Deck 7: The Legislature

Question 1

Special sessions last ________, but there is no limit to the number of special sessions a governor can call.

A) 30 days
B) 60 days
C) 90 days
D) 120 days

Answer 1

A

Question 2

In order to be eligible to serve in the Texas House, you must be ______ years old; in order to be eligible to serve in the Texas Senate, you must be ______ years old.

A) 25; 30
B) 18; 22
C) 30; 35
D) 21; 26

Answer 2

D

Question 3

For a law to pass in the Texas legislature it must be voted on by

A) two deliberative bodies representing different constituencies.
B) both Democrats and Republicans.
C) Tea Party members.
D) just one chamber.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Special sessions of the legislature

A) are called infrequently because they are very expensive.
B) can only be called by a joint resolution passed by both the House and the Senate.
C) are called frequently because the legislature is unable to complete all of its required business in the allotted 140 days of its regular sessions.
D) can only be called to deal with issues related to passing a budget.

Question 5

Each member of the Texas Senate represents about ___________ people, while each member of the Texas House represents about_________ people.

A) 350,000; 650,000
B) 168,000; 811,000
C) 811,000; 168,000
D) 1,000,000; 100,000

Question 6

Which is the most important bill that applies to all people and property throughout the state?

A) general bill
B) local bill
C) simple resolution
D) special bill

Question 7

Senators and House members take office in______________ of odd-numbered years.

A) March
B) January
C) September
D) May

Question 8

For how long does the Texas legislature meet?

A) The legislature meets all year, with breaks for holidays and campaigning.
B) The regular session is nine months every year.
C) The legislature meets for nine months biennially.
D) The regular legislative session lasts 140 days in odd-numbered years.

Question 9

The power of recognition allows the Speaker of the House to

A) appoint people to serve on committees in return for loyalty to the Speaker.
B) honor Texans who have served their state and country with valor.
C) determine who will get to speak and how long a legislative debate will last.
D) set the legislative agenda, signaling which pieces of legislation he or she prefers and supports.

Question 10

Texas senators serve ________-year terms and House members serve ________-year terms.

A) two; four
B) four; six
C) four; two
D) six; four

Question 11

Which of the following statements about simple resolutions is correct?

A) They do not require the signature of the governor.
B) They can only concern the internal rules of the Texas legislature.
C) They are limited to matters of concern for no more than two House districts.
D) They can only be initiated by the governor.

Question 12

In the Texas legislature, the House has ________ members and the Senate has ________ members.

A) 435; 100
B) 100; 25
C) 150; 31
D) 31; 150

Question 13

What is the function of the "local and consent" calendar?

A) It marks the date by which legislators must vote on specific bills.
B) It is the calendar for all private bills sponsored by members of the legislature.
C) It is reserved for uncontroversial bills or bills limited to a localized problem.
D) It describes the voting schedule for those bills that require approval by both the legislature and local communities.

Question 14

Which of the following statements about special sessions of the Texas legislature is true?

A) Special sessions are a rare occurrence, called on average once a decade.
B) Special sessions were common in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries but have been rare over the past 50 years.
C) Special sessions are common, held an average of once a year since 1876.
D) Special sessions occur often, on average four times a year.

Question 15

A bill in the Texas legislature that would allow a county to establish a new community college would be classified as a

A) general bill.
B) special bill.
C) local bill.
D) concurrent resolution.

Question 16

One of the most notable effects of bicameralism in the Texas legislature is that it

A) speeds up the process of legislation by dividing the labors between two separate institutions.
B) works to the benefit of the more densely populated urban areas.
C) allows for sparsely populated rural counties to receive more of a voice in the legislature.
D) permits more opportunities to kill or significantly modify a bill.

Question 17

________ must begin in the House of Representatives.

A) Transportation bills
B) School finance bills
C) Revenue bills
D) All bills

Question 18

In even-numbered years, Texas representatives receive a salary of only ________ per year, not including a per diem.

A) nothing
B) $28,200
C) $7,200
D) $12,000

Question 19

The agenda for special sessions in the Texas legislature is set by the

A) lieutenant governor and the Texas Speaker of the House.
B) governor.
C) Texas Supreme Court.
D) chair of the Joint Committee on Special Sessions.

Question 20

If the legislature grants a particular corporation an exception from a state law, it is called

A) logrolling.
B) a special bill.
C) a private resolution.
D) a filibuster.

Question 21

Rules of the legislature require that the bill be read

A) on two separate occasions.
B) on three separate occasions.
C) by the bill writer, the legislative member, and the lieutenant governor or Speaker of the House.
D) by the bill writer, the legislative member, and the committee chairman.

