Term
| What is the name of the organization in Texas, which is responsible for overseeing the activities of lobbyists? |
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Definition
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Term
| What are the terms of service for all of the offices included in the plural executive in Texas? |
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Definition
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Term
| What are the terms of office for members of the Texas House and Texas Senate? |
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Definition
2 year term (House)
4 year term (Senate) |
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Term
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Definition
| the act of re-drawing district lines in favor of a supporter or yourself. |
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Term
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Definition
| grouping same party nominees in the same district to eliminate at least one if not more. |
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Term
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Definition
| getting as many citizens in one district as possible to decrease areas of power for specific parties. |
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Term
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Definition
| splitting districts up to space out and breakdown areas of power for specific parties, thus diluting their power overall. |
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Term
| Which government officials in state government, in Texas, have term limits? Does Texas have any ethics laws governing the past members of the legislature? |
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Definition
| No term limits in Texas Government. No ethics laws governing past members of the legislature. |
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Term
| Which position serves as the presiding officer in the Texas Senate? who elects that person? which position serves as the presiding officer in the Texas House? Who currently holds that position? who elects that person? |
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Definition
| Lieutenant Governor (David Dewhurst); the people elect the position; the presiding officer in the Texas House is the Speaker of the House; current Speaker of the House is Joe Strauss; The House of Representatives elect the Speaker of the House. |
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Term
How many people serve in the Texas Legislature?
of those, how many are Senators and how many are representatives?
What is the salary of the members of the Texas Legislature? |
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Definition
| 181 people serve. 150 Representatives and 31 Senators. $7200. They have never had a pay increase |
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Term
What is the salary of the Texas Governor?
Who is the longest serving Governor of Texas? |
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Definition
$150,000 yearly.
Rick Perry |
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Term
How many woman have served as governor of Texas?
Of those, how many have been elected in their own right? |
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Definition
| 2 women have served, Maw Ferguson and Ann Richards. One woman, Ann Richards, was elected in her own right considering Maw was a simple housewife with little higher education. |
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Term
| What do the Legislative Redistricting Board, Legislative Budget Board, and Sunset Advisory Commission do? Who serve as chair(s) of Legislative the Budget Board and the Sunset Advisory Commission committees? Who serves on the Legislative Redistricting Board? |
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Definition
| The Legislative Redistricting Board takes over the re-districting when the legislature is too busy to do it themselves. The lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House, Comptroller, Attorney General, and Commissioner of the General Land Office all serve as chairs of the Legislative Budget Board and the Sunset Advisory Commission committees; the presiding officer serves on the Legislative Redistricting Board. |
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Term
| When and how often does the Texas Legislature meet? Who controls the agenda in regular session? |
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Definition
| They meet up in odd-numbered years for 140 days in regular session. The Speaker of the House and the Lieutenant Governor control the agenda in regular session. |
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Term
| Who has the authority to call a special session? Who sets the agenda for a special session? How long can a special session last? Is there a limit on how many special sessions can be called? |
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Definition
| Only the Governor may call a special session. The Governor controls the agenda during a special session. They may last no longer than 30 days. No, there is no limit on how many the Governor may call. |
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Term
| Which member of the plural executive oversees the testing for accuracy of weights and measures such as gasoline pumps and meat scales at grocery stores? |
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Definition
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Term
| Where is the majority of the work done in the legislature? |
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Definition
| The majority of work done in the Legislature happens in the committee’s. |
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Term
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Definition
| a permanent committee that meets regularly |
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Term
| What is the purpose of a conference committee? |
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Definition
| Conference committees are usually convened to resolve bicameral differences on major and controversial legislation. |
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Term
| What is the difference between a substantive committee and a procedural committee? |
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Definition
| A substantive committee considers bill and resolutions related to the subject identified by its name and may recommend passage of proposed legislation to the appropriate calendars committee while procedural committees are a type of permanent committee dedicated to regulating the operations and functioning of the House. |
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Term
| At which reading of the bill does major consideration by the entire House or Senate (amending and voting on the floor) of the bill occur? |
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Definition
| At the 2nd reading of the bill, the entire legislature goes into major discussion over it. This is when it is truly looked at and voted on. |
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Term
| Does the governor have a line item veto? If yes, under what circumstances (when can he/she use it)? |
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Definition
| Yes, but only on bills that effect spending |
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Term
| Since WWII, how many gubernatorial vetoes have been overridden? |
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Definition
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Term
| If the governor doesn't sign a bill that comes to his desk, what happens to it? What are the circumstances that govern the process? When does it normally take effect? |
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Definition
| It automatically passes through, because Texas Governors don’t have a pocket veto power. They have 10 days to veto it, 20 days if the session has recently ended, and if it passes then it takes effect 90 days after the Governor’s 10 or 20 day time window. |
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Term
| How much funding is available to Senators to pay staff and cover office expenses? What about Representatives? |
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Definition
| Senators get $25,000 and Representatives get $8,000 |
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Term
| Which position in TX government is the chief elections officer? Who appoints the person to fill that position? |
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Definition
| Secretary of State; the Governor appoints this position. |
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Term
| Who is the chief legal officer in the state? |
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Definition
| Attorney General (Greg Abbott) |
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Term
| Which position in TX government must certify that the projected revenue and spending plan will balance? If this person doesn’t agree that the revenue will be sufficient to cover spending, the budget cannot become law. Who currently holds that position? |
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Definition
| The Comptroller (Susan Combs) |
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Term
| Which agency is in charge of regulating the oil and gas industry in the state? |
