Deck 13: Local Government in Texas

Question 1

Dallas operates under which form of city government?

A) mayor-council style
B) council-manager style
C) commissioner style
D) council-mayor style
E) at-large style

Answer 1

B

Question 2

A home-rule charter

A) grants a city a small amount of autonomy.
B) allows cities to levy unlimited amounts of property taxes.
C) makes it harder for a city to borrow money than for general-law cities.
D) makes it so that a city does not have to be consistent with the state constitution.
E) specifies the number of members serving on the city's governing body.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

The mayor-council form of government is most common in

A) smaller general-law cities.
B) large metropolitan cities.
C) newer, high-growth "exurbs."
D) north Texas cities.
E) south Texas cities.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following is not a function of county government in Texas?

A) supervising road and bridge maintenance
B) administering water districts
C) setting a county's tax rates
D) maintaining the county jail
E) county law enforcement

Question 5

In the case Avery v. Midland County, the U.S. Supreme Court held that

A) special districts had to be approved by the voters.
B) educational spending levels had to be roughly the same throughout the state.
C) the principle of "one person, one vote" applied to county commissioners courts.
D) the practice of hanging was in violation of the Eighth Amendment.
E) some county governments in Texas were far too big, making them extremely powerful.

Question 6

In Texas, what is the name of the officer who presides over the county commissioners court?

A) county judge
B) executive commissioner
C) justice of the peace
D) sheriff
E) constable

Question 7

The most important social service provided by counties is

A) the distribution of food stamps.
B) the provision of emergency welfare assistance.
C) animal control.
D) education.
E) sanitation.

Question 8

Which of the following is not provided by a special district?

A) hospitals
B) schools
C) flood control
D) city police
E) utilities

Question 9

What is the main difference between a special district and a county?

A) A special district provides only one specific service within a geographic region.
B) A county is formed in terms of population density, while a special district is created geographically.
C) Special districts are controlled by incorporated cities, unlike county government.
D) Special districts are created by municipalities, while counties are created by the state.
E) There are no major differences.

Question 10

The chief law-enforcement officer in county governments is the

A) sheriff.
B) constable.
C) justice of the peace.
D) city police chief.
E) county attorney.

Question 11

What is the main difference between a home-rule city and a general-law city?

A) A general-law city does not have a mayor.
B) A general-law city is chartered for localities with a population of fewer than 5,000 persons.
C) A general-law city is the name for all cities incorporated after 1901.
D) A general-law city has no power to set the property tax.
E) A general-law city has no city council.

Question 12

The job of serving legal papers at the precinct level of a county goes to the ______.

A) constable
B) sheriff
C) assistant district attorney
D) district judge
E) county auditor

Question 13

San Antonio operates under which form of city government?

A) mayor-council style
B) council-manager style
C) commissioner style
D) council-mayor style
E) at-large style

Question 14

All of the following are functions of county government except

A) law enforcement.
B) bridge and road construction.
C) flood control.
D) record keeping.
E) county tax rates.

Question 15

Why are Texas counties important?

A) They create and regulate cities.
B) They act as legislative bodies, making most of the local laws.
C) They provide the main form of government in rural areas.
D) They have very broad governmental powers.
E) There are generally more county governments in Texas than any other form of government.

Question 16

Which of the following is a source of often unanticipated costs faced by county governments?

A) the expense of city police salaries
B) the financial burden of capital murder trials
C) the spiraling costs of public education
D) the growing number of constables being employed at the county level
E) unexpected road and bridge maintenance

Question 17

What is a key problem with counties in Texas?

A) Many of them are too small and underpopulated to function well.
B) County laws were made in the nineteenth century, making them too old-fashioned.
C) They have not been given adequate lawmaking powers by the legislature.
D) Too often the county seats cannot be reached in a day's drive.
E) Many of them are far too powerful, making city governments seem less important.

Question 18

Which of the following statements about counties in Texas is incorrect?

