front 5 Because heads of several executive agencies are elected independently
of the governor, __________.
- there is potential
for conflict in the executive branch
- there are fewer
candidates in elections and elections are less expensive
- the governor has greater influence in the legislature
- the governor of Texas is stronger than the governor of most
other states
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front 6 To serve as governor, the constitution says an individual must __________.
- be at least 30 years
old and a resident of Texas for at least five years
- be at
least 35 years old and a resident of Texas for at least fourteen
years
- be at least 40 years old and a natural-born Texan
- be at least 35 years old and take an oath of belief in a supreme
being
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front 7 What effect has the increasing cost of campaigns had on the
gubernatorial election?
- It has allowed more
qualified candidates to seek the governorship, as they know how to
raise funds.
- It has led more candidates to seek matching
funds from the state to cover the costs of campaigning.
- It
has prevented many good potential candidates from running because of
the burden of raising funds.
- It has allowed for a greater
number of candidates to seek the office because of its increasing
importance.
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front 8 Removing a Texas governor from office __________.
- has never
occurred
- requires a majority vote in the House and Senate
and approval by the public
- requires impeachment by the
Judiciary Committee and a trial in the state Supreme Court
- requires impeachment by the House and conviction by the
Senate
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front 9 Why was Governor James E. Ferguson impeached and convicted in 1917?
- He was found to have
embezzled $2 million from state funds.
- He was accused of
misuse of public funds following his call for a special legislative
session.
- He was found to have attempted to sell a Senate
seat.
- He refused to make appointments to the University of
Texas’s board of regents
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front 10 When a governor is removed from office, resigns, or dies or becomes
incapacitated while in office, who becomes governor?
- the lieutenant
governor
- the speaker of the House
- the attorney
general
- the comptroller of public accounts
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front 11 The governor’s power in Texas compared to other states is categorized
as __________.
- very weak
- moderate
- strong
- very strong
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front 12 The governor of Texas faces a difficult situation because the
governor __________.
- has to appoint so many
top officials in the executive, like the attorney general and
lieutenant governor
- is unable to get any media coverage and
the public expects leadership to come from the legislature
- cannot influence bills considered by the legislature
- has relatively weak formal powers but the public has high
expectations of the office
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front 13 The governor’s main legislative powers provided by the constitution
include __________.
- the veto and the
authority to call and set the agenda for special sessions
- the power to appoint the presiding officers of the
legislature
- the power to set the legislative agenda during
the regular session
- the power to appoint the
parliamentarian of the House and the Senate
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front 14 The governor’s veto power and ability to call special sessions of the
legislature __________.
- can only ever be used
in response to bills already passed by the House and Senate
- were eliminated by the Constitution of 1876 to limit the
governor’s role in the state government
- can allow the
governor to influence the legislature through the threat of using
those powers
- provide the governor with the ability to
determine party leadership and committee chairs in the
legislature
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front 15 The governor has the authority to veto a bill for up to __________.
- ten days during a
session and twenty days after adjournment
- twenty days
during a session and ten days after adjournment
- ten days
both during a session and after adjournment
- twenty days
both during a session and after adjournment
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front 16 If the governor neither signs nor vetoes a bill during the allotted
time, it __________.
- is automatically
introduced in the next regular session on a “fast track”
- dies for lack of a signature
- goes back to committee for
more deliberation
- becomes a law without his signature
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front 17 Overriding a governor’s veto __________.
- requires a majority
vote by the public
- requires a two-thirds vote in both the
House and Senate
- is not permitted under the
constitution
- requires a majority vote in both the House
and Senate
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front 18 The governor’s budgetary power is __________.
- quite strong since the
legislature is required to give an “up or down” vote on the
governor’s proposed budget
- limited since the legislature
typically gives greater attention to budgetary recommendations of
the Legislative Budget Board
- strong since he or she gets to
appoint all members of the Legislative Budget Board
- weak
since he or she must either accept full budget bills or veto them in
their entirety
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front 19 What characterizes the governor’s appointive powers?
- The governor’s powers
are constrained because of staggered terms of most board members and
the plural executive.
- The governor can remove his or her
predecessor’s appointments, so his or her powers are somewhat
strong.
- The governor cannot appoint or dismiss anybody, so
his or her powers are exceptionally weak.
- The governor is
able to appoint all members of many state boards at the beginning of
his or her term without legislative approval, so his or her powers
are quite strong.
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front 20 How do the staggered terms of state boards and commissioners affect
the governor?
- It is hard for the
governor to remove his or her predecessor’s appointees, which
impedes progress.
- A governor has to wait at least two years
to get majorities favoring his or her policies on most boards.
- For three years, a predecessor’s appointees technically do not
answer to the current governor.
- The governor cannot enact
new policies until a predecessor’s appointees have left.
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front 21 Senatorial __________ is an unwritten norm that allows a senator to
block the governor’s nomination of an individual who lives in the
senator’s district.
- prerogative
- veto
- obligation
- courtesy
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front 22 The governor’s judicial powers include the ability to __________.
- prosecute members of
the legislature
- grant unlimited stays of execution without
approval or recommendation of other actors
- make
appointments to the Board of Pardons and Paroles
- declare
legislation unconstitutional
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front 23 The military authority given to the governor by the state
constitution includes __________.
