POLS 2311:Exam 3
101 Cards in this Set
Front | Back |
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When does the Texas Legislature meet?
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second Tuesday in January of odd-numbered years for 140 days
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Who can call a special session (meeting) of the legislative?
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The Governor!
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how many texas state senators must there be? how many state reps?
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31 senators
150 state reps.
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Texas Redistricting Process
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In Texas, SL draws the districts. If it can't do it, the Legislative Redistricting Board will draw the districts. LRB contains Lt. Gov, Speaker of the TX House, Controller of Public Acctounts, Attorney General, and Commissioner of General Land Office.
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Who is the current Speaker of the Texas House?
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Joe Straus
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Texas Lt. Gov
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David Dewhurst
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House Speaker signature required
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all bills and resolutions
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absolute veto power
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Speaker of the House and Lt. Governor
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Legislative Budget Board (LBB)
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A body made up of members of the house and senate, including the two presiding officers, which oversees a staff responsible for preparing the basic working budget for the legislature's consideration.
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Texas House must originate all ___ bills.
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tax
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Exclusion
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each house may refuse to seat an elected member by majority vote
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expelling
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after the oath has been taken, a legislature may be expelled (not allowed to participate) in the legislative process
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Qualifications for tx senate
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US citizen
26 years of age
5 years in tx
1 year in district
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Qualifications of Texas House
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US citizen, a registered voter, at least 21 years old, lived in the state for 2 years and the district for 1 year.
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Lt Governor must sign all
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bills and resolutions
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Governor has responsibility to nominate over ___ state jobs of which 1/3 expire every 2 years.
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4000
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what is the punishment for conviction of an impeachment?
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removed from office; cannot work for government again
can be tried in civilian court for the same reason
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Impeachment (indict) Process for Tx Legislature:
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1. House: investigates by creating committee (possible indictment if evidence found and majority vote)
2.Trial in Senate:
~Persecution= State
~Defense=Persecutor
~Supreme Court=Judge
~Senate=Jury
2/3 vote to convict(remove from office)
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TX GDP
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1.4 trillion
14th largest economy in the world (2nd in US to California)
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Bills
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Proposed laws (introduced and passed)
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resolutions
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have the force of law (proposed and adopted)
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concurrent resolution
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expression of legislative opinion without the force of law that requires the approval of both the House and Senate
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Joint Resolution
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a statement passed by both houses of legislature that has the force of law (Gov not involved)
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one of the basic characteristics of the texas legislature
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Governor can call special session
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what type of typology does texas have?
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hybrid of citizen and professional legislature
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Realistic scenario regarding the qualifications for office and length of terms for the Tx Legislature:
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21 y/o candidate for the Tx House
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The theory of representation that holds that elected officials are agents of the majority who elected them to office and thus they should carry out, to the extent possible, the wishes of the majority is the ____ model.
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delegate
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Elections to the ND House of Rep are different from elections to the TX House of Rep in that:
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Tx uses multi member districts
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The difference between the Tx House and Tx Senate is
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presiding officer of the House is chosen by popular vote
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Plurality
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More votes than any other candidate
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The major justification for a bicameral legislature is that:
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it makes it more difficult for a majority to abuse its power
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Baker vs Carr
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The Supreme Court ruling that all state districts must be equal in population., required that voting district needed to be reapportioned.
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Reynolds vs. Sims
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Stated one person, one vote
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The significance of the length and frequency of legislative sessions of the Tx Legislature is
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less likely to manage the state budget, handle new issues, and review actions of the executive
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A major consequence of the low pay and part time nature of legislative life in Texas is that
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legislators often work in professions or industries that have a vested interest in state policy
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macrocosm
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geographic representation tends to go along with this theory of representation
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microcosm
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demographic representation tends to go along with this theory of representation
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Bipartisan
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supported by two parties
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The two parties contest many more state legislative districts in ND then they do in Tx elections. This may be due, in part, to:
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use of multi member districts in ND
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"one person, one vote"
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all districts equal in pop
members of HOR be chosen by People of several states
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The redistricting method is an example of a hybrid system, because:
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if the legislature is unable to pass a plan, the duty is handed over to the Legislative Redistricting Board
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The standing committees of the Texas Legislature engage in oversight of the executive branch
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to assure that procedures, standards, and regulations developed by the agencies follow legislative intent.
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The importance of having a blocking bill at the top of the calendar in the Texas Senate is that:
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it allows the Senate to choose the order in which it will take up bills on the calendar
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If you attended a session of the Texas Legislature while floor votes were being taken, you might be misled as to what is happening by:
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the use of ghost votes and closed riders
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If the party caucuses gain power in the Texas Legislature, the result might be:
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an increase in the efficiency of the legislature
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The story of the "killer bees" illustrates:
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the problem created for the Texas Senate by the requirement of a 2/3 majority to pass most bills
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Tactics that the minority may use to defeat a bill on the floor of the Texas Legislature
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1. filibuster
2. putting the bill on hold
3. chubbing
4. preventing a quorum from being present
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Statements concerning the Governor's veto power:
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1. if the Gov fails to sign or veto a bill while the legislature is in session, it becomes law in 10 days
2. the Gov has 20 days from the end of a session to veto a bill that was passed at the end of the session
3. the Gov has line item veto on budget bills
4. a 2/3 vote of both chambe…
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To end a filibuster in the Texas Senate, a _________ vote is necessary.
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majority
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Where do most bills die in the legislative process?
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Committees
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A committee created to reconcile the differences in the Texas Senate and Texas House versions of a bill is a(an) ______________ committee.
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conference
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What proportion of a legislative chamber must be present to fulfill the quorum requirement?