Question 22

In Texas, why is a governor's post-adjournment veto so powerful?

A) It cannot be overturned by the legislature.
B) It can be overturned only by a two-thirds majority of both houses.
C) It allows the governor to veto parts of a bill but not all of it.
D) It allows the governor to get maximum media coverage.

Question 23

The governor often uses the State of the State address to do which of the following?

A) to call a special legislative session
B) to issue a signing statement
C) to describe his or her legislative priorities and agenda
D) to announce the committee chairs for the legislative committees

Question 24

Which of the following rules applies to the filibuster in the Texas Senate?

A) The filibuster can only be used during a special session.
B) The senator speaking can expand the topic of debate to related subjects.
C) The senator who has control of the floor must always speak in an audible voice, so that he or she can be heard and understood.
D) The senator who is speaking can take one five-minute break and leave the chamber every eight hours while he or she is talking.

Question 25

After a bill is referred by a committee, the next step in the process is

A) floor action.
B) action by the governor.
C) action by conference committee.
D) approval.

Question 26

Which committee acts as a screening mechanism to filter out bad bills or bills that have little or no political support?

A) standing
B) conference
C) joint
D) select

Question 27

While bills must be introduced by a member of the legislature, ______________ can write a bill.

A) anyone
B) only a member of the chamber where it is being introduced
C) any elected government official
D) only specially designated "authors" within each chamber

Question 28

________ is a kind of talking that is used to stall legislation.

A) Veto
B) Chubbing
C) Pigeonholing
D) Referral

Question 29

When the governor strikes out specific spending provisions in large appropriations bills it is called

A) pigeonholing.
B) the pocket veto.
C) the line-item veto.
D) the post-adjournment veto.

Question 30

In the Texas legislature, when a committee chair "pigeonholes" a bill, what happens?

A) The bill is set aside before it is ever discussed in committee.
B) The bill is referred to a special session.
C) The chair vetoes a bill after it has already received an affirmative committee vote.
D) The chair refers a bill to only one subcommittee rather than two or more.

Question 31

The Texas Legislature has many powers that are not related to legislation, including which of the following?

A) the power to create local bills
B) the power to filibuster in the Senate.
C) the power to formally count returns for the governor's and lieutenant governor's elections.
D) the power to create concurrent resolutions.

Question 32

What types of resolutions are acted on without debate and without requiring members to read the resolution?

A) concurrent resolutions
B) joint resolutions
C) resolutions of honor or recognition
D) simple resolution

Question 33

In addition to the legislators and the governor, there are others involved in the lawmaking process during both regular and special sessions. Which one official has direct involvement in the legislative process, while other players are involved indirectly?

A) the comptroller of public accounts
B) the media
C) the court
D) the lobbyist

Question 34

How is the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives chosen?

A) The Speaker is elected in a statewide election.
B) The Speaker is the most senior representative in the House.
C) The Speaker is the most senior representative from the majority party.
D) The Speaker is elected by members of the House.

Question 35

Why is the comptroller of public accounts so important to the legislature?

A) The comptroller is responsible for setting the salary and compensation packages for legislators.
B) The comptroller informs the legislature how much money it has to spend on the budget.
C) The comptroller investigates suspected illegal campaign contributions.
D) Whoever is comptroller is also the Speaker of the House.

Question 36

In the Texas legislature, the referral of a bill to a standing committee in the House and the Senate is the job of the

A) governor.
B) secretary of state.
C) Speaker of the House and lieutenant governor.
D) Sergeant-at-Arms of the House and Senate.

Question 37

The legislature has "directive and supervisory powers" that include the ability to

A) review each state agency every twelve years.
B) impeach government officials for improper behavior.
C) require members to hire a certain number of interns each year.
D) confirm judicial nominations.

Question 38

The Speaker of the House and the lieutenant governor are viewed as among the most powerful actors in Texas government because

A) they usually move on to higher levels of office, such as governor.
B) they have the ability to set the initial legislative budget.
C) they call special sessions of the legislature.
D) they have enough institutional powers to be able to influence which legislation passes and which legislation is killed.

Question 39

In Texas, the governor's State of the State address is an example of the ________ power.

A) special session
B) veto
C) message
D) impeachment

Question 40

As in the U.S. Congress, the purpose of a conference committee in the Texas legislature is to do what?

