branch
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Sample Questions
Q1) The structure of the Texas executive branch is centralized, with much formal authority allocated to the governor.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Setting local telephone and electric rates is the responsibility of the
A) Public Utilities Commission.
B) comptroller of public accounts.
C) attorney general.
D) federal Department of Energy.
E) utility companies; there is no state regulation of these.
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 has the ability to declare martial law in Texas.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 9: The Texas Judiciary
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Sample Questions
Q1) In Texas, appellate court judges are elected, but the governor appoints trial judges to six-year terms.
A)True
B)False
Q2) What was the argument brought forward in the case of League of United Latin American Citizens v. Mattox in 1989?
A) Countywide election of judges in Texas diluted the strength of minority voters and violated the Voting Rights Act.
B) Statewide election of Texas Supreme Court judges weakened the ability of Hispanic voters.
C) Citywide election of mayors was racially detrimental to minorities and violated the Voting Rights Act.
D) Countywide election of county commissioners was racially biased and therefore weakened the strength of minority representation in those positions.
E) Legislative redistricting in the state of Texas was so racially biased that it violated the Voting Rights Act.
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Chapter 10: Crime and Corrections Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) Money that is provided by the defendant to assure his or her appearance in court is referred to as ______.
A) a court fee
B) bail
C) bounty
D) defendant compensation
E) a bond
Q2) Explain and discuss Texas's correctional system. What is the history of the system? What presents hurdles to an effective system? Can Texas prisons ever be considered the best in the nation?
Q3) What is the controversy tied to criminal cases, in particular capital cases, in the state of Texas? Why is there such a controversy? What protections are put in place in order to help protect the defendant in these cases?
Q4) Which of the following does the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles not handle?
A) revocation of parole
B) conditions of parole
C) decisions on which prisoners are due to be released on parole
D) recommendations on clemency to the governor
E) The board handles all of the above.
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Chapter 11: Public Finance in Texas
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Sample Questions
Q1) What happened when tuition and fees for Texas colleges were no longer controlled or mandated by the state legislature? Discuss the background conditions that led to this decision and how this impacted state funding for higher education.
Q2) Because of recent budget shortfalls, the state legislature will implement a state income tax effective in 2016.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which phrase best characterizes Texas's reputation in terms of taxes and services?
A) high tax, low service
B) low service, low tax
C) high tax, high service
D) no tax and all services
E) Despite its reputation, Texas's tax and service rates exceed the national averages.
Q4) The tax revenue projections of the LBB have been uniformly accurate regardless of changes in the economy in recent years.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 12: Public Policy in Texas
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Sample Questions
Q1) In Edgewood ISD v. Kirby, the key constitutional issue was
A) whether the Brown v. Board of Education decision applied to Texas students.
B) whether the phrase "an efficient system of free public schools" included school financing.
C) de facto segregation.
D) the continuing effects of Roe v. Wade upon public education.
E) whether school prayer should be required in grades K-8.
Q2) In March 2010, Congress passed ______, substantially altering the nation's health care system.
A) No Child Left Behind
B) the Affordable Care Act
C) the National Women's Health Act
D) the Dream Act
E) the Fiscal Cliff Act
Q3) Explain some of the legal aspects of water policy in Texas, including the law of capture and important court decisions.
Q4) Currently in the United States, welfare is considered a local issue and responsibility.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 13: Local Government in Texas
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Q1) Flood control is managed through special districts because
A) flooding is seldom contained in a single city or county.
B) the Texas Constitution forbids both cities and the state from spending money on flood prevention.
C) the Galveston hurricane of 1900 revealed the inefficiency and slowness of state government in responding to local disasters.
D) most cities do not have the infrastructure to handle large flooding.
E) most waterways in Texas are managed by special districts.
Q2) Special districts have often been called the hidden government. What are special districts? What are some of the services they provide? How are special districts created, governed, and funded?
Q3) All large cities in Texas have structures of government that give strong executive powers to the mayor.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Special districts are the most common form of government in Texas.
A)True
B)False
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