Deck 4: Interest Groups in Texas

Question 1

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the right peaceably to assemble and the right to petition one's government for redress of grievances. What is the equivalent Article and section in the Texas Constitution?

A) Art. I, sec. 8
B) Art. III, sec. 4
C) Art. VII, sec. 1
D) Art. I, sec. 27

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The Chamber of Commerce in Texas is known as the

A) Texas Association of Business
B) Business for a Better Texas
C) Jobs Coalition of Texas
D) Business United

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The Texas Farm Bureau speaks for what kind of producers?

A) big producers
B) family farms
C) truck farmers in the Valley
D) cotton farmers in the Panhandle

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following is not a left-leaning public interest group?

A) Center for Public Policy Priorities
B) Texans for Public Justice
C) Texas Public Policy Foundation
D) Common Cause

Question 5

The Texas Ethics Commission was created in

A) 2005
B) 1992
C) 1973
D) 1948

Question 6

Texans for a Republican Majority (TRMPAC) was the PAC of what prominent Texas politician?

A) Tom DeLay
B) Rick Perry
C) Kay Bailey Hutchison
D) David Dewhurst

Question 7

What effect has the Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case had on corporate campaign spending?

A) decreased it
B) increased it
C) shown no effect
D) made it illegal

Question 8

How many political action committees (PACs) registered with the Texas Ethics Commission in its recent reporting period (2017)?

A) 1,000
B) 2,100
C) 2,700
D) 3,500

Question 9

Who is the President of the Texas Oil and Gas Association (TOGA)?

A) Cathie Adams
B) Gary Bledsoe
C) Todd Staples
D) Bill Ceverha

Question 10

Where did most of the top lobbyists that work the Texas legislature learn their craft?

A) the legislature
B) the corporate world
C) law school
D) reform school

Question 11

The interest group system in Texas is tilted toward

A) unions
B) business and corporations
C) ethnic groups
D) the farm lobby

Question 12

The Texas Medical Association (TMA) is a

A) peak association
B) trade association
C) professional association
D) legal defense fund

Question 13

An associate of LBJ and one of the top business lobbyists in Austin during the 1940s and 1950s was

A) Dolph Briscoe
B) Alvin Wirtz
C) Allen Shivers
D) Jake Pickle

Question 14

What proportion of Texas workers belong to labor unions?

A) 50%
B) 25%
C) 10%
D) 5%

Question 15

Interest groups representing racial and ethnic minorities have their best success appealing to

A) governor
B) legislature
C) federal courts
D) state courts

Question 16

Which of the following groups does not focus on serving a Hispanic constituency?

A) La Rasa
B) NAACP
C) MALDEF
D) LULAC

Question 17

The Liberty Legal Institute frequently represents

A) Christian conservatives
B) Libertarians
C) Baptist General Convention
D) Racial minorities

Question 18

How many lobbyists registered with the Texas Ethics Commission to work in the 2021 legislative session?

A) 550
B) 1,050
C) 1,560
D) 1,910

Question 19

What is the most potent resource that a lobbyist has to offer to a legislator during the legislative session?

A) information
B) money
C) entertainment
D) employment

Question 20

Lobbyists use all but which one of the following to lobby or educate the public?

A) newspaper and television advertising
B) direct mail
C) door-to-door canvassing
D) public meetings

Question 21

What is the limit on political action committee (PAC) contributions to state campaigns in Texas?

A) $1,000
B) $5,000
C) $10,000
D) No limit

Question 22

Who was the largest contributor to Texas political campaigns in recent decades?

A) Ross Perot
B) Bob Perry
C) Charles Wyly
D) Boone Pickens

Question 23

How many states require a sitting out period before retired legislators can lobby their former colleagues?

A) 10
B) 25
C) 35
D) 45

Question 24

What interest group category spent the most money lobbying recent Texas legislative sessions?

A) Real Estate
B) Finance
C) Health
D) Energy and Natural Resources

Question 25

The first lobby law passed in Texas in 1907 urged lobbyists to use what tool exclusively?

A) money
B) entertainment
C) reason
D) trickery

Question 26

Have Madison's concerns about "factions" been born out in our modern politics and, if so, what might we do about it?

Question 27

Evaluate the balance of interest group power in Texas and discuss its potential benefits and costs to the state and its businesses and workers.

Question 28

There are no limits on campaign contributions in Texas state races. Should Texas institute campaign contribution limits? Why or why not?

Question 29

Describe the different takes that pluralism and elitism have on interest group politics.

Question 30

Texas is a right-to-work state. Describe what that means for businesses and workers in Texas.

Question 31

What is the role of political action committees (PACs) in campaigns and elections?

Question 32

Describe the responsibilities of the Texas Ethics Commission and the tools they have to meet those responsibilities.

Question 33

When and why do lobbyists and their clients resort to litigation?

Question 34

Pluralism is the idea that the interest group system is skewed toward the interests of the wealthy.

Question 35

Texas has a smaller proportion of workers in unions than the nation as a whole.

Question 36

Most interest groups make their contributions through a political action committee (PAC).

Question 37

Texas requires retiring legislators to sit out for two years before they can lobby former colleagues.

Question 38

Texas legislators are allowed to draw on their campaign accounts to pay living expenses in Austin.

Question 39

The belief that the interest group system produces a reasonable policy balance is
called__________

Question 40

The professional association to which doctors belong is called________

Question 41

The executive director of the Texas Ethics Commission is________

Question 42

The oldest Hispanic interest group is________

Question 43

Name one of the top ten lobbyists from the 2019 legislative session________