A) Counties are an administrative arm of the state government.
B) There are over 250 counties in Texas.
C) Each county has four county commissioners.
D) All counties have approximately the same number of people.
E) The Texas constitution places many restrictions on the power of county government.

Question 19

In large Texas counties, the ______ prepares the county budget.

A) sheriff
B) constable
C) auditor
D) clerk
E) tax assessor-collector

Question 20

Which of the following is not a key difference between the mayor-council and the council-manager forms of local government?

A) The council-manager style was meant to reduce the possibility of corruption that the mayor-council system may bring.
B) The council-manager system is the most popular form of government throughout the United States for cities with over 10,000 residents.
C) In the council-manager system, the chief executive is a city manager, not a mayor.
D) In the council-manager system, local politics is viewed as a full-time job, unlike in the mayor-council system.
E) In the council-manager system, local politics is viewed as a part-time job, unlike in the mayor-council system.

Question 21

What is the level of popularity of the commissioner system of city government in Texas today?

A) It is the most popular form of city government in Texas.
B) No city in Texas today has a pure commissioner system, but a handful claim a variation of the system.
C) While less popular than the mayor-council system, over one hundred cities in Texas today use the commissioner style.
D) Commissioner systems have never been used in Texas.
E) About half the cities in Texas use a pure commissioner form of government.

Question 22

In Texas, who creates special districts?

A) the Texas legislature
B) the governor
C) Texas voters in the areas that will be covered
D) the county commissioners' court, with local voter approval
E) city councils

Question 23

School boards can do all of the following EXCEPT

A) adopt a budget for the district.
B) draft standardized evaluation exams.
C) select textbooks for classroom use.
D) hire principals and faculty.
E) set overall policy for the school district.

Question 24

What is an at-large election?

A) an election for offices that receive no official salary
B) an election in which voters elect officials from the entire geographical area, rather than from a smaller district within the area
C) an election held under the commission system of city government
D) an election in which one or more candidates are under criminal indictment
E) an election in which anyone can vote, even those not previously registered

Question 25

The chief financial officer for a city is called the

A) city controller.
B) sheriff.
C) mayor.
D) city manager.
E) city auditor.

Question 26

Which of the following statements about the commissioner form of government is false?

A) Commissioners are generally elected on an at-large basis.
B) The commissioner form of government does not have separately elected mayors.
C) The commissioner form of government was designed to bring good business practices into local government.
D) The commissioner form of government is currently popular among the largest cities in Texas.
E) In the commissioner form of government, the commission acts in both a legislative and executive capacity.

Question 27

What was the effect of Dallas's shifting from an at-large to a single-member district system in 1991?

A) The change was responsible for the election of a significant number of African American and Hispanic council members.
B) The city lost its status as a home-rule city for five years.
C) At-large districts benefited the local Republican Party.
D) It was challenged in court but found to be constitutional by the Texas supreme court.
E) Fewer minorities were elected to citywide offices.

Question 28

County governments are most important for administering rural areas throughout Texas.

Question 29

A school district is

A) a special district.
B) administered by the county commissioners' court.
C) ruled by the state government in Austin.
D) established by each incorporated city.
E) governed by a board of trustees appointed by the city.

Question 30

Which of the following cities currently has a city government with a strong mayor-council form of government?

A) Dallas
B) San Antonio
C) Austin
D) Houston
E) Galveston

Question 31

What type of government is called hidden government because people often do not know it exists?

A) county government
B) special districts
C) city government
D) state government
E) councils of government

Question 32

How are most special districts in Texas administered?

A) County judges administer all special districts within their jurisdiction.
B) They are run by a board elected by residents within the district.
C) For each special district, the governor appoints members to a review board.
D) They are run by special district administrators who answer directly to the state legislature.
E) The county commissioners' court administers all special districts within its jurisdiction.

Question 33

The commissioner form of city government was developed as a response to the

A) end of Reconstruction in 1876.
B) hurricane at Galveston in 1900.
C) Great Depression of 1929.
D) discovery of oil in 1901.
E) tornado at Wichita Falls in 1978.

