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Unit 4

Question	Answer
The chief law-enforcement officer in county governments is the	sheriff.
Which of the following is not a function of county government in Texas?	administering water districts
In Texas, who creates special districts?	Texas voters in the areas that will be covered
What is the main difference between a home-rule city and a general-law city?	A general-law city is chartered for localities with a population of fewer than 5,000 persons.
The most important social service provided by counties is	the provision of emergency welfare assistance.
Which of the following statements about counties in Texas is incorrect?	All counties have approximately the same number of people.
Which of the following statements about the commissioner form of government is false?	The commissioner form of government is currently popular among the largest cities in Texas.
In large Texas counties, the ______ prepares the county budget.	auditor
Which of the following is not provided by a special district?	city police
In the case Avery v. Midland County, the U.S. Supreme Court held that	the principle of “one person, one vote” applied to county commissioners courts.
The job of serving legal papers at the precinct level of a county goes to the ______.	constable
What is a key problem with counties in Texas?	Many of them are too small and underpopulated to function well.
What is the function of the twenty-four councils of government in Texas today?	They are a regional board meant to coordinate local planning and economic development.
A school district is	a special district.
Flood control is managed through special districts because	flooding is seldom contained in a single city or county.
What is the main difference between a special district and a county?	A special district provides only one specific service within a geographic region.
What is an at-large election?	an election in which voters elect officials from the entire geographical area, rather than from a smaller district within the area
What is the level of popularity of the commissioner system of city government in Texas today?	No city in Texas today has a pure commissioner system, but a handful claim a variation of the system.
What type of government is called hidden government because people often do not know it exists?	special districts
Dallas operates under which form of city government?	council-manager style
Commissioner forms of government were at their height of popularity	in 1918, during the Progressive era.
All of the following are functions of county government except	flood control.
A home-rule charter	specifies the number of members serving on the city’s governing body.
Which of the following cities currently has a city government with a strong mayor-council form of government?	Houston
Why are Texas counties important?	They provide the main form of government in rural areas.
What are the main sources of revenue for special districts in Texas?	property taxes and user fees
Which of the following is not a key difference between the mayor-council and the council-manager forms of local government?	In the council-manager system, local politics is viewed as a full-time job, unlike in the mayor-council system.
In Texas, what is the name of the officer who presides over the county commissioners court?	County Judge
Which of the following is the most common form of local government in Texas?	Special Districts
The mayor-council form of government is most common in	smaller general-law cities.
How are most special districts in Texas administered?	They are run by a board elected by residents within the district.
School boards can do all of the following EXCEPT	draft standardized evaluation exams.
The Permanent School Fund (PSF) was created in	1854
According to our text, what determines the amount of tax revenue generated from oil and natural gas produced in Texas?	market price and the amount produced
The Economic Stabilization Fund (ESF) is commonly known as the	Rainy Day Fund
Why must the Texas legislature maintain a balanced budget?	It is required by the Texas Constitution.
According to the text, just as the economy began to improve and state revenues started increasing, a new threat arose to threaten the newly balanced budget. It was the	increasing health care costs due to recent efforts to reform the health care system.
()( What is the argument commonly used by supporters of a state income tax?	not It is a fairer but a highly unreliable source of revenue./t makes Texas more attractive to businesses that are considering relocating from out of state.
The process of drafting a bill is referred to as	Markup
Authorized state lottery generates a sizeable sum for the state budget. Which of the following statements regarding the Texas lottery is true?	The lottery is played by large numbers of people from all social classes.
()(Prior to 2003, tuition rates for public colleges and universities in Texas tended to be	not about even with the national average.
)()Compared to other states, which statement regarding revenue sources for the state of Texas is true?	not Texas has high income tax and high sales tax.
)((Who pays the greatest portion of their income in property taxes?	not wealthy homeowners and renters
)()Texas spending on a per capita basis is	not among the highest, particularly in education.
()Taking into account increasing Medicaid and school district funding, the general revenue shortfall for the 2012–2013 biennium budget was	not between $24 and $27 billion.
()(Federal money is an important part of the Texas budget, but monies that Texas receives from the federal government	not are too insignificant to be included in the state budgetary process.
()(Which of the following are not generally considered to be an example of regressive taxes or fees?	not excise taxes on alcohol and cigarettes
)()The funds generated by the Permanent School Fund are distributed to school districts across the state	not based on the tax rate for school districts.
)()In theory, Texas has a dual-budget system, meaning the budget authority is shared by the governor and the legislature; however, in practice, the primary player(s) in the budget is/are	not the taxpayers.
()(Next to revenue generated by state taxes, the second largest source of state revenue comes from	not gasoline taxes
Nationally, what two factors caused the bubble in the real estate market?	low interest rates and loose credit standards
() If Texas instituted a progressive income tax	not low-income Texans, collectively, would contribute less to the state budget than wealthy Texans would.
The Permanent University Fund (PUF) was established in 1876 with a land grant of 1 million acres. It contributes to the support of	the University of Texas and Texas A & M university systems.
Which statement concerning matching funds in Texas is true?	Texas has historically participated in matching funds at a relatively low rate.
