Chapter 8 - The Executive Department and the Office of the Governor

Question 1

Appointment powers

Answer 1

Power of the chief executive to appoint persons to office

Question 2

Attorney General

Answer 2

Elected state official

Serves as the state’s chief civil lawyer

Question 3

Clemency

Answer 3

Acts regarded as merciful

Leniency or moderation in the severity of punishment due

Question 4

Comptroller

Answer 4

Elected state official

Directs the collection of taxes and other revenues, and estimates revenues for the budgeting process

Question 5

Impeachment

Answer 5

Process of formally accusing an official improper behavior in office, followed by a trial
If official is convicted, removal from office

Question 6

Land commissioner

Answer 6

Elected state official

Manger of the most publicly-owned lands

Question 7

Incumbent

Answer 7

Person who is currently holding office

Usually used in times of reelection

Question 8

Lieutenant governor

Answer 8

Second highest elected official in the state

President of the state senate

Question 9

Line-item veto

Answer 9

Power that enables the governor to strike out parts (lines) of an appropriations bill rather than the whole bill

Question 10

Martial law

Answer 10

Power to suspend civil government temporarily and replace it with government by the state militia and/or law enforcement agencies

Question 11

Message power

Answer 11

Formal means of the governor to expressing policy preferences in the “State of the State” message
Biennial budget message, emergency messages

Question 12

Patronage

Answer 12

Practice of rewarding political supporters

Often through appointments to office

Question 13

Plural executive

Answer 13

Executive power divided among several other officials

Question 14

Secretary of state

Answer 14

State official
Appointed by governor
Primary responsibility is administering elections

Question 15

Senatorial courtesy

Answer 15

Senate’s tradition of honoring the objection of a senator from the same district as the nominee

Question 16

Session power

Answer 16

Governor’s ability to call the legislature into special session
Limited to no more than thirty (30) days
May call unlimited number of sessions

Question 17

State Board of Education

Answer 17

Elected body
Responsible for setting the goals, adopting policies, establishing the standards for education programs in the Texas public school system

Question 18

Sunset review

Answer 18

Process by which the sunset advisory commission reviews the state agencies
If the legislature does not pass a law for the agency’s continuance, it is abolished

Question 19

Sunshine laws (Texas Open Records Act)

Answer 19

Laws that requires the public, including the media, to have access to a wide variety of official records and to most public meetings of state and local agencies

Question 20

Texas Railroad Comission (TRC)

Answer 20

Oversees the supply of oil and gas from Texas
Has enormous impact on state revenues and national energy
One of the most powerful regulatory agencies in the state

Question 21

Veto power

Answer 21

Governor’s power to turn down legislation

Can be overridden by a 2/3 vote of both House and Senate

Question 22

Which executive branch official is appointed by the Governor

Answer 22

Secretary of State

Question 23

Most executive offices in Texas report to the voters, not the governor. This is known as

Answer 23

Plural executive

Question 24

The state budget considered by the legislature each session starts with a draft prepared by

Answer 24

The Legislative Budget Board

Question 25

Vetoes by Texas governors are rarely overridden, largely because

Answer 25

The governor can veto most bill after the legislature has adjourned

Question 26

Length of term for Texas Governors

Answer 26

4 years

Question 27

A Texas governor can remove individual spending items from an appropriation bull through

Answer 27

Line item veto

Question 28

The Texas Railroad Commission is primarily charged with regulating

Answer 28

Oil and gas

Question 29

Before a state budget can take effect, it must be certified by

Answer 29

The Comptroller

Question 30

Before serving as governor, Greg Abbott serves as

Answer 30

Texas Attorney General

Question 31

The first female to serve as governor was

Answer 31

Miriam Ferguson