A) It is a committee in which members of both houses meet informally with the governor's representatives to set the agenda for an upcoming session.
B) It is a committee designed to make differing House and Senate versions of the same bill identical.
C) It is the committee that establishes the rules for floor debate in the House.
D) It is another name for a standing committee.

Question 41

What is the importance of the Supreme Court case Reynolds v. Sims and Baker v. Carr?

A) It declared the Voting Rights Act of 1965 constitutional.
B) It declared poll taxes unconstitutional.
C) It declared the constitutional principle of "one person, one vote."
D) It declared that preclearance was an unconstitutional abridgement of state power.

Question 42

Who has responsibility for redistricting the Texas delegation to the U.S. Congress?

A) the Texas legislature
B) the governor
C) the governor, along with the Texas Senate
D) the U.S. Congress

Question 43

The Legislative Redistricting Board has the authority to draw new districts if

A) appointed to do so by the governor after a special redistricting session.
B) the legislature fails to redistrict at the first regular session after the census.
C) ordered to do so by the state supreme court or a federal district court.
D) a majority in both the House and the Senate vote to allow it.

Question 44

Like the U.S. president, the governor of Texas can kill a bill by refusing to sign it.

Question 45

Special bills are used to grant specific individuals or corporations exemptions from state law.

Question 46

Special sessions last 30 days, and there is a limit to the number of special sessions a governor can call.

Question 47

The Texas House of Representatives is responsible for both impeaching government officials and holding the trials after impeachment.

Question 48

The governor of Texas has the authority to exercise a line-item veto.

Question 49

Bicameralism creates an interesting dynamic in a legislature because it means that before a law is passed, it will be voted on by two deliberative bodies representing different constituencies.

Question 50

Which of the following statements about partisanship in the Texas legislature is correct?

A) Partisan rivalries have been high throughout the history of the Texas legislature.
B) Historically, partisanship has been rather low, but in recent years the legislature has moved into a more partisan era.
C) The legislature was divided by partisan bickering before the 1980s, but the conflict has decreased steadily since then.
D) The Texas Constitution was amended in 1986 to forbid partisanship from interfering with the legislative process.

Question 51

Revenue bills must begin in the House of Representatives.

Question 52

Members of the Texas House have a larger constituency than members of the Texas Senate.

Question 53

The Texas Constitution permits the election to the Texas legislature of persons who are not U.S. citizens but who have been legal residents of Texas for at least 10 years.

Question 54

Regular sessions of the Texas legislature last for 200 days.

Question 55

The Texas legislature meets in regular session once every two years.

Question 56

Conference committees are designed to make Texas House and Senate bills identical to each other.

Question 57

The legislature can overturn a post-adjournment veto.

Question 58

Why did 51 Democratic members of the Texas legislature go to Oklahoma in 2003?

A) To protest a second redistricting effort that was intended to further only political goals rather than to meet the one-person, one-vote requirement after a decennial census.
B) They were part of a multi-state caucus of Democratic state legislators working on preparing for the 2004 presidential election.
C) They were asked by the Oklahoma legislature to provide assistance in drafting pieces of legislation related to pay-as-you-go requirements.
D) They were part of a larger taskforce that was participating in a multi-state effort to coordinate response and training with the newly created Department of Homeland Security.

Question 59

Legislative districts in the Texas House and Senate are

A) based on proportional representation.
B) single-member districts.
C) multiple-member districts.
D) redistricted every four years.

Question 60

The Texas Constitution forbids the legislature to borrow money to conduct the daily operations of government.

Question 61

Describe how a bill becomes a state law. Consider the following questions: Who writes bills? What are the rules for debate on the floor? What are some of the powers of the governor throughout this process?

Question 62

Since the lieutenant governor is elected in a statewide election, he or she represents the interests of the whole state rather than a smaller geographic constituency.

Question 63

Members of the Texas House of Representatives are permitted to speak on the House floor for as long as they wish.

Question 64

Describe the structure and organization of the Texas legislature. Consider the following questions: What are some of the effects of bicameralism? What are committees, and what are their roles? When is the Texas legislature in regular session?

Question 65

Does the increase in partisanship put the minority party at a bigger disadvantage when it comes to influencing legislation? Do the Texas legislature's presiding officers have too much power?

Question 66

By focusing on some things and not others, the media can shape the legislative agenda and what becomes legal or illegal in Texas.

Question 67

In the Senate, the Speaker controls legislative debate by selecting who speaks and how long the debate will last.

Question 68

Contrast the leadership and committee structure of the Texas House with that of the Texas Senate.

Question 69

In Texas, both the lieutenant governor and the Speaker of the House are elected in statewide elections.