Question 34

Flood control is managed through special districts because

A) flooding is seldom contained in a single city or county.
B) the Texas Constitution forbids both cities and the state from spending money on flood prevention.
C) the Galveston hurricane of 1900 revealed the inefficiency and slowness of state government in responding to local disasters.
D) most cities do not have the infrastructure to handle large flooding.
E) most waterways in Texas are managed by special districts.

Question 35

What are the main sources of revenue for special districts in Texas?

A) property taxes and user fees
B) income taxes and user fees
C) income taxes and sales taxes
D) sales taxes and property taxes
E) property taxes and federal grants

Question 36

What is the function of the twenty-four councils of government in Texas today?

A) They are a board that establishes new special districts when needed.
B) They are a regional board meant to coordinate local planning and economic development.
C) They are a tax board meant to establish local property tax rates.
D) They are an administrative board that runs utility districts in rural areas.
E) They are a regional board meant to establish user fees for regional waterways and recreational areas.

Question 37

Which of the following is the most common form of local government in Texas?

A) county government
B) municipal government
C) special districts
D) city government
E) state government

Question 38

Which problem has been found recently in the system of special districts?

A) State investigations have discovered numerous "phantom districts" that do not provide a service, yet bill the local counties for administrative costs.
B) Real estate developers have moved a few people onto land, rent free, who then vote for huge bond measures that future residents are obliged to pay.
C) The special districts for homeland security throughout Texas were uncoordinated and ill-prepared for September 11.
D) There has been widespread corruption among board members receiving bribes from citizens to lower their user fees.
E) Some districts have dealt with people buying property just outside the district boundaries and then demanding services from the district without having to pay for them.

Question 39

Commissioner forms of government were at their height of popularity

A) in 1882, at the height of the Grange movement.
B) in 1918, during the Progressive era.
C) in 1936, during the New Deal.
D) in 1978, as a result of the economic recession.
E) in the 2000s, as hurricanes became more frequent.

Question 40

Special districts in Texas are

A) democratic in theory, but often not in practice.
B) created and administered by county clerks.
C) the best example of participatory democracy in Texas.
D) a less common form of government than fifty years ago.
E) among the most studied areas of Texas politics.

Question 41

Since 1954, there have been no home-rule chartered cities in Texas.

Question 42

Special districts are the most common form of government in Texas.

Question 43

In Texas, special districts are run by a board of trustees appointed by the governor.

Question 44

Analyze the importance of county government in Texas. What are the main governmental tasks of counties? How are counties organized and how is authority distributed?

Question 45

Special districts have often been called the hidden government. What are special districts? What are some of the services they provide? How are special districts created, governed, and funded?

Question 46

Special districts are funded through sales taxes.

Question 47

All county officials in Texas are appointed by the governor and serve two-year terms.

Question 48

All large cities in Texas have structures of government that give strong executive powers to the mayor.

Question 49

Different types of city government create different political opportunities and problems. Using the different city government types, describe the particular political environments of Texas's three largest cities.

Question 50

General-law cities have more autonomy from the state than home-rule charter cities.

Question 51

Commissioner governments are designed to run school districts and other special districts throughout the state.

Question 52

Each county in Texas is required by the state constitution to have approximately the same number of residents.

Question 53

The strong mayor form of government was created as a response to the 1900 Galveston hurricane disaster.

Question 54

One of the problems with Texas government is that there are no regional councils that promote coordinated planning across local governments.

Question 55

Many people have argued that Texas counties need to be more efficiently designed. What are the criticisms surrounding the size of counties? What are some particular examples of these problems with size?

Question 56

San Antonio and Dallas both have council-manager forms of government.

Question 57

There is no single way to run a city in Texas. What are the differences between a home-rule charter and a general-law city? What are the different forms of city government used in Texas? How do they differ from each other?

Question 58

The chief executive officer of each county in Texas is the sheriff.

Question 59

Community colleges in Texas are allotted their own special districts.