Deck 8: The Administrative State

Question 1

Bureaucrats may directly influence legislation by drafting bills,furnishing information to legislators,and by lobbying.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

After World War II,the scope of government grew as newly enfranchised and politically active citizens demanded government intervention to improve the quality of their lives and the complex society created a need for government expansion.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Agencies attempt to directly influence the actions of legislators by furnishing information in writing or through testimony before legislative committees and indirectly influence legislators through the use of clientele groups.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The relationship between the Texas Department of Transportation and the Texas Good Roads and Transportation Association is an example of an agency/clientele relationship.

Question 5

Public policy implementation consists of the legislature writing a final version of a law to be used by bureaucracy.

Question 6

Texas has far more public employees per 10,000 population than any other state.

Question 7

Administrative discretion refers to the ability of bureaucrats to use their own judgment as to just how laws should be carried out.

Question 8

Few agency administrators worry about getting the governor's support for the agency's budget or programs.

Question 9

In Texas,the state administration reflects the policy preferences of an individualistic-traditionalistic political culture.

Question 10

In 2002,the Republican Party in Texas captured the executive branch and a majority of both houses of the legislative branch.

Question 11

Bureaucracy is an administrative organization associated with red tape,specialization,and hierarchy.

Question 12

Reinventing government refers to any activity that results in constitutional revision.

Question 13

The civil service system is designed to select government administrators based upon merit and to protect them from outside political influence.

Question 14

The only major executive branch official in Texas who is not chosen in a partisan election for a four-year term is the commissioner of the general land office.

Question 15

The term legislative oversight refers to any situation in which the bureaucracy acts without the knowledge and approval of the legislature.

Question 16

Modern discussions of bureaucratic structures began with the work of Max Weber.

Question 17

The Texas Constitution permits the legislature to appropriate more funds than are anticipated in state revenues for any biennial period.

Question 18

Members of appointed boards and commissions in Texas serve six-year overlapping terms,without pay.

Question 19

Regulation of railroads is what gives the Texas Railroad Commission its political clout.

Question 20

The Attorney General is one of the most powerful offices in Texas government.

Question 21

The Sunset Advisory Commission is responsible for reviewing all statutory boards,commissions,and departments (except colleges and universities)on a periodic basis.

Question 22

Which of the following elected officials in Texas is responsible for supervising the leasing of state-owned lands for such purposes as oil production and grazing?

A) Treasurer
B) Secretary of State
C) Commissioner of Agriculture
D) Commissioner of the General Land Office
E) Attorney General

Question 23

If a Texas college student has been "slammed" or "crammed",the ____ represents a possible solution to the problem.

A) General Land Office
B) Lieutenant Governor
C) Secretary of State
D) Public Utility Commission
E) Sunset Commission

Question 24

Regulation of the oil and gas industry in Texas is the responsibility of

A) the Public Utility Commission.
B) the Interstate Commerce Commission.
C) the Energy Regulatory Commission.
D) the Texas Railroad Commission.
E) the Attorney General.

Question 25

A Sunshine Law is so named because it forces agencies to shed light on their deliberations and procedures in order to prevent or expose bureaucratic ineptitude,corruption,or unnecessary secrecy.

Question 26

Bureaucracy is a type of organization associated with red tape,specialization,and

A) compassion.
B) democracy.
C) efficiency.
D) hierarchy.
E) customer service.

Question 27

Which of the following statewide executive offices is responsible for consumer protection,particularly with regard to determining the relative safety of pesticides?

A) Attorney General
B) Land Commissioner
C) Treasurer
D) Comptroller of the Public Accounts
E) Agriculture Commissioner

Question 28

Texas has among the fewest employees per 10,000 population among the states in all but which one of the following areas?

A) Higher education
B) Highways
C) Corrections
D) Hospitals
E) Public welfare

Question 29

Sunset reviews are conducted by a twelve-member Sunset Advisory Commission composed of only senators and representatives who are led by a chair from either the House or the Senate.

Question 30

The official published record of administrative decisions,rules and regulations is called

A) the Texas Fact Book.
B) Texas Fiscal Size-Up.
C) the Texas Legislative Record
D) the Texas Register.
E) the Texas Tribune.

Question 31

State administration in Texas is confusing for which of the following reasons?

A) There is no single, uniform organizational pattern.
B) There are numerous exceptions to the traditional bureaucratic characteristic of hierarchy.
C) The number of state agencies depends upon one's method of counting.
D) There are at least five different types of top policymakers in state agencies.
E) All of the above.

Question 32

A whistle-blower is an employee who lobbies the legislature to increase his/her agency's budget.

Question 33

The State Board of Education is chosen by

A) the Governor.
B) the Commissioner of Education.
C) the voters.
D) the Lieutenant Governor.
E) the legislature.

Question 34

Which of the following offices represents the state and its agencies in court when the state is a party to a case?

