PCM TEXAS GOVERNMENT (2306) STUDY GUIDE

 

Chapter 1-Ideas, People, and Economics in Texas history  (pages 2-33)

 

Food for Thought

 

“I wasn’t born in Texas, but I got there as fast as I could.”      Bumper sticker seen in Texas

 

Chapter Overview

 

Chapter One opens with a discussion of the demographic history of Texas.The authors emphasize the ways in which the people who settled Texas contributed to the evolution of the character of Texas today.   By reviewing the history of Texas, and its development, the reader gains a perspective which will contribute to an understanding of Texas today---its people, its culture, and its government.  The authors then turn their attention to the ideological context of Texas government and politics.  They conclude the chapter with a discussion of the economy of Texas.

 

TERMS

 

conservatives                       constitutionalism                 equality                                 frontier era                            individualism

liberals                                   liberty                                     political ideology                 populists                                Tejanos

Texas Creed                         Texas Rangers

                               

Learning Objectives

 

After reading and reviewing this chapter, the student should be able to:

 

1. explain how the Texas Creed differs from the American Creed.

2. discuss the significance of the Alamo to the idea of liberty.

3. compare and contrast the economy of Texas prior to the 1980’s and after the 1980’s..

4. briefly discuss the impact of various ethnic groups on the politics and economy of Texas..

5. discuss the relationship between economic shifts in Texas during the 1980’s and 1990’s compare to the population shifts in Texas during the same period.

 

Chapter 2-Constitutionalism (pages 34-57)

 

Food for Thought

 

“Our founding fathers didn’t intend to create a most efficient form of government-only the freest.”       Carl Albert

 

Chapter Overview

 

Chapter Two opens with a discussion of previous Texas Constitutions and their impact on our current constitution.  The current Constitution is discussed and evaluated.  The chapter concludes with a discussion of efforts to revise the Texas Constitution.

 

TERMS

 

cockroach                             comprehensive revision      Constitutional Revision Commission                              liberal constitution

piecemeal revision               separation of powers          statutory constitution                                                         revisionist

 

Learning Objectives

 

After reading and reviewing this chapter, the student should be able to:

 

1. explain how Reconstruction affected the writing of the 1876 constitution.

2. discuss the reasons for the failure of the 1999 constitutional revision efforts.

3. discuss the weaknesses of one of the branches of Texas government as well as proposals to overcome these weaknesses.

4. explain the two methods for revising the Texas constitution.  Which method do you think is most likely to be successful in the future and why.

5. discuss the need for constitutional revision taking note of the population and political issues discussed in chapter 1.

 

Chapter 7-Local Governments (pages 202-229)

 

Food for Thought

 

“All politics is local.”                  Old adage

 

Chapter Overview

 

This chapter focuses on institutions of local government in Texas.  It opens with a discussion of the historical root of local government in Texas.   The three main types of local government found in Texas  (counties, cities, and special districts) are described.  The authors detail the differences in both purpose and organization which characterize the various local governments found in Texas.

 

TERMS

 

annexation                           at-large                                  at-large-by-place                 charter school                       city commission

commissioners court           council manager                  county attorney                   county auditor                     county clerk

county commissioner         county judge                        county judge                        county tax assessor-collector

county treasurer                   county district attorney      cumulative voting               district attorney (DA)          district clerk

general-law cities                 general ordinance-making authority                                               home rule                              Local Govt.  Code

municipal corporation        proportional representation                                               sheriff                                    strong Mayor-council

Texas Association of Counties                                         Texas Municipal League   weak mayor-council

                                                                                                               

Learning Objectives

 

After reading and reviewing this chapter, the student should be able to:

 

1. explain the difference between general-law and home-rule cities..

2. describe the four main types of city governments..

3. describe the basic structure of county government in Texas.  Evaluate the adequacy of this structure for county government in Texas today.

4. explain the different types of elections and methods for voting as well as how they have affected the ethnic and racial make-up of local government.

