Deck 2: Texas Constitutions

Question 1

Which of the following explains the reason for a short, biennial legislative session with low salaries for legislators?

A) It enables participation by citizen legislators.
B) It ensures that the legislature will be dominated by people who work for or own businesses that do business with the state or are regulated by the state.
C) It is a very efficient way to run a legislature.
D) It is an effective way to meet the needs of Texas today.
E) It ensures that the legislature is dominated by policy experts.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The U.S. Constitution restricts government power through the application of all the following EXCEPT ______.

A) separation of powers
B) detailed policy provisions
C) federalism
D) checks and balances
E) popular sovereignty

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The Texas executive branch is called a plural executive because ______.

A) the governor shares all executive power with the lieutenant governor
B) the governor has twice as much power as most governors in the nation
C) governors are limited to two terms in office
D) the executive is considered to be the second branch of government
E) the governor shares power with several other officials who are elected separately

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Which of the following statements is NOT true about the legislative branch of government in the current Texas Constitution?

A) The legislature is limited to one, 140-day regular session every two years.
B) The members of the legislature set their own salaries.
C) The powers of the legislature are heavily restricted.
D) The legislature is forbidden from imposing a state income tax.
E) The legislature is forbidden from passing a bill that contains more than one subject.

Question 5

Which of the following statements is NOT true about the annexation of Texas by the United States?

A) Many Northerners opposed the annexation of Texas because it permitted slavery.
B) Britain encouraged annexation.
C) Texas retained its public lands when it was annexed.
D) Texas retained its debts when it was annexed.
E) Prior to annexation, Texas sought international recognition from France.

Question 6

When introducing the chapter on the Texas Constitution, the authors describe the majority view of Texans as ______.

A) wanting an unobtrusive government
B) being most concerned with health care
C) desiring the state government to defer to the national government on most issues
D) supporting increased government power at both the national and state level

Question 7

All of Texas's constitutions have tended to reflect Texans' ______.

A) belief in participatory democracy
B) belief in the principle of including in a constitution only what is necessary for government to function
C) opposition to inequality
D) love of strong leadership
E) opposition to strong government

Question 8

All of the following help to define federalism EXCEPT ______.

A) states having the power to nullify federal laws
B) the full faith and credit clause of the U.S. Constitution
C) the requirement that states extradite those convicted or accused of a crime in another state
D) the privileges and immunities clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
E) the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Question 9

All members of the Texas judiciary are ______.

A) appointed by the governor
B) appointed by the governor with the consent of the Senate
C) elected in partisan elections, except in cases of appointments
D) appointed by the governor from a list of approved candidates provided by the Texas Bar Association
E) appointed by the Texas Judicial Commission

Question 10

According to the text, the most prominent feature of the current Texas Constitution is ______.

A) its brevity
B) its distrust of government
C) a strong executive branch
D) its efficiency
E) the fact that it is difficult to amend

Question 11

Federalism has always generated a great deal of controversy because ______.

A) the states do not like the federal system
B) it imposes too many restrictions on the federal government
C) the actual distribution of powers is not clearly defined in the U.S. Constitution
D) the founders clearly intended the states to have much more power than they have been granted
E) the U.S. Supreme Court has been inconsistent in its rulings on federalism

Question 12

In creating a federal system, the founders of the U.S. Constitution were agreeing to ______.

A) a new fundamental principle of government
B) an ancient fundamental principle of government
C) a compromise between a confederacy and a unitary form of government
D) a replication of the English form of government
E) a replication of the structure of most of the state constitutions

Question 13

The Defense of Marriage Act involves the federal issue of ______.

A) whether the states or national government should define marriage
B) whether the federal government can require every state to recognize same-sex marriages
C) whether the federal government can use categorical grants to induce the states to provide more support for married couples
D) whether Congress can release the states from their obligation to honor same-sex marriages performed in other states
E) whether the states can force the federal government to define marriage as being between a man and a woman

Question 14

According to the U.S. Constitution, ______.

A) state constitutions supersede federal law
B) state constitutions are coequal with the federal constitution
C) federal law supersedes the federal constitution
D) state law supersedes federal law
E) the federal constitution supersedes all other state laws and state constitutions

Question 15

States generally prefer that the federal government provide them money in the form of block grants because they ______.

A) provide the most flexibility in how the money may be used
B) give the clearest definition of how the money can be used
C) prohibit the federal government from taking back the money
D) allow the states to pay back the money to the federal government with no interest
E) provide more money than other forms of grants from the federal government

Question 16

The Texas Constitution is sometimes regarded as ______.

A) giving too much power to the executive branch
B) giving too much power to the legislature
C) being too vague
D) providing too little guidance to state government
E) being long and specific

Question 17

A mechanism that allows voters to gather signatures on a petition in order to place statutes or constitutional amendments on a ballot is ______.

A) a referendum
B) citizen legislation
C) petitioning the government
D) an initiative
E) an advisory petition

Question 18

All of the following descriptions of power under federalism are correct EXCEPT ______.