A) Attorney General
B) Secretary of State
C) Treasurer
D) Comptroller of Public Accounts
E) Agriculture Commissioner

Question 35

Which of the following officials certifies elections and maintains records on campaign expenditures?

A) Secretary of State
B) Commissioner of Agriculture
C) Attorney General
D) Comptroller of Public Accounts
E) Commissioner of the General Land Office

Question 36

Members of appointed boards and commissions

A) are all appointed by the governor.
B) serve four-year overlapping terms.
C) serve without pay.
D) generally have no authority to make policy.
E) All of the above are true.

Question 37

The long ballot in Texas tends to increase the accountability of administrators to the public.

Question 38

The number of state government employees in Texas

A) has been increasing steadily since the 1980s.
B) has changed little since the 1960s.
C) has grown at about the same rate as the overall population since the 1970s.
D) declined in the 1990s but has grown rapidly in the twenty-first century.
E) has declined dramatically as computers have replaced employees.

Question 39

Which of the following elected officials in Texas is responsible for the administration of the state tax system?

A) Treasurer
B) Comptroller of Public Accounts
C) Secretary of State
D) Attorney General
E) Lieutenant Governor

Question 40

According to Max Weber,hierarchical authority,defined jurisdictions,and extensive rules and regulations are all characteristics of

A) government.
B) politics.
C) bureaucracy.
D) legislatures.
E) all of the above.

Question 41

When a public agency loses its concern for the general public interest and its ability to see different points of view,it is referred to as

A) goal displacement.
B) whistle-blowing.
C) policy implementation.
D) bureaucratic reorganization.
E) performance review.

Question 42

In a civil service system

A) workers are hired based on merit.
B) workers are evaluated on job performance.
C) workers are insulated from undue interference from politicians.
D) workers are imperfectly accountable to the people.
E) all of the above are true.

Question 43

All but which one of the following are features of modern bureaucracies?

A) Authority and accountability are diffused.
B) Agency staffers are very much involved in politics.
C) Modern bureaucracies are divorced from outside control.
D) Managers are relied on to oversee policy implementation and to serve as brokers between citizens and elected officials.
E) Modern organizations are static and rarely reorganize.

Question 44

Factors that help make the bureaucracy in Texas accountable include all of the following except

A) the long ballot.
B) sunset reviews.
C) legislative oversight.
D) a more integrated executive branch.
E) an open records law.

Question 45

According to Max Weber,bureaucratic organizations have several basic characteristics.In your essay,describe the basic characteristics of bureaucracy Weber lists.In comparison,discuss how modern bureaucracies have changed since Weber's writing.

Question 46

Discuss the roles that clientele groups play in the survival and growth of bureaucracies.Explain the effect they have on bureaucratic orientation.

Question 47

Some administrators may be tempted toward inappropriate bureaucratic behavior by which of the following?

A) Extremely strongly interest groups, the handicapped legislature, and lack of a whistle-blowing law in Texas
B) Weaknesses in the governor's office, lack of hierarchical control within the agency, and lack of a whistle-blowing law in Texas
C) Extremely strongly interest groups, weaknesses in the governor's office, and the handicapped legislature
D) The handicapped legislature, lack of hierarchical control within the agency, and lack of a whistle-blowing law in Texas
E) Extremely strongly interest groups, weaknesses in the governor's office, and lack of hierarchical control within the agency

Question 48

State employees who report instances of illegal or unethical conduct in their agency are called

A) sun-setters.
B) mischief makers.
C) tattlers.
D) whistle-blowers.
E) clientele agents.

Question 49

The freedom that bureaucrats have to determine how laws are to be interpreted and carried out is called

A) administrative initiative.
B) administrative discretion.
C) administrative oversight.
D) regulatory oversight.
E) legislative oversight.

Question 50

Discuss the tensions or contradictions between democracy and bureaucracy.Illustrate the tensions with examples from the text or from case studies in contemporary Texas politics.

Question 51

Except in the case of a few high-profile agencies such as the Texas Department of Transportation and the Parks and Wildlife Department,state agencies ordinarily receive little support from

A) the public.
B) clientele groups.
C) the legislature.
D) the governor.
E) their chief administrators.

Question 52

An interest group that benefits from the programs of an administrative agency is called a

A) clientele group.
B) subject group.
C) focus group.
D) caucus.
E) beneficiary.

Question 53

Sources of bureaucratic power include all of the following except

A) gubernatorial support.
B) technical expertise
C) agency leadership
D) sunset laws
E) merit-based personnel systems

Question 54

Discuss the major sources of bureaucratic power in Texas.Among those powers,explain which are the most important.The primary sources of power vary from agency to agency in state government.Explain how those sources of power vary.

Question 55

Explain to whom unelected bureaucrats are accountable in Texas.Discuss whether the methods used by Texas to ensure bureaucratic accountability are adequate.Explain how sunset laws and whistle blowing might lead to greater accountability.