- his or her role as
commander-in-chief of the military forces of the state, and the
ability to declare wars on other states
- the ability to
appoint an adjutant general and to prohibit Texans from joining the
U.S. military when the state is threatened
- the ability to
direct the actions of U.S. Border Patrol agents in Texas and the
ability to create military schools in the state
- his or her
role as commander-in-chief of the military forces of the state and
the ability to mobilize the Texas National Guard to protect lives
and property in the state
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front 24 One of the governor’s informal resources is the ability to __________.
- mobilize the Texas
National Guard
- communicate to the public through the mass
media
- call and set the agenda for special legislative
sessions
- proclaim acts of executive clemency for convicted
criminals
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front 25 Governors’ staff members __________.
- rarely share basic
political attitudes with the governor
- run for election on a
ticket with gubernatorial candidates
- help collect,
organize, and screen information for the governor
- must be
confirmed by the state House of Representatives
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front 26 In carrying out the duties of his office, the governor often uses the
mass media to __________.
- run paid
advertisements
- leak information or float trial balloons
- hide information from the public
- run public opinion
polls paid for by the governor
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front 27 Why was Governor Bill Clements overwhelmed when he took office?
- His predecessor had
left the state with a larger deficit than was publicly known.
- He was an Austin insider, having served four terms in the state
Senate prior to being elected governor.
- He did not
understand the limitations of the powers of the governor.
- He faced a legislative revolt when he vetoed the budget.
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front 28 What was the negative view of Bill Clements when he left office in 1991?
- He had seriously
degraded the state of education in Texas by vetoing numerous
education bills.
- He was an obstructionist who would rather
fight the Democrats than provide leadership.
- His actions
had delayed the Republican takeover of the Senate by a decade.
- He had overseen the slowest period of economic growth in the
history of Texas.
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front 29 In an effort to raise new revenue for the state, Governor Ann
Richards led support for a constitutional amendment to __________.
- create a tax on
political campaign contributions
- create a state personal
income tax
- establish state property taxes
- create a
state lottery
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front 30 In one of the most emotional issues of the 1993 legislative session,
Governor Richards sided with police chiefs and others in killing a
proposal to allow __________.
- private citizens to
legally carry handguns
- county governments to free inmates
in their jails
- school officials to carry concealed weapons
on school property
- state legislators to bypass metal
detectors at the state Capitol
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front 31 Governor George W. Bush used a tactic that allowed him to gain the
respect of members of the legislature and get many of his initiatives
passed. How did he prefer to work out his differences with the legislature?
- He met in public with
opposition leaders to hash out disagreements so that the public
could stay informed and the government process would be
transparent.
- He met in private with legislative leaders to
hash out differences and would refuse to leak any disagreements to
the press.
- He would often appear before the legislature on
the floor to lobby his position on many bills and meet with
legislators publicly after.
- He would often identify which
bills he would not veto in exchange for legislators supporting some
of his policies.
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front 32 Rick Perry helped increase the influence of Texas’s governor’s office
by __________.
- avoiding the use of
the veto through successful negotiation with the legislature
- adopting a progressive political agenda to match the preferences
of most Texans
- choosing not to run for reelection after his
first full term in office
- making thousands of appointments
to state agencies
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front 33 Governor Perry increased his support among conservative Republican
voters in preparation for his 2006 reelection race by __________.
- passing a state
constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage
- increasing funding for public schools
- passing new
strict rules on the construction of new abortion clinics
- issuing an executive order requiring the recital of the Pledge
of Allegiance prior to each meeting of the state legislature
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front 34 The lieutenant governor of Texas __________.
- is elected in a team
along with the governor, comptroller, and attorney general
- is a running mate of the governor, and they are elected as a
team
- is chosen by the members of the Senate since he or she
is the leader of that chamber
- is elected separately from
the governor and can be from a different party
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front 35 The Texas attorney general is __________.
- mainly a civil lawyer
who defends state laws enacted by the legislature
- a civil
judge who overhears cases involving the state and private
parties
- a criminal lawyer who is primarily involved in murder
cases
- a constitutional lawyer whose duty is to determine the
constitutionality of legislation
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front 36 The comptroller of public accounts is __________.
- required to either be
a certified public accountant or a graduate of an accredited Master
of Business Administration program
- responsible for
submitting a proposed state budget to the Legislative Budget Board
every year
- the state’s primary tax administrator and
accounting officer, and is responsible for issuing revenue
estimates
- appointed by the governor subject to approval
by the budget committees of the House and Senate
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front 37 Because of the pay-as-you-go principle, __________.
- the legislature cannot
adopt an operating budget that exceeds anticipated revenue
- the state can borrow money but must repay it within two
months
- the state creates a new budget every month to adjust
to changing needs
- the legislature has created a complicated
monthly pay system to finance programs
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front 38 Unlike other high level executive offices like the lieutenant
governor, attorney general, and comptroller of public accounts, the
office of commissioner of agriculture __________.
- is filled through
appointment by the governor
- is led by an individual elected
for six-year terms instead of four-year terms
- was created
by state law rather than by the constitution
- is not
responsible for carrying out any state laws
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front 39 Only two of the more than 200 state boards and commissions have
elected members. Which boards or commissions have elected members?
- the Railroad
Commission and the State Board of Education
- the Pardons
and Paroles Board and the State Board of Education
- the
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Railroad
Commission
- the State Board of Education and the State
Treasurer’s Commission
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