Which of the following statements is true?	The legislative session was particularly difficult because the Great Recession had significantly reduced state revenue.
The Legislative Budget Board (LBB) is chaired by the	lieutenant governor.
Who prepares the BRE?	the comptroller
The National Research University Fund (NRUF) was established through a constitutional amendment to provide a source of funding for	universities seeking to achieve national prominence as research institutions.
Prior to 2003, tuition for public colleges and universities in Texas was set by	the state legislature.
When compared to the rest of the nation, the real estate collapse in Texas was	less severe.
Following a legislative decision in 2003 to reduce state funding to higher education, which source of university revenue began to increase most rapidly?	student tuition and fees
The purpose of the Biennial Revenue Estimate (BRE) is to	provide a detailed forecast of total revenues that the state is expected to take in.
According to the text, just as the economy began to improve and state revenues started increasing, a new threat arose to threaten the newly balanced budget. It was the	increasing health care costs due to recent efforts to reform the health care system.
Which statement regarding state-federal spending in Texas is true?	Texas spends less on state-federal programs than most states do.
Which of the following statements is true?	The legislative session was particularly difficult because the Great Recession had significantly reduced state revenue.
______ monitors state agencies to ensure that they comply with the state budget.	The LBB, in conjunction with the State Auditor’s Office,
Texas spending on a per capita basis is	much lower than the national average.
The Texas Constitution specifies that state payments for assistance to needy children and their caretakers shall not exceed ______ percent of the states’ budget in any biennium.	1
Which phrase best characterizes Texas’s reputation in terms of taxes and services?	low service, low tax
One significant component of the budget process that is relatively unique to Texas is	the constitutional mandate that Texas legislators write a budget every two years.
Who certifies the state budget of Texas?	the comptroller
Which of the following is at the heart of the budget process in Texas?	the Texas comptroller
Federal money for Medicaid programs	is accompanied by federal rules and regulations, which states must comply with to maintain federal funding of the program.
Under the Gilmer-Aikin Laws	various bureaucratic institutions were established to be responsible for public education in the state of Texas.
Which statement is true?	Texas leads the nation in the percentage of residents who lack health insurance coverage.
During the 1980s, a growing number of critics alleged that welfare programs	were helping to create a dysfunctional underclass of people who depended upon it for survival.
One important consequence of the “law of capture” concept is that it	encourages landowners to take as much water as possible from groundwater sources.
Ross Perot was appointed by Governor Mark White to chair a committee on education. As committee chair, he was particularly scornful of	athletic programs.
In Edgewood ISD v. Kirby, the key constitutional issue was	whether the phrase “an efficient system of free public schools” included school financing.
Under the separate but equal doctrine in the 1920s and 1930s, the amount of money that the state of Texas spent on black students was ______ the amount spent on white students in public schools.	lower than
The Religious Viewpoints Antidiscrimination Act of 2007	required Texas schools to adopt a number of policies that would protect religious speech on campus.
The origins of modern welfare policy lie in	President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal.
In the 1960s, welfare policy in Texas reflected	a policy of minimizing the cost to Texas while maximizing the use of federal dollars.
By the late 1960s, de facto segregation	was still a problem in urban public schools with a large minority population.
The Texas Supreme Court’s decision in Edgewood ISD v. Kirby was that	undue reliance upon property taxes to fund public education violated the Texas Constitution.
San Antonio v. Rodriguez dealt with the	constitutionality of using property taxes to fund public schools.
Two of the strategies that have been developed by the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) to meet the long-term needs of Texas include	the focus on conservation and expanding and developing available surface water.
The percentage of Texans living in poverty is approximately	15 percent.
The ______ transformed the way in which the United States handled poverty and implemented welfare policy.	1935 Social Security Act
Which of the following statements regarding public policy in Texas is true?	The policies of the national government influence Texas, but, for the most part, large segments of public policy, such as education, infrastructure, and legal matters, are state and local matters.
The single most important issue confronting Texas policy makers with regard to Medicaid is	the cost.
Federal money for Medicaid programs	is accompanied by federal rules and regulations, which states must comply with to maintain federal funding of the program.
The high school graduation rates in Texas are	The highest in the nation
In March 2010, Congress passed ______, substantially altering the nation’s health care system.	the Affordable Care Act
In the case of Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Burrell Day and Joel McDaniel (2012), farmers argued that	they had the rights to the water based upon their ownership of the land above it.
Underlying water policy in Texas is	a complicated system of private property rights.
A 1983 report by the National Commission on Excellence in Education was called	A Nation at Risk.
The primary purpose of TANF was to	make families self-sufficient by ending the cycle of dependency on government benefits.
In the Brown v. Board of Education case, segregated school districts were ordered to	desegregate their schools “with all deliberate speed.”
Which statement is true regarding poverty in Texas?	In Texas, the poverty rate among children is much higher than in the rest of the United States.
Under the Gilmer-Aikin Laws	various bureaucratic institutions were established to be responsible for public education in the state of Texas.
One important consequence of the “law of capture” concept is that it	encourages landowners to take as much water as possible from groundwater sources.
Most of the water in Texas is for	irrigation
In legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court ruled that	the tax penalizing people who failed to purchase medical insurance was constitutional.

Created by: JorgeOfTheJungle

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