unit 4 test

Question 1

what is primary purpose of a county government in TX?

Answer 1

County government in Texas is primarily a way of governing rural areas.

Question 2

Define county attorney, district attorney, county clerk, county tax assessor-collector, and
constable.

Answer 2

County official who prosecutes lesser criminal cases in the county court.
District Attorney:
Public official who prosecutes the more serious criminal cases in the district court.
County Clerk:
Public official who is the main record-keeper of the county.
County Tax Assessor-Collector:
Public official who maintains the county tax records and collects the taxes owed to the county.
Constable:
Precinct-level county official involved with serving legal papers and, in some counties, enforcing the law.

Question 3

Who is in charge of flood control?

Answer 3

not limited to 1 city or county

Question 4

describe the county commissioners’ court.

Answer 4

Main governing unit in the county

Question 5

Discuss the Supreme Court case of Avery v. Midland County (1968)

Answer 5

U.S. Supreme Court held that the principle of “one person-one vote” applies to commissioners’ courts just as it applies to legislative districts. The result was that commissioners’ precincts must now be drawn to reflect equal population groupings within counties.

Question 6

Define a special district and who creates them.

Answer 6

special districts are political subdivisions of the state that are created for special purposes by local law or under general law

Question 6

What is the difference between a home-rule and general-law city?

Answer 6

home rule; Having more than 5,000 inhabitants. Create their own type of govt.
General-Law city:
Less than 5,000 inhabitants.

Question 7

Define general revenues fund budget, general revenue-dedicated funds budget, federal
funds budget, other funds budget and all funds budget

Answer 7

General Revenues Fund Budget:
Primary operating fund. Budget for a non dedicated revenue account that functions as the state’s primary operating fund.
General Revenue:
Dedicated Funds Budget: 200 funds dedicated to specific purposes. Funds for dedicated revenues that target money for specific purposes.
Federal Funds Budget:
Includes all grants, payments, and reimbursements received from the federal government by state agencies and institutions.
Other Funds Budget:
All other funds flowing into the state treasury that are not included in other state budgets; this includes the Texas Highway Fund, various trust funds operated by the state, and certain revenues held for local higher education accounts.
All Funds Budget:
Aggregates all monies flowing into the state treasury and all state spending.

Question 8

What is the oil severance tax?

Answer 8

Tax incurred when oil is removed or severed within a taxing jurisdiction.

Question 9

Why does the tax revenue on oil and natural gas fluctuate?

Answer 9

The tax revenue from oil production fluctuates with the price of oil and the volume of oil produced in Texas. Gas prices have fluctuated widely in recent years. In early 2016, regular gas prices fell below $1.50 a gallon for a time. A couple of years before, however, the price of gas fluctuated around a much higher price: $3.50 a gallon. The state of Texas collects a tax of 20 cents per gallon on motor fuels. The federal government collects an additional 18.4 cents per gallon, but Texans still pay less tax on gasoline than residents of many other states.

Question 9

Why does Texas need to have a balanced budget?

Question 10

Why is it hard for Texas to ever have a personal income tax?

Answer 10

Bullock proposed a constitutional amendment requiring voter approval of any personal income tax. Moreover, the amendment specified that funds raised under the personal income tax be used to support public education. The amendment quickly passed the 73rd legislature and was overwhelmingly approved by voters on November 2, 1993. As this amendment effectively gave the electorate a veto over any proposal for an income tax, it is unlikely that Texans will have a personal income tax in the foreseeable future.

Question 11

What have become two recent large sources of money for the state?

Answer 11

Lottery and settlement of tobacco companies.

Question 12

Define General Revenue Fund, Available School Fund, State Highway Fund and
Economic Stabilization Fund.

Question 13

Define the Permanent School Fund and discuss how factors it considers when distributing
money

Question 14

What is the purpose of the Biennial Revenue Estimate

Question 15

Explain what is meant by the “dual-budget” system

Question 16

Define rationality and optimality.

Question 17

19. Discuss some of the challenges facing education policy in Texas.

Answer 17

low level of public spending per pupil, the demographics are increasingly minority and disadvantaged, high drop out rates

Question 18

20. Explain the steps to the policy-making process.

Answer 18

PROBLEM identification: OUR IDEAS, CONCEPTS & VISIONS POLICY FORMULATON: GENERAL IDEAS WE HAVE ABIT social and POLITICAL PROBLEMS BECOME CLARIFIED
IMPLEMEnTATIOn: GOALS OF Public POLICY ALONG W/ THE
INCEnTIVES SO SANCTIOnS TO SUPPORT THEM
EVALATION: PROCEDURES WOULD ASSESS THE STATES GOALS OF A RAPTICULAR POLICY.

Question 19

21. What is public policy?

Question 20

22. How is welfare measured?

Answer 20

Welfare is measured by the number of people recieving Welfare assistance from the state, and degree to which the reforms help take people Off welfare and make them into independent members of sorely.

Question 21

23. Discuss 3 specific problems that have impacted the education policy in Texas.

Answer 21

Desegregation, equity in
Funding, and
the search for educatonal
Excellence and accountability .
Each has its own set of policy Formalatons, implementation procedures, and evaluative processes

Question 22

24. Discuss the following court cases; Plessy v Ferguson (1896), Brown v. Board of
    Education (1954), San Antonio v. Rodriguez (1973), Edgewood ISD v. Kirby (1984), &
    Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Burrell day & Joel McDaniel (2012).

Question 23

25. Discuss some of the problems felons face after leaving prison.

Question 24

26. Provide examples given in your textbook that question the integrity of the Texas criminal
    justice system.

Question 25

27. Define probation and what are its requirements?

Question 26

28. Discuss the following cases: Ruiz v. Estelle (1980) and Gideon v. Wainwright (1963).

Question 27

30. Compare felonies to misdemeanors.

Question 28

29. What is parole and who grants it?

Question 29

Explain constitutional carry law that is being proposed.

Question 30

33. Describe the process to get clemency.

Question 30

32. Define plea bargain and when is it used?

Question 31

34. Describe the procedural steps that follow after a person is arrested.

Question 32

What is one of the controversies surrounding policing?

Question 32

What is a grand jury and discuss one of its criticisms?

Question 33

37. What is meant by the law of capture?

Question 34

39. Where does most of the water in Texas come from?

Question 35

38. What are the benefit of building reservoirs?

Question 36

40. Discuss the process to become a naturalized citizen

Question 37

41. Discuss the various ways roads and highways are funded, which source is the largest?

Question 38

42. What are some of the positive and negative impact of a bullet train?

Question 39

43. How are community colleges funded?

Question 40

44. Explain what it means to be a sanctuary city.