Deck 7: The Legislature: Organization and Structure

Question 1

Which group is underrepresented in the legislature relative to their percentages in the general population?

A)Hispanics
B)Asians
C)Females
D)All of these choices are true.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following is not correct about gerrymandering?

A)Gerrymandering is used to protect a first-time candidate.
B)Gerrymandering uses a pairing technique that redistricts two or more incumbent legislators' residences or political bases so that both are in the same district.
C)Gerrymandering is used to concentrate minorities in one district.
D)Gerrymandering diffuses a concentrated political or ethnic minority among several districts so that votes in any one district are negligible.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

In 2003,the Texas State Legislature passed a redistricting plan that replaced the one created by a federal judge following the 2000 census.Critics of the plan charged that it was unconstitutional and violated the Voting Rights Act because it diluted racial minority voting strength and was designed to maximize partisan advantage.This court case was

A)LULAC v.Perry
B)Reynolds v.Sims
C)Baker v.Carr
D)LULAC v.Texas Legislature

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Because of a history of discrimination,Texas was one of nine states required to receive preclearance of any changes to their voting laws from the 

A)Department of Justice.
B)Texas Attorney Generals Office.
C)Governor of Texas.
D)Texas Supreme Texas.

Question 5

Which of the following is not a formal qualification to become a member of the Texas House of Representatives?

A)Being a U.S.citizen
B)Being at least 21 years of age
C)Having lived in Texas for five years prior to being elected
D)Having lived in the district for one year prior to being elected

Question 6

Although the non-Hispanic white population accounts for 45 percent of the state's population,________ percent of the senators are non-Hispanic white.

A)19
B)6
C)24
D)74

Question 7

The word gerrymandering was coined in 1812 because

A)Governor Elbridge Gerry wanted to preserve the Republican majority in Massachusetts and redrew a district that resembled a salamander.
B)Governor Mitt Romney wanted to preserve the Republican majority in Massachusetts.
C)a cartoonist thought Governor Gerry resembled a salamander.
D)a cartoonists disliked Governor Elbridge Gerry.

Question 8

All Texas legislators are elected using

A)multiple-member districts.
B)floating districts.
C)single-member districts.
D)regional districts.

Question 9

What are the terms for office for members of the legislature?

A)Texas senators are elected for four-year staggered terms;representatives are elected for two-year terms.
B)Texas senators are elected for four-year staggered terms,as are representatives.
C)Texas senators are elected for six-year staggered terms;representatives are elected for two-year terms.
D)Texas senators are elected for two-year staggered terms;representatives are elected for four-year terms.

Question 10

The redrawing of district and precinct lines following the national census to reflect population changes defines

A)redistricting.
B)single-member district.
C)reapportionment.
D)regional districts.

Question 11

Which statement about females in the Texas House of Representatives is correct?

A)Women,who account for slightly less than 50 percent of Texas's population,are overrepresented in the house.
B)Women,who account for slightly more than 50 percent of Texas's population,are overrepresented in the senate.
C)Women have a higher percentage of representation in the senate than in the house.
D)Women have a higher percentage of representation in the house than in the senate.

Question 12

Which profession is the most frequently represented in the U.S.legislature?

A)Law
B)Medical
C)Teachers
D)Business

Question 13

Gerrymandering is most commonly used to protect which legislative incumbents?

A)Legislators who serve on several interim committees
B)Legislators who support the agenda of powerful special interests
C)Legislators who do not support the agenda of powerful special interest groups
D)Legislators who have served more than 10 years in office

Question 14

The _________ provides bill analyses,floor reports,issue focus reports,and interim news to legislators and the public.

A)House Outreach Committee
B)House Research Organization
C)House Internal Affairs Committee
D)House Committee on Committees

Question 15

Which of the following is correct about women in the Texas legislature?

A)The Texas legislature has experienced an increase in the number of women holding seats.
B)Texas falls below the average among the 50 states for women holding seats.
C)Twenty-six states have a greater percentage of female lawmakers than Texas.
D)All of these choices are true.

Question 16

Legally mandated term limits reflect the

A)need to bring "new blood" into the house and senate.
B)desire special interest groups have to gerrymander districts.
C)frustration of voters toward government officials controlled by special interests.
D)effort to reduce "lame ducks" with legally mandated tenure.

Question 17

Members of the Legislative Redistricting Board are made up of

A)ex-officios.
B)the governor's cabinet.
C)selective legislators.
D)the governor,attorney general,and land commissioner.

Question 18

Which of the following is not an argument against having short-term biennial sessions in Texas?

