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104 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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A(n) __________ legislature has one house. |
unicameral |
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A temporary legislative committee may also be called a(n) _______________ committee. |
special or select |
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_______ committees meet to study issues between legislative sessions. |
Interim |
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The presiding officer of the Texas House of Representatives is the _________________. |
Speaker of the House |
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A(n) ________ is a representative who tries to mirror the views of those he or she represents. |
Delegate |
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A(n) _______ is a representative who acts according to his or her own conscience. |
Trustee |
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The presiding officer in the Texas Senate is the __________________. |
Lieutenant Governor |
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Senators may use a(n) __________ to try to "talk a bill to death." |
Filibuster |
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A legislature with two houses is a(n) _________ legislature. |
Bicameral |
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The practice of drawing district legislative district lines with the intent of disadvantaging some people is referred to as ______________. |
Gerrymandering |
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________ is the only state with a unicameral legislative system. |
Nebraska |
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The 77th Legislature was unique in that the president of the Senate was also a(n) _______. |
Senator |
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A person must be at least _________ years of age to serve in the Texas House of Representatives and _________ years of age for the Senate |
Twenty-one;Twenty-six |
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There are ___ members in the Texas House and __ in the Texas Senate. |
150;31 |
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House members are elected for ___-year terms and Senators are elected to ____-year terms. |
Two;Four |
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The Texas Legislature meets biennially for _______. |
140 Days |
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Texas legislators are paid _____ annually. |
$7200 |
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In 2003, there were fifteen standing committees in the ___________. |
Texas Senate |
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The Texas state lieutenant governor is chosen in a _________________. |
Statewide Election |
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The Texas Legislature meets in regular session how often? |
Once every other year |
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Who determines the matters that will be considered in a special session of the Texas Legislature? |
The Governor |
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How long may special sessions of the Texas Legislature last? |
30 days |
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How is the speaker of the Texas House chosen? |
From the membership of the House by the members (election within the House) |
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How often must legislative redistricting be done? |
Every 10 years after the census |
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Who can formally submit a bill for legislative consideration? |
A member of the House or Senate |
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What is used to propose amendments to the Texas Constitution? |
A joint resolution
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Where does mark-up of bills occur? |
In committee and subcommittee conference committee |
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Which of the House of Representatives' calendars is for bills that are not expected to face opposition? |
Consent Calendar |
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Which committee is responsible for resolving differences between House and Senate bills? |
Conference committee |
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In 2003, there were __ standing committees in the Texas house |
36 |
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In the Senate, scheduling is up to ___________________. |
The presiding officer |
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Impeachment is politically analogous to "indict." The process used in Texas is that the ______________________ impeaches, and the ______ tries; a two thirds vote is needed to remove from office. |
House of Representatives; Senate |
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The congressional map used to the 2002 elections in Texas was drawn by _____________. |
Federal Judges |
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If the governor does not sign or veto a bill, what happens to the bill? |
It becomes law. |
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The detailed operating budget for the state is prepared by _________________________. |
The Legislative Budget Board |
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The regular procedures that an agency within a bureaucracy uses to carry out its functions are called ____________ procedures. |
Standardized |
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The idea of breaking down the overall work of a bureaucracy into small tasks and having those tasks performed by one person over and over is referred to as ______________ of duties. |
Specialization |
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The practice of discriminating against an entire neighborhood is called _________. |
Redlining |
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The _____ principle refers to the principle that the best-qualified people get jobs and promotions. |
Merit |
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In Texas, the insurance business is regulated by the ___________________________. |
Texas Department of Insurance |
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An organizational system that has a defined hierarchical structure, standardized procedures, and a specialization of duties to carry out public policies is a(n) ___________. |
Bureaucracy |
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How are members of the State Board of Education chosen? |
They are elected |
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Currently, the State Board of Education has how many members? |
15 |
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Currently, the main function of the Railroad Commission is _______________________________. |
To regulate the various energy groups in Texas |
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What state agency is responsible for the state's roads? |
The Transportation Department |
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The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality was created in what year? |
1993 |
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The most basic form of regulation is a _______. |
License |
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A(n) ___________ is a program that provides benefits to all those who qualify for the program without a limit on the number of recipients. |
Entitlement |
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In Texas, the ________ card can be used by recipients of the Texas food stamp program to purchase food. |
Lone Star |
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________ is a health insurance program for the elderly. |
Medicare |
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____ is the welfare program that replaced AFDC. |
TANF |
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Most Texans currently live in _____ ares. |
Urban |
