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TX GOVT: Unit 3 Test- Ch. 7,8,12 > Unit 3 Test GOVT > Flashcards

Unit 3 Test GOVT Flashcards

Chapters 7, 8, 12

1
Q

WHEN IS A REGULAR SESSION?

A

-2nd Tuesday in January of odd-numbered years
-Lasts 140 days
-Ends on May 31st

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2
Q

WHAT IS A SPECIAL SESSION?

A

-Governor can call as many as they want
-Lasts up to 30 days
-Governor picks the agenda

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3
Q

WHAT ARE THE QUALIFICATIONS TO BE A MEMBER OF THE HOUSE?

A

-US Citizen
-Qualified voter
-21 yrs old
-Live in TX for 2 yrs
-Live in District for 1 yr

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4
Q

-THE HOUSE: LED BY? HOW MANY MEMBERS AND HOW LONG IS THE TERM FOR HOUSE MEMBERS?

A

-Led by Speaker of the House
-150 members
-2 yr terms

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5
Q

WHAT ARE THE QUALIFICATIONS TO BE A MEMBER OF THE SENATE?

A

-US Citizen
-Qualified voter
-26 yrs old
-Live in TX for 5 yrs
-Live in District for 1 yr

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6
Q

SENATE: LED BY? HOW MANY MEMBERS AND HOW LONG IS THE TERM FOR SENATE MEMBERS?

A

-Led by Lt. Governor
-31 members
-4 yr terms

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7
Q

WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE LEGISLATURE?

A

-White, Straight, Male Republicans
-50-60 yrs old
-Have a degree/law degree
-Able to raise funds or get donations

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8
Q

WHAT IS APPORTIONMENT?

A

Proportionate distribution of elected representatives in states/districts

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9
Q

REYNOLDS V SIMS

A

-Equal representation in voting in proportion to the population
-One person, one vote rule

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10
Q

WHAT IS GERRYMANDERING?

A

The drawing of district lines for political advantage
Lines are redrawn every 10yrs with the new census information

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11
Q

WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS OF THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE?

Current SofH?
Presides over?
How is he elected?
3 facts

A

-Current: Dade Phelon
-Presides over House of Representatives
-Elected by House members

  1. Member of the LBB
  2. Refers the bills to committees
  3. Controls who sits on what committee chair
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12
Q

WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS OF THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR?

Current Lt Gvnr?
Presides over what body?
2 branches involved with?
How is he elected?
Responsibility?
4 facts

A

-Dan Patrick
-Lt Governor= Senate
-Works in legislative and executive branches
-Elected statewide
-Takes over for governor if necessary

  1. Constitutionally the most powerful person in TX legislature
  2. Not a member of the senate
  3. Chairs the LBB
  4. Decides all committee assignments in the house
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13
Q

WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS OF THE LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD?

A

-10 Senate & House member board
-Recommend with the appropriations/budget bill for every 2 year cycle

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14
Q

HOW IS A BILL PASSED?
WHY DOES IT GO THROUGH COMMITTEES?
HOW MANY BILLS PASS?

A

-Starts in H or S> committee> committee> floor > passes to H or S> Committee> committee>floor> goes up to the governor

-Why? Committees slow down the process and catch mistakes

-Most legislature dies in the process

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15
Q

WHAT ARE STANDING COMMITTEES?
2 KINDS?

A

When a subject area needs further consideration, the H&S passes it on to a Standing Committee, which is a permanent committee created to consider a specific subject area

-Substantive (what)
-Procedural (how)

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16
Q

WHAT ARE SUBCOMMITTEES?

A

The standing committee breaks down further into subcommittees working on a specific subject area

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17
Q

WHAT ARE SUBSTANTIVE VS. PROCEDURAL COMMITTEE?

A

-Both are standing committees

-Substantive: What? What the law is.
-Procedural: Hoe? How to prove and enforce this law if committed.

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18
Q

WHAT IS A SPECIAL COMMITTEE?

A

-Temporary committee
-Appointed when a standing committee doesn’t have the authority or capability to perform a special function

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19
Q

WHAT IS A CONFERENCE COMMITTEE?

A

-Temporary
-Iron out the differences
-Must work to make one version of a bill/ a clean bill that both parties can agree to pass through

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20
Q

WHAT IS THE MOST COMMON PROFESSION IN THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE?

A

Law

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21
Q

WHAT GROUPS ARE UNDERREPRESENTED IN THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE?

A

-Women
-Minorities
-LGBTQIA+

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22
Q

WHAT IS PIGEONHOLING?

A

When a committed stops action on a bill and kills it/ stops its progress

23
Q

WHAT IS A FILIBUSTER?

A

-A prolonged debate to prolong the passage of a bill
-Can talk as long as you want as long as you remain standing
-Must talk only about the bill or you can “fail to be recognized” and cannot speak anymore

24
Q

WHAT IS THE TWO-THIRDS RULE?

A

2/3rds of the senators must approve a bill for it to be debated

25
Q

WHAT IS TAGGING?

A

-Delaying a bill for 2 days
-If it’s your bill- you may not have all the votes you need for it
-If it is someone else’s bill- you may not have all the votes against it

26
Q

WHAT IS A CAUCUS?

A

Members come together unofficially to work together to pass a bill they all support

27
Q

WHAT IS MEANT BY PRECLEARANCE?