A)It tends to work against deliberative,orderly legislative practice.
B)Texas legislators cannot possibly acquaint themselves with the immense volume of legislation presented to them.
C)Too much legislation gets passed at the end of the session with legislators knowing little about what they are passing.
D)Texans believe that the legislature does more good than harm;therefore,a longer session is better.

Question 19

During the 83rd Legislative session,__________ percent of the representatives in the Texas House were women.

A)less than 1
B)20
C)24
D)9

Question 20

According to your text,which statement best describes the Texas legislators?

A)They receive most of their income from outside sources.
B)They are more focused on their full-time careers.
C)They are more focused on outside sources of income than on the public interest.
D)All of these choices are true.

Question 21

Which of the following is an advantage for a house member to support the winning speaker candidate?

A)Become part of the speaker's "team"
B)Attract more campaign contributions
C)Benefits may include membership on a prestigious committee
D)All of these choices are true.

Question 22

Which two individuals are the presiding officers of the state legislature?

A)The lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house
B)The speaker of the house and the president pro tempore
C)The president pro tempore and the governor
D)The speaker of the house and the secretary of state

Question 23

The most visible individuals in the Texas legislature are the

A)presiding officers.
B)the floor leaders.
C)legislative whips.
D)senate and house clerks.

Question 24

Which of the following is not a power of the presiding officers of the legislature?

A)Assigning bills to committees
B)Recognizing members on the floor
C)Appointing the chairs and members of the conference committees
D)Interpreting laws and giving advisory opinions

Question 25

The Texas Constitution requires the speaker of the house to be selected by

A)the majority of the membership of the house.
B)a statewide election with a plurality of the votes.
C)members of his party or party in the house.
D)every member of both chambers.

Question 26

Legislative power is concentrated in the offices of which two state officials?

A)The attorney general and the speaker of the house
B)The attorney general and the comptroller of public accounts
C)The lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house
D)The governor and the lieutenant governor

Question 27

The presiding officer of the senate does not have the authority to

A)interpret rules and points of order.
B)recognize senators who wish to speak.
C)vote in the event of a tie.
D)provide a proxy vote in order to have a quorum.

Question 28

"Pairing" involves

A)placing a first-year officeholder with an incumbent in the same elective district to strengthen a party's stronghold in the legislature.
B)placing officeholders of opposing parties together in the same elective district to encourage bipartisanship.
C)placing two incumbent officeholders in the same elective district through redistricting.
D)placing the "right kinds" of incumbents together in the same elective district to represent powerful special interests.

Question 29

The procedural powers of the presiding officers of the legislature are those that

A)are explicitly stated in the constitution.
B)are directly related to the legislative process.
C)are used to affect administrative process.
D)manage the Texas government.

Question 30

Which of the following is not a reason why committees are often called "little legislatures"?

A)A committee can conduct the real legislative business of compromise and accommodation.
B)A committee can change the content of a bill or kill the bill.
C)In committees,bills may be totally rewritten or could be pigeonholed.
D)A bill can be enacted into law by a committee in case of an emergency.

Question 31

Subcommittees are divisions of

A)ad hoc committees.
B)standing committees.
C)conference committees.
D)interim committees.

Question 32

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

A)Standing
B)Conference
C)Joint
D)Select

Question 33

Which of the following is used to control the flow of legislation from the committees to the floor of the Texas House?

A)Tagging
B)Logrolling
C)Calendars
D)Pigeonholing

Question 34

The appointive power of the presiding officers means that

A)the action of a committee on specific legislation is usually predictable.
B)the presiding officers can use their power of appointment to reward friends and supporters.
C)opponents of the presiding officers can be punished.
D)all of these choices are true.

Question 35

Gerrymandering is used to protect what kind of incumbent?

A)The "right kind"
B)The conservative
C)The moderate
D)The ideological

Question 36

How are committee chairs in each legislative chamber selected?

A)The majority of the committee selects a committee chair.
B)A seniority system is used.
C)Chairs are elected by the entire membership of each chamber.
D)The presiding officers make the appointments.

Question 37

When a committee refuses to release a bill,this is referred to as a(n)

A)committee veto.
B)pigeonhole.
C)delaying tactic.
D)execution.

Question 38

Which of the following is a consideration in the placement of bills on calendars by the House Calendar Committee?

A)Place a bill lower to gain time to build support.
B)Place it near the top to get it passed before the opposition can organize.
C)Place it toward the bottom because they oppose the bill.
D)All of these choices are true.

Question 39

Candidates for speaker are required to file a complete statement of loans,campaign contributions,and expenditures with which of the following?

A)Texas Finance Committee
B)Comptroller of public accounts
C)Texas Audit Commission
D)Secretary of state

Question 40

Which of the following is a restraint on the powers of the presiding officers?