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_______ means having insufficient resources to meet the basic needs of shelter, food, clothing, and health care. |
Poverty |
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The mega-state with the highest rate of poverty is _____. |
Texas. |
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Lack of success in education is both a(n) _____ and a potential ______ of poverty. |
Cause;Effect |
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The Social Security Act passed in ____. |
1935 |
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The 1988 Family Support Act required that states continue ________ for one year after AFDC benefits ended. |
Medicaid |
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Old Age Security and Disability Insurance (Social Security) is funded by _______ taxes. |
Payroll |
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SSI is a(n) _____-tested program. |
Means |
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In 2003, the poverty threshold for a family of four was $_____. |
18850 |
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Approximately what percentage of the children in Texas lives in poverty? |
20% |
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List three causes of poverty |
Changing job market, lack of education, and population changes. |
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Average per capita annual income in Texas in 2001 was how much? |
$28860 |
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High paying jobs increasingly demand _____________. |
More education |
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On average, women are paid $____ for every dollar earned by a man. |
0.77 |
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Lack of access to health care can lower both the _____________ and the ____________. |
Quality of life; Length of life |
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The oldest federal program in the social area is ______________. |
Social Security |
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Food stamps became a part of the federal government's programs for the poor in which decade? |
1960's |
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Which state agency administers Medicaid in Texas? |
Health and Human Services Commission |
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Under TANF, an able-bodied individual must go to work within what period of time? |
Two Years |
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In what year did funding reductions in CHIP result in over 100,000 low-income children being dropped from the program? |
2003 |
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The 1896 Supreme Court case that resulted in the concept of "seperate but equal" was _________________. |
Plessy v. Ferguson |
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_________________ programs are designed to help minority students gain admission to colleges and universities. |
Affirmative Action |
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The case of Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, established that separate schools for blacks and whites were ________________. |
Inherently Unequal |
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The Higher Education _____________ was established for schools that do no receive money from the PUF. |
Assistance Fund |
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The __________ Initiative was a commitment by the state of Texas to spend millions of dollars on new and existing university campuses in South Texas. |
South Texas |
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Texas ranks _____ the national average in teacher salaries and per student spending. |
Below |
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Independent school districts are governed by a(n) _______________. |
Board of Trustees |
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Senate Bill 7 dealt with the issues of ___________________. |
Public School Funding |
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Statewide policies for institutions of higher education in Texas are established by the Texas ________________________________. |
Higher Education Coordinating Board |
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In which case did the Supreme Court rule that so-called "separate but equal" educational facilities for blacks and whites were inherently unequal. |
Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas |
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The major source of funding for Texas Public schools is |
Property tax |
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Hispanics and African American students make up approximately what percentage of the student population at Texas state universities? |
31% |
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Which Texas high school graduates are guaranteed acceptance into any state university? |
Top 10% of the graduating class |
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Which of the Texas Universities ranks among the nation's top public universities? |
Texas A&M College Station |
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The test currently used by the State of Texas to measure school performance is the ____. |
TAKS (now STAR)
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Approximately how many ISDs are there in Texas? |
1000 |
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The budget that the House of Representatives looks at is the one made by _________________________. |
The Legislative Budget Board |
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The Governor's _________________________ makes a governors budget if he/she wishes a separate one. |
Office of Planning and Budget |
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The __________________________ must certify the buget as well as set the limits for the budget. |
Comptroller of Public Accounts |
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Texas makes a budget how often? |
Biennially/Every 2 years |
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Texas' budget year begins in _________________ and ends on ________ |
September 1; August 31 |
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_________ is the largest expenditure of the state services. |
Education |
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In the 1990's Texas passed a constitutional amendment to allow a one time only _________ to pay for new prisons to relieve overcrowded conditions in the prisons. |
Bond Issue |
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What is the average Texas state budget? |
170-200 Billion dollars |
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What are the five different budgets in Texas. |
General Revenue Fund Budget General Revenue Dedicated Fund Budget Federal Funds Budget Other Funds Budget All Funds Budget |
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General Revenue Fund Budget |
Amount of money that is free to spend in the budget |
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General Revenue Dedicated Fund Budget |
Retirement fund/money already dedicated to something |
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Federal Funds Budget |
Grants, payments, and reimbursements from the Government Also for Government programs (medicare, welfare, etc.) |
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Other Funds Budget |
"Junk Drawer" Money coming from other state budgets Highway fund, trust funds, etc. |
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All Funds Budget |
All budgets combined |
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The Texas 400 Fund includes which funds |
Public University Trust Fund, Higher Education Fund, and the National Research University Fund |
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What did the Gilmer-Aikin Laws establish? |
Education Policy in Texas At the age of 6 you had to be in school and couldn't drop out until 16 |
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Robin Hood Plan |
anything over $6800 a child had to go to a poor school |