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Definition
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Term
| Which official oversees the state property and any oil and gas leases on state lands? |
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Definition
| Commissioner of the General Land Office |
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Term
| What is the difference between civil law and criminal law? |
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Definition
| Civil law doesn’t directly violate state laws, and it usually relates to non-violent cases, such as: divorce, contracts, small claims, and personal injury. Criminal law directly violates state law, such as: homicide, drug trafficking and distribution, and other violent acts prohibited by state and/or federal law. |
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Term
| Identify the top court in the state for criminal matters? Civil matters? How many judges serve on that/those court/courts? |
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Definition
| Court of Criminal Appeals. The Supreme Court of Texas; both courts have 1 presiding judge and 8 other associate judges. |
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Term
| What type of court system does Texas have? What other state has a system of this type? |
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Definition
| Bifurcated Appellate System; Oklahoma is the only other state that uses this system. |
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Term
| What is meant by jurisdiction? What are the types of jurisdiction and what do they mean? |
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Definition
Appellate Jurisdiction—looking back at another court’s decision on a case
Original Jurisdiction—viewing a case for the first time, meaning no other court has viewed this specific case before. |
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Term
| Texas has a “weak governor” form of government. Why is this the case and who (which governor) gets the blame for that being the case? |
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Definition
| Texas has a weak form of governing because a former governor named E.J. Davis decided to abuse his power to an extent; never witnessed before in Texas. He abused it so much, Texans wanted to make sure something like that could never happen again. |
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Term
| In Texas, how and by whom are vacant judicial positions filled? |
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Definition
| The Governor appoints vacant judicial positions with consent from the Senate. |
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Term
| How frequently does redistricting occur? How many times did it happen in Texas between 2000 and 2010? |
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Definition
| Every 10 years, and every time we feel the need to. It happened 2 times between 2000 and 2010 |
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Term
| Which position in state government service has a second role, which is the President of the Senate? |
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Definition
| The Lieutenant Governor is also the President of the Senate. |
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Term
| Who normally gets elected to the Texas Legislature (in other words, what are the common characteristics of a legislator in Texas)? |
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Definition
| Old white men, usually former attorneys with several degrees in higher education |
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Term
| What is meant by bicameral? |
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Definition
| It is referring to the 2 chambers of Congress, the House and the Senate. |
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Term
| Who makes policy at the county level in Texas (the name of the group)? What is the name of the official position that presides over that group? |
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Definition
| Commissioners Court; the County Judge presides over the group. |
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Term
| What are the four forms of city government? Who in the strong mayor, who runs the day to day activities of the city? In the council-manager form, who runs the day to day activities of the city? Who makes policy in council-manager form? |
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Definition
| Strong Mayor-Council // Weak Mayor-Council // Council Manager // |
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Term
| Why is the committee so important in the legislative process? |
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Definition
| They are important because most of the work that is accomplished in the session happens inside the committees. |
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Term
| How is the Speaker of the House chosen? What about the President of the Senate? |
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Definition
| The speaker is voted into position by the Representatives in the House. The President of the Senate is also the Lieutenant Governor, who is voted into position by the people. |
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Term
| What is the ultimate goal of an interest group? |
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Definition
| To sway opinions and present facts about a topic in order to win elections and thus achieve party goals. |
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Term
| Who possesses the delegated powers in our US governmental system? What about the reserved powers? What are concurrent powers? Be able to list and identify several concurrent powers. |
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Definition
| The Government possesses the Delegated Powers; the people possess the Reserved Powers; Concurrent Powers are shared by both the people and the government. |
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Term
| How are judges chosen in Texas? Are judges picked on a partisan or non-partisan basis? |
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Definition
| They are voted in by the people but they are funded by Political Parties, so yes, they are partisan. |
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Term
| What impact do third parties have on elections in Texas? |
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Definition
| They take away many votes from the 2 dominant parties (Democrat and Republican) thus changing the results from the various elections. |
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Term
| Who controls the curriculum for K-12 education in Texas? How is this/these person/people chosen? Qualifications? |
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Definition
| The State Board of Education; they are elected by the people but the Governor chooses the Head Chairman on the Board. |
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Term
| Where in the state rankings does Texas appear regarding per pupil expenditures in K-12 education? |
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Definition
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Term
| Who makes policy for public colleges and universities in Texas? At the individual colleges, who makes policy? |
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Definition
| Higher Education Coordinating Board; the Board of Regents at that specific college |
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Term
| How many public colleges exist in Texas? Of those, how many community college systems exist in Texas? How many private are in Texas? |
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Definition
| 36 public colleges; 50 community colleges; 42 private colleges |
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Term
| What were the primary economic drivers in Texas in the early to middle part of the 20th century? |
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Definition
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Term
| What are the types of political culture in Texas? Which two are dominant in Texas? |
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Definition
| Traditionalistic, Individualistic, and Moralistic |
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Term
| What is the primary trial court in Texas? |
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Definition
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Term
| What are the different kinds of juries? How many people serve on the different types? |
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Definition
Pettit Jury (also known as Trial Jury)—12 jurors
Grand Jury—16 to 23 members |
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Term
| What qualifications are required for a person to run and be elected to the position of justice of the peace in Texas? |
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Definition
| be 18 years of age and registered to vote |
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Term
| What is meant by the term police powers? Be able to list several examples of police powers. |
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Definition
| Authority of the state to make laws and establish task forces to protect the citizens and uphold justice |
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