A)Personality
B)Lobbyists
C)Governor
D)All of these choices are true.

Question 41

Which committee is not an ad hoc committee?

A)Select
B)Conference
C)Standing
D)Special

Question 42

How do legislators in the Texas House of Representatives and Texas Senate compare demographically to the demographic characteristics of the Texas public?

Question 43

The House Calendars Committee controls the

A)flow of legislation from the committees to the house floor.
B)budget requests of the other committees.
C)number of individuals who vote on each issue.
D)number of votes recorded on each legislative day.

Question 44

Discuss the powers of the lieutenant governor and their constitutional basis.​

Question 45

_____________ is the process in which members pepper bill sponsors with questions on seemingly innocuous bills in order to delay the legislative process.

A)Filibuster
B)Gag order
C)Chubbing
D)Emoting

Question 46

Which legislative committee strongly influences the expenditure of funds for all divisions of state government?

A)The Legislative Research Council
B)The Legislative Audit Committee
C)The Appropriations Committee
D)The Sunset Advisory Board

Question 47

A bill on the house floor usually can be debated a maximum of _______ minutes for each member.

A)10
B)five
C)three
D)two

Question 48

The entire senate or house acting as a whole to debate,amend,vote on,enact,pass,or defeat proposed legislation defines

A)floor action.
B)quorum.
C)emoting.
D)chubbing.

Question 49

Discuss the positive and negative ​potential outcomes of gerrymandering.Weighing the positives and negatives against one another,should gerrymandering be allowed? If so,under what conditions? If not,why not?

Question 50

How does a bill become a law?

A)Introduction to the senate,assigned to committee action,senate calendar,senate floor
B)Introduction to the senate,assigned to committee,committee action,senate calendar
C)Assigned to a committee,introduction to the senate,senate calendar,committee action
D)Introduction to the senate,committee whole,senate calendar,committee action

Question 51

_____________ are divisions of standing committees.

A)Conference committees
B)Interim committees
C)Subcommittees
D)Select committees

Question 52

On several occasions,a determined minority opposed to a scheduled action have used quorum-busting tactics by deliberately absenting themselves to deny their chamber the __________ necessary to proceed on any legislation.

A)filibuster
B)quorum
C)pigeonhole
D)chubbing

Question 53

What is a blocking bill?

A)A bill placed early on the senate calendar each session
B)A bill used by a standing committee to kill legislation
C)A bill placed early on the house calendar each session
D)An appropriation committee bill used to block funds from a state agency

Question 54

Which is one of the most powerful committees in the House of Representatives?

A)Jurisprudence
B)Appropriations
C)Finance
D)Public Education

Question 55

Which of the following is not a legislative commission or board?

A)The Sunset Advisory Commission
B)The Legislative Audit Committee
C)The Legislative Council
D)The Railroad Commission

Question 56

Which is one of the most powerful committees in the senate?

A)Ways and Means
B)Appropriations
C)Higher Education
D)Finance

Question 57

What challenges may the demographic differences between Texas legislators and their constituency present for members of the Texas legislature?

Question 58

Which method can be used only in the senate to delay and maybe kill a legislative measure?

A)Pigeonholing
B)Filibuster
C)Discharge
D)Low placement by the senate calendar committee

Question 59

If the legislature is in session and the governor refuses to sign a bill,

A)it becomes law in 10 days.
B)it becomes law in 30 days.
C)it automatically dies.
D)all of these choices are true.

Question 60

Final passage of a bill requires a vote of

A)a simple majority in both houses.
B)a majority of the entire membership of the house and senate.
C)a two-thirds vote in both houses.
D)a two-thirds vote in the house where the bill originated,and a simple majority in the other house.

Question 61

Discuss the purple legislation of 2013.What were the reasons for the alliances formed in the Texas legislature during that session?​

Question 62

Identify the presiding officers of the two chambers of the legislature.Discuss their institutional and procedural powers.Explain how the powers of the presiding officers are increased by each.Are there any restraints on their powers? If so,why do you think these restraints exist? If not,why not?

Question 63

Which procedural tool available to the presiding officers of the Texas legislature is the most powerful? Why?​

Question 64

Discuss the importance of the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission.Why does the TSAC exist,and what function do they perform? Be sure to discuss how the commission is organized and the major responsibilities of the commission.​

Question 65

Trace the complete steps necessary for a bill to become a law in Texas.​

Question 66

Discuss the role and responsibilities of floor leaders.Which of their responsibilities is most significant and why?​

Question 67

What are the potential benefits and drawbacks of filibusters? Should filibusters be allowed or should Senate rules be rewritten to end the filibuster? Support your answer.​