Exam 3 Review

POLS 1337 19429 2011 Summer Session IV

Note: The computer in the ETC will randomly draw 50 questions from a pool of 70. There are 66 hints provided below. Four (4) hints are not provided

Topics
Texas Legislature Texas Governor/Executive Branch/Bureaucracy Texas Judiciary Texas Economics and Policy Texas Parties and Elections Textbook Videos

No. of Questions
9 of 12 12 of 18 8 of 11 11 of 16 5 of 6 2 of 3 3 of 4

Texas Legislature:
Lecture:
Comparisons of Texas Legislature and US Congress: differences in powers (find one power in list of choices that only Texas has but Congress doesn't) can impeach judges 2-D ideology (2001): know general views of liberals, conservatives, and populists Opportunity Vs. Equality; Order vs. Liberty Why your professor believes Michael Williams will defeat David Dewhurst in the primary election for the U.S. Senate seat in 2012 (also see lecture on the Texas Governor) Williams is in Tx Railroad Commision Dewhurst is old without charisma The partisan split in the vote for Joe Straus for Speaker of the Texas House in 2009 15 republicans opposed his voting record 2011 v. 2009: prominent bills that become law in 2011 but did not in 2009 Voter ID Abortion Sonogram 2009: teen tanning law (know details; scenario given) Underage girls not allowed to tan at all until 16 with parental permission Prevents tanning of toddlers for beauty pageants 2007: Texas passed stiffer laws against dog fightingwhich sports figure made this a national issue (do internet search, answer not found in notes)

Michael Vick 2005: how the Texas Legislature resolved the dispute with homeowners associations who had banned yard signs Ruled on free speech Why it was so difficult and took so long to find a new method to fund K-12 schools Robin hood system of moving funds from high tax base to low 2003 redistricting controversy: reason Republicans gave for wanting to redistrict at mid-decade, what is the quorum requirement and how did it apply to the redistricting controversy Thought it was unfair that dems had more seats, while there seemed to be more voting for republicans One (1) hint not provided

Textbook
(Ch07The Texas Legislature): Most meaningful threat a governor can hold over a legislator

Texas Governor/Executive Positions/Bureaucracy:

Lecture:
Understand governors line-item veto and pocket veto powers (know details; hypothetical scenarios given) (2 questions) TX Gov can line-item veto; Pres can't Pres can pocket veto; TX Gov cannot Understand governors budgetary powers (know details; hypothetical scenario given) Has power to transfer funds from one program to another when congress is not in session Governors appointment powers (know the one that on paper seems insignificant but in practice gives the governor a lot of influence) Positions in Texas executive which have veto powers Board positions in Texas the governor can appoint (and boards on which the governor has no appointment powersearch other lectures also) What controversial legislation regarding inmates (prisoners) did Rick Perry sign (know details) Life in prison or Death Leaders matter: which governors disagreed on concealed handgun licenses What conservative positions Texas last Democratic governor took Comparison of power of Texas governor to other state governors (2002 rankings): where the Texas governor ranks in power, specific items on which Texas ranks among the strongest state governors (2 questions)

 2006 Governors Race: how did Carole Keeton Strayhorn try to use the TransTexas Corridor Initiative to turn the Republican base against Rick Perry 2010 Governors Race: what did Gov. Perry do to shore-up (win) enough conservative voters to defeat Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson in the Republican primary (know details) Why did former Attorney General Dan Morales go to jail Has the Texas Attorney General joined the federal lawsuit against the 2010 health care reform law (do internet search for answer) What significant power does the Texas Attorney General have 2 hints not provided (one is a super easy question)

Textbook
(Ch09The Texas Executive): Why does a plural executive make it more difficult for the governor to set the policies of the state

Texas Judiciary:
Lectures:
Powers of Texas Supreme Court (know details; 2 questions) How Texas judges are selected What prompts accusations of corruption in the Texas court system Reforms: campaign finance laws for judges in Texas (know details), reason Texas Supreme Court Rebuked the executive branch in the case involving the polygamous sect (separation of powers issue) Legal qualifications for judges (also know exceptions) Meaning of retribution v. rehabilitation in the context of criminal justice (look up definition in the context of criminal justice; not in lecture) Why Texas is known as a law and order state The answers to the 3 questions juries must ask before sentencing a defendant to death (see lecture notes; last slide) One (1) hint not provided

Textbook
(Ch04The Judicial System in Texas): Conviction of a felony crime in Texas requires what of a jury in Texas

Texas Economics and Policy:

Lectures:
The ratio of jobs created in the Great State of Texas compared to the 2nd best job creator, Florida (2000-2010) (also compare total jobs created in each state) Besides job growth, on what economic and/or energy indicator(s) does Texas lead the nation (also see slide on Land Commissioner in Texas Governor) How has NAFTA effected Texas exports On what economic/social welfare indicator(s) does Texas rank worse or worst among the states making it a not so great state How does Rick Perry sell Texas to businesses in other states (see Rick Perry quote in lecture notes) Program/policy area on which Texas spends more money than any other % of revenue raised from state income tax What is the tax on a gallon of gasoline in Texas Reasons why Texans are not so heavily taxed (find several reasons) How does Texas fund S-CHIP (until money runs out) What do lottery revenues pay for in Texas (may not be in lecture; look at textbook) What is the state and federal tax on cigarettes Why are sin taxes so high in Texas and across America Wall Street Journal article: % of jobs created across the nation since end of recession that have been created in Texas, what state (with presumably bad economic policies) does the article contrast to Texas One (1) hint not provided

Textbook
(Ch06Contemporary Public Policy Issues in Texas): No questions

Texas Parties and Elections:

Lectures:
If Hillary Clinton won the Democratic presidential primary in Texas in 2008, why did Barack Obama win more delegates from Texas How do the vast majority of counties won by Hillary Clinton in the 2008 presidential primary typically vote in the general election for president The dominant trend in Texas party politics since the 1970s The process for becoming a delegate to a national convention in a presidential election year Campaign finance restrictions: comparison between statewide candidates in Texas (e.g., the governor) v. candidates for the US congress or presidency Who or what selects the presidential electors in Texas who then vote in the Electoral College

Videos:
HPV Vaccine:
What Perry offered to his conservative base that he believed would make social conservatives support his HPV vaccine proposal

Texas School Board:

What word or phrase did the Texas School Board use to replace the word imperialism

2002 Governors race:

The "biggest Texan" profiled in the video How Paul Begala (political commentator) described Texas politics (in 2002)