A

a provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that states no new election laws or changes in existing laws can go into effect unless first approved by the Justice Department

28
Q

REQUIREMENTS TO BECOME GOVERNOR.

A

-30yo
-US Citizen
-TX resident for 5 yrs

29
Q

WHAT IS THE MUELLER SCALE? HOW DOES TX RANK?

A

-Designed to rank how powerful a governor is
-TX is weak in terms of constitutional power

30
Q

WHAT IS SENATORIAL COURTESY?

A

If a governor puts a name in for a board and the state senator says no, the name is dropped, but the governor would make up an excuse and would not say it was the senator

31
Q

WHAT ARE THE GOVERNOR’S LEGISLATIVE POWERS?

A

-Can call Special sessions
-Vetoing power over bills (has only happened 4 times in 60 yrs)
-The threat of a veto

32
Q

DESCRIBE THE GOVERNOR’S POWERS OF APPOINTMENT AND REMOVAL.

A

-Appoints Secretary of state and members of 200+ boards and committees
-Appoints newly created judicial offices due to death or resignation
-Cannot remove past appointees of other governors but can remove ones that he has appointed with permission of the senate, which requires a vote and senatorial courtesy

33
Q

DESCRIBE THE GOVERNOR’S VETO POWER.

A

-After a bill has passed both houses, it is sent to the governor
-If signed, the bill becomes law
-Governor can veto the bill by returning it with a message stating the reason for the veto
-Legislation can override that veto with a 2/3rds vote, but vetoes are usually final

34
Q

WHAT IS THE LINE ITEM VETO?

HOW OFTEN IS IT OVERRIDDEN?

A

Governor can veto a specific line in a bill that he doesn’t agree with , but passes the rest through without killing the entire bill

Has never been overridden

35
Q

WHAT IS A POST ADJOURNMENT VETO?

A

After the legislature adjourns, the governor has 20 days to do something with a bill and the legislature can’t do anything about it

It’s fairly common

36
Q

WHY DOES TEXAS HAVE A PLURAL EXECUTIVE?

A

-Jacksonian democracy- one person can’t have too much power or will become a dictator
-Having more than one elected executive officer makes a weaker governor.

37
Q

THE LT. GOVERNOR’S POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES.

A

-Constitutionally the most powerful person
-Takes over for the governor should anything happen
-Presides over the Senate
-Appoints the LBB

38
Q

DUTIES OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.

A

-The state’s chief lawyer
-Mostly civil cases
-Decides if bills are legal
-Provides legal advice- to counties and districts
-Provides legal clarification

39
Q

DUTIES OF THE COMPTROLLER

A

-Chief budget officer
-Collects taxes
-Invests state money to make more money
-Has to approve the state budget
-Job is to predict how much money will be needed for the next 2yrs

40
Q

WHAT WAS THE SPOILS SYSTEM?

A

-AKA patronage system
-Political party elected provides jobs/positions to supporters, friends, and family as an incentive to keep working with the party
-As opposed to the merit system- offices are awarded based on merit

41
Q

DUTIES OF THE RAILROAD COMMISSION

A

*OIL AND GAS
-Regulates: Intrastate trucking & Oil and gas production
-Enforces severance taxes on raw materials

42
Q

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE SUNSET ADVISORY COMMITTEE?

A

Evaluates state agencies and makes recommendations to the legislature on performance and improvements

43
Q

WHAT ARE THE DUTIES OF THE AGRICULTURAL COMMISSIONER?

A

-Enforce consumer protection laws
-Promote Texas agriculture products
-In charge of weights and measures (gas and meat)

44
Q

WHAT ARE SIN TAXES?

A

-Specific taxes on products deemed harmful to society and individuals
-Alcohol, tobacco, drugs, candy, sodas, fast food, coffee, sugar, gambling and porn

45
Q

WHAT IS THE MAJOR SOURCE OF TAX REVENUE FOR TEXAS?

A

-Sales
-Business/Franchise
-Motor vehicle
-Crude oil and natural gas production

46
Q

WHAT ARE SEVERANCE TAXES?

A

Taxes on the production of raw materials like oil and natural gas

47
Q

WHAT ARE DEDICATED FUNDS?

A

Have a stated purpose

48
Q

WHAT IS A REGRESSIVE TAX?

A

Tax rates that decline as a persons income increases

49
Q

WHAT IS NON-FISCAL POLICY?

A

Not involving government funds or financial matters

50
Q

WHAT IS THE TEXAS BUDGET CYCLE?

A

2 yr budget decided by the LBB and approved by the comptroller

1.Agencies develop appropriations request
2.Legislature approves General Appropriations Act
3.Budget is implemented over the next two years

51
Q

WHAT IS THE LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD?

A

-Lt Governor appoints the members
-Develops budget and policy recommendations for a full 2 year cycle
-State’s budget/appropriations bill is most important passed through legislature

52
Q

WHAT ARE PROPERTY TAXES?

A

Texas has some of the highest property taxes in the U.S.

-Assessed, collected, and used locally
-Spent the collected funds on local government: schools, roads, hospitals, police departments, fire departments, and other programs

53
Q

WHAT IS A WHISTLE BLOWER?

A

A person, often an employee, reveals information about activity in an organization that is wrong

TX GOVT: Unit 3 Test- Ch. 7,8,12 (1 decks)

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