Choices Chapter 10: The Texas Bureaucracy And Policy Implementation

Front 1

An example of licensing on the local level would be

Back 1

when contractors are required to meet building codes.

Front 2

In 2007, Texas ranked _____ in per capita state spending.

Back 2

fiftieth

Front 3

A 1991, ethics reform law extended _____ restrictions to numerous agencies.

Back 3

revolving door

Front 4

Legislative policies

Back 4

don't always translate well into bureaucratic programs and can have unanticipated results.

Front 5

Each state agency is largely free to set its own personnel policies.

Back 5

True

Front 6

Many of the best and brightest young people seek professional employment with government bureaucracies because of the high esteem the public holds for them.

Back 6

False

Front 7

Sometimes bureaucrats are blamed for problems that are better placed on the shoulders of

Back 7

elected policy makers

Front 8

A major test of the effectiveness of the whistleblower protection act was brought by

Back 8

George Green

Front 9

Privatization, the process of governments contracting with provate companies to perform services, has become increasingly popular in recent years.

Back 9

True

Front 10

Texas was one of the first states to implement

Back 10

sunset legislation.

Front 11

In 2003, after a series of budget disputes, performance reviews were transferred

Back 11

from the office of the Comptroller of Public Accounts to the Legislative Budget Board despite critics' insistence that reviews should be carried out by an independent office holder.

Front 12

Implementation is the conversion of policy plans into reality.

Back 12

True

Front 13

In the early part of the twentieth century, _____ regarded bureaucracies as efficient means of organizing large numbers of people to accomplish a given task.

Back 13

Max Weber

Front 14

When things go wrong in state government and problems go unresolved, there is a tendency to blame bureaucrats for

Back 14

excessive red tape, mismanagement, and inefficiency.

Front 15

Higher education and public school employees

Back 15

are subject to different employment policies than state employees.

Front 16

In recent years, the bureaucracy has grown because

Back 16

citizens expect a wide range of public services, federal mandates require more funding and personnel and interest groups have successfully implemented new programs.

Front 17

Which of the following is NOT correct regarding government in Texas?

Back 17

Attempts to limit government growth and spending have been very successful.

Front 18

Each agency is subject to sunset review every

Back 18

12 years.

Front 19

Every _____ the legislature sets budgets for state agencies.

Back 19

two years

Front 20

Performance reviews to limit mismanagement and inefficiency are conducted on state agencies and_______ by the

Back 20

school districts; Legislative Budget Board.

Front 21

State and local governments can also regulate by offering operating subsidies to businesses, including

Back 21

tax breaks that are subject to limitations imposed by the legislature.

Front 22

Many industries try to influence and control the government agencies that are supposed to regulate them. This is called

Back 22

co-optation.

Front 23

The legislature permitted performance reviews in order to promote

Back 23

efficiency and reduce waste.

Front 24

Legislators depend on administrative agencies for counsel and advice when they draft public policies.

Back 24

True

Front 25

The more than 1.3 million Texans now employed by state and local governments are collectively called

Back 25

the bureaucracy.

Front 26

The legislature usually defines a program and gives a state agency detailed instructions for carring it out.

Back 26

False

Front 27

Within governmental organizations, specific positions are assigned specific responsibilities or given authority in a hierarchical arrangement.

Back 27

True

Front 28

The process of moving from governmental regulation of an industry to lobbyist for the same industry has often been called

Back 28

a revolving door.

Front 29

Which part of government generally broadly defines a program?

Back 29

the legislature.

Front 30

The legislature delegates a great deal of authority for carrying out state policy to

Back 30

regulatory agencies.

Front 31

Bureaucracies are NOT characterized

Back 31

as being chaotic.

Front 32

In Texas, the role of the bureaucracy is enhanced because

Back 32

the governor has limited powers over the bureaucracy.

Front 33

When a person in an agency reports an agency for costly mistakes or waste or an endangerment to the public, they are protected by the

Back 33

whistle blower protection act.