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Two-thirds
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Which of the following is a mechanism in the Texas House to allow representatives to “run out the clock” on a bill waiting to be debated?
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Chubbing
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Who chooses the chairs of the Texas Senate’s committees?
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The lieutenant governor
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Which type of committee is charged with research or oversight to be completed in between sessions?
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Interim
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Which of the following contemporary legislative realities is the most consistent with the framers’ desire for a citizen legislature?
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Members are paid a low base pay.
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What is the purpose of an emergency clause of proposed legislation?
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It makes the bill take effect immediately upon passage.
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Which of the following will most likely be given the highest priority of consideration in the Texas House of Representatives?
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Major state bills
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Power in the Texas Legislature is
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most heavily concentrated in the offices of Speaker of the House and president of the Senate.
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All of the following statements concerning the president of the Texas Senate and the Speaker of the Texas House are true except
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both have a great deal of power over the legislative agenda in their legislative body.
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All of the following statements concerning organization in the Texas Legislature are true except
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the party caucuses are increasingly unimportant organizations for structuring behavior in the legislature.
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Which of the following accurately describes the agenda setting step in the policymaking process?
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Policymakers prioritize the various problems facing the state.
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Which of the following accurately describes the policy implementation step in the policymaking process?
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State agencies follow up on the actions of elected officials, and bureaucratic agencies develop rules and regulations.
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Which of the following accurately describes the policy adoption step in the policymaking process?
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Policymakers take formal governmental administrative action.
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The authors list three types of policies at the beginning of Chapter 13. Which of the following is a type of policy mentioned?
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Redistributive policy
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The authors list three types of policies at the beginning of Chapter 13. Which of the following is a type of policy mentioned?
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Redistributive policy
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General sales tax
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A levy on the retail sale of taxable items, generates the most income of any tax in TX.Base rate starts at 6.25%, local government maybe add up to 2%.
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The taxation approach of the Texas Legislature regarding highways and toll roads is to?
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increase the number of toll roads but not increase the tax revenue for highways.
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The authors note several different types of taxes. Which of the following describes the sin tax?
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Taxes on activities such as cigarettes and gambling
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Which of the following is not a tax levied on Texans by their state?
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The income tax
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Which of the following characteristic is accurate regarding regressive taxation?
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Texas takes a regressive approach to taxation due to the reliance on the sales tax.
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Which of the following do the authors cite as an example of a regressive form of taxation?
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The sales tax
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Texas relies on other sources of revenue than taxes. Which of the following is accurate regarding these other sources of revenue?
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Grants from the federal government make up around 40 percent of the state’s revenue.
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13. The authors describe Texas as a “pay-as-you-go” state. What does the phrase “pay as you go” mean?
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13. The Texas Constitution requires a balanced budget, thus limiting debt
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A bill cannot be considered passed by the legislature unless the ___________ has authorized that the amount to be spent by the bill is available.
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comptroller
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What is the primary source of Texas’s “Rainy Day Fund?”
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Oil and gas taxes
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Although unpopular among many groups, why does the lottery remain a revenue source for Texas?
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The revenue lost from eliminating the lottery would mean spending cuts or raising other taxes.
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Whereas redistributive policy _________, distributive policy ____________.
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intentionally moves benefits from one group to another; does not intentionally target one specific group of society
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Subsidies are incentives designed to _______ the production or purchase of certain goods.
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stimulate
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Which of the following describe sin taxes?
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Taxes on products and activities that legislators would like to discourage
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The state’s largest source of investment income is?
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income from the Permanent School Fund
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which of the following is not among the reasons that the authors list as to why education is important to the state?
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schools allow gov't to counteract the antisocial values in certain communities
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The Gilmer-Akin Act of _______ created the modern public school system in Texas.
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1949
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Which of the following is not true about the State Board of Education?
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The board determines property tax rates for school district residents
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In which case did the U.S. Supreme Court demand that public schools were not to be segregated based on race?
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Brown v. Board of Education
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On average, Texas school districts get the greatest amount of revenue from which source?
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Local governments
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The “Robin Hood” school finance plan came as the result of which court ruling?
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Edgewood ISD v. Kirby
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Each of the following has established methods of holding educators accountable except
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The Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX).
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*No Child Left Behind Act
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*Bush's education act setting stronger requirements for testing and school accountability, schools are judged based on the proficiency of their students; states develop the standanrds
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Which of the following has not been a legislative act or judicial ruling impacting education policy in Texas?
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Marbury v. Madison
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The Permanent University Fund (PUF) was established to help fund
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the University of Texas and Texas A&M systems.
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The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) is made up of _______ members who are _________.
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nine; appointed by the governor
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Hopwood v. State of Texas
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the law school could not consider race in its admission process
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The authors cite each of the following as a major issue in the discussion of accountability in higher education except
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the funding levels and sources of intercollegiate athletics.
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Which of the following accurately describes poverty levels in the state of Texas?
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Texas has three of the nation’s top five counties of 250,000 or more people with the highest rates of poverty.
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Each of the following is a condition for receiving funds through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) except
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completing the next higher level of education.
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The Lone Star Card is associated with which of the following social programs?
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The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
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At the time of the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), what was the state of health insurance in Texas?
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Texas led the nation in the number of uninsured residents.
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What is required of Texas by the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)?
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To create a state health insurance marketplace or, if it does not do so, face the federal government creating one for it
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Where Medicare benefits _______, Medicaid benefits _______.
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are received by those who have paid into the program; are received by low-income elderly and disabled people regardless of ability to pay
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State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) or (SCHIP)
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a joint federal-state program designed to expand healthcare coverage to children whose parents earned income above the poverty line but still were too poor to afford insurance
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