A) the power to tax is a concurrent power
B) the power to coin money is a concurrent power
C) the power to select members of the Electoral College is a state power
D) the power to enter into treaties is a federal power
E) the power to regulate interstate commerce is a federal power

Question 19

According to the text, the Texas Constitution is ______.

A) well written
B) in need of some minor adjustments
C) well suited to meet the needs of Texas
D) badly outdated and should be replaced

Question 20

According to the text, the winners under the current constitutional rules tend to be ______.

A) the people
B) liberals
C) big-government advocates
D) big-business interests
E) rural interests

Question 21

The Constitution of 1869 provided for the creation of ______

A) taxes on roads and bridges.
B) homeless shelters.
C) a vibrant arts district in Austin.
D) tax exemptions for oil barons.

Question 22

In Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), the Supreme Court ruled that states must recognize same-sex marriages.

Question 23

The election of judges opens up the judicial system to the influence of special interests through ______.

A) newspaper editorials
B) campaign contributions
C) impeachment
D) the governor's appointment powers

Question 24

Low legislative pay may have the following impact on the state legislature: ______.

A) it prevents the election of low-income residents to the House or Senate
B) it encourages the development of career politicians
C) it offers legislators a luxurious salary that insulates them from the concerns of average Texans
D) it undermines redistricting efforts

Question 25

Where ______ federalism addresses the distribution of power between the national government and the state governments, ______ federalism addresses the distribution of power at the state government level.

A) vertical; horizontal
B) horizontal; vertical
C) concurrent; horizontal
D) concurrent; vertical

Question 26

Initiatives are one way to ______.

A) impeach a governor
B) elect a judge
C) dispute property taxes
D) amend the state constitution

Question 27

The Texas constitutional framers were motivated by concerns over Mexican tyranny.

Question 28

Popular sovereignty manifests itself in Texas in which of the following ways?

A) taxation
B) election of citizens to state offices
C) the existence of public education
D) the development of a vital oil economy

Question 29

The Constitution of ______ marked the era in which Texas was an independent republic.

A) 1876
B) 1915
C) 1866
D) 1836

Question 30

The first Supreme Court case that limited segregation in Texas was ______.

A) Lawrence v. Texas
B) Plessy v. Ferguson
C) Sweatt v. Painter
D) United States v. Texas

Question 31

In what year was the Texas Constitution amended to guarantee equality regardless of "sex, race, color, creed or national origin"?

A) 1836
B) 1972
C) 1955
D) 1928

Question 32

Categorical grants offer states a wide range of discretion for spending federal money.

Question 33

Concurrent powers include all of the following EXCEPT ______.

A) taxation
B) defense
C) establish courts
D) charter banks

Question 34

Where the U.S. Constitution is ______ and ______, the Texas Constitution is ______ and ______.

A) long and detailed; brief and flexible
B) brief and flexible; long and detailed
C) brief and rigid; brief and detailed
D) long and rigid; brief and flexible

Question 35

All of these are examples of unfunded mandates EXCEPT ______.

A) No Child Left Behind
B) the Clean Air Act
C) the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
D) the American with Disabilities Act of 1990

Question 36

Extradition guarantees the right of states to external tax income from former citizens of the state for up to a year after they relocate.

Question 37

Referendums involve statutes placed on the ballot by the ______.

A) governor
B) citizens
C) state legislature
D) justice of the peace

Question 38

All of these offices are part of the plural executive EXCEPT ______.

A) land commissioner
B) governor
C) Speaker of the House
D) comptroller

Question 39

Which of the following statements is NOT true about Texas's and Connecticut's constitutional provisions regarding religious liberty?

A) Both constitutions guarantee freedom of worship.
B) Both constitutions prohibit the government from giving preference to any religious society.
C) Only Connecticut's constitution prohibits the denial of equal protection of the law based on religion.
D) Only Connecticut's constitution guarantees the freedom to maintain ministers and teachers.
E) Both constitutions prohibit religious tests to hold office.

Question 40

The current Texas Constitution creates a governor who ______.

A) is very powerful
B) has a great deal of influence over the legislature
C) is very weak
D) is the chief executive of the state
E) is more powerful than the governors of most other states

Question 41

Proponents of devolution argue for state control over policy areas whenever possible.

Question 42

Describe and explain the significance of the full faith and credit clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Question 43

Under what conditions might the implied powers conflict with reserved powers?

Question 44

The Texas Constitution creates a(an) ______ executive.

Question 45

How is popular sovereignty included in the Texas Constitution?

Question 46

The form of government based on the sharing of powers between the national and state governments is ______.

Question 47

Define and explain the significance of categorical grants.

Question 48

What are the major criticisms of the current Texas Constitution?

Question 49

Differentiate the vertical and horizontal powers.

Question 50

How did the Constitution of 1845 reflect the experiences of Texans when they had lived under Mexican rule?

Question 51

In Lawrence v. Texas (2003), the Supreme Court ruled that outlawing homosexual sex violated the right to privacy.

Question 52

Low voter turnout may be the result of overwhelmed voters who are outmatched by a constitution that favors the influence of big business.