Front 34

Hiring a person on the basis of a personal relationship is called

Back 34

political patronage.

Front 35

Texans have come to expect good roads and schools, safe drinking water, and a host of other public programs.

Back 35

True

Front 36

The legislature has empowered the _____ to conduct performance reviews of state programs.

Back 36

Legislative Budget Board

Front 37

The bureaucracy has the primary responsibility for carrying out the policies adopted by

Back 37

the legislature.

Front 38

To better serve the public, some reformer advocates pushed for a

Back 38

merit employment system based somewhat on U.S. law.

Front 39

Which part of government generally fills in the details of a program?

Back 39

the bureaucracy.

Front 40

The two ways that the legislature can use budgetary control over bureaucracies are by

Back 40

the amount of funds allotted and approval of line items in agency budgets.

Front 41

In per capita spending in the areas of public health, education, and welfare, Texas ranks

Back 41

below most states.

Front 42

Implementation is the conversion of policy plans into

Back 42

reality.

Front 43

Each one of us comes into regular contact with organizations that can be defined as bureaucracies.

Back 43

True

Front 44

Which of the following is the LEAST likely obstacle to policy implementation in Texas?

Back 44

The governor does not choose to manage the agency in charge.

Front 45

According to whistle blower laws, public employees are required to report wrongdoing within their agencies.

Back 45

False

Front 46

In Texas, the role of the bureaucracy is enhanced because

Back 46

the governor has limited powers over the bureaucracy.

Front 47

Lt. Governor Bob Bullock called the whistle-blower ordeal that the state endured

Back 47

“a black mark on the history of Texas.”

Front 48

About 50 percent of special district employees in Texas work

Back 48

in social services, including public hospitals.

Front 49

Legislators depend on administrative agencies for counsel and advice when they draft public policies.

Back 49

True

Front 50

The Texas Workforce Commission is responsible for

Back 50

assisting agencies in recruiting by listing all state job openings .

Front 51

A merit employment system

Back 51

is inconsistent with the individualistic political culture in Texas because of the decentralized plural executive and officeholders who jealously guard their prerogative to hire and fire.

Front 52

Each state agency is largely free to set its own personnel policies.

Back 52

True

Front 53

When a person in an agency reports an agency for costly mistakes or waste or an endangerment to the public, they are protected by the

Back 53

Whistle Blower Protection Act.

Front 54

How successful has the sunset process been in Texas?

Back 54

Despite failing to reduce the size of the bureaucracy, it has helped rid state government of some obsolete agencies, modernized state laws, and made some agencies more responsive to the public.

Front 55

In the early part of the twentieth century, ________ regarded bureaucracies as efficient means of organizing large numbers of people to accomplish a given task.

Back 55

Max Weber

Front 56

The sunset process has reduced the size of the Texas bureaucracy.

Back 56

False

Front 57

Why is the revolving door viewed in a negative way?

Back 57

It has raised questions about possible insider industry influence over regulatory agencies and decisions.

Front 58

In most cases the Sunset Commission will propose that an agency be terminated or consolidated with another agency.

Back 58

False

Front 59

Implementation is the conversion of policy plans into

Back 59

reality.

Front 60

How successful has Texas been in curtailing government growth and spending?

Back 60

Except for the 2003 and 2011 budget crises, efforts to slow growth have met with only marginal success as a result of federal mandates and opposition by Texans unwilling to lose services.

Front 61

In 2010, Texas ranked forty-eighth among the states in per capita spending by state governments, despite the almost doubling of state spending in the last ten years.

Back 61

True

Front 62

Eighty-two percent of state government employees in Texas work in areas of higher education, public safety and corrections, and

Back 62

social services.

Front 63

Generally, the ________ broadly defines a program, and the ________ fills in the details of it.

Back 63

legislature; bureaucracy

Front 64

To better serve the public, some reformer advocates have pushed for a

Back 64

merit employment system based somewhat on U.S. law.