5. using at least two examples of special districts, explain why special districts are preferable, in some instances, to city or county government and how they differ from city or county government.

                                               

Chapter 3-Voting and Participating: Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Elections  (pages 59-95)

 

Food for Thought

 

“Americans of all ages, all conditions, and all dispositions, constantly form associations.”     Alexis de Tocqueville

 

"Unless mass views have some place in shaping of policy, all talk about democracy is nonsense.”                  V. O. Key

 

“It’s not the voting that’s democracy; it’s the counting.”                                  Tom Stoppard

 

Chapter Overview

 

This chapter opens with a description of political parties in Texas.  This is followed by a discussion of interest groups.

The authors then turn to campaigns and elections. They describe primaries in Texas as well as polling.  The chapter concludes with a discussion of how the voter make his/her choice on how to vote.

 

TERMS

 

benchmark poll                    benefits of voting                                candidate characteristics   costs of voting                      county chairperson

county convention              county executive committee                                             critical election                     dealignment

direct lobbying                     early voting                           electioneering                       focus groups                         general election

grassroots lobbying             issues                                      litigation                                local election                       

motor-voter registration system                                        party in the electorate         party in the government     party organization

political action committee (PAC)                                     permanent party organization                                          precinct chairperson

precinct convention            primary election                   realignment                           special election                     split-ticket voting

state convention                  state executive committee                                                 state party chairperson      

state senatorial district convention                                  straight-ticket voting           temporary party organization

tracking polls                        voter turnout

 

Learning Objectives

 

After reading and reviewing this chapter, the student should be able to:

 

1. explain the four different types of elections.

2. explain the techniques or functions performed by interest groups..

3. list at least three important and major shifts that occurred in electoral politics during the 1900’s..

4. explain the dealignment process and the realignment process.  Do you believe that Texas is experiencing a dealignment or a realignment, and why?

5. list the various functions performed by interest groups and use two examples of interest groups discussed in Chapter 3 to explain how certain interest groups will concentrate on certain functions,                             

 

Chapter 4-The Legislative Branch  (pages 96-133)

 

Food for Thought

 

“In a representative republic, we elect men our size, and then expect them to be what we aren’t.”        Senator Mark Hatfield

 

“To be successful representative, one must have the friendliness of a child, the enthusiasm of a teenager, the assurance of a college boy, the diplomacy of a wayward husband, the curiosity of a cat, and the good humor of an idiot.”       Emmanuel Cellar

 

Chapter Overview

 

This chapter describes the organization and structure of the Texas Legislature.  The authors discuss the roots of the legislature in Texas history and the organization of the legislature as mandated in the constitution.  The authors described the manner in which legislative districts are drawn and the formal and informal qualifications for serving in the legislature.  They then discuss the organization of the legislature and the manner in which the work of the legislature is done.  The chapter concludes with a discussion of how a bill becomes a law.

 

TERMS

 

balanced budget                  bicameral legislature           biennial legislature               bill                           budget execution authority

committee                             concurrent resolution          constitutional amendment                debt                        deficit spending

engrossed bill                        enrolled bill                           filibuster                                first reading           germane

impeach                                                intent calendar                     joint resolution                     Legislative Budget Board

Legislative Council              legislative party caucus      legislative process                nonparty legislative caucus

per diem                                                president of the Texas Senate                                           pro-tem                  quorum

redistricting                           regular session                      second reading                     Senate two-thirds rule

Sharpstown scandal            simple resolution                  single-member district         speaker of the Texas House

speaker’s lieutenants          speaker’s race                      speaker’s team                     special (called) session

term limits                             third reading                         veto                       

 

Learning Objectives

 

After reading and reviewing this chapter, the student should be able to:

 

1. discuss how the composition of the legislature in Texas has changed during the twentieth century.  What factors have led to this change?

2. discuss the causes of the redistricting crisis in Texas in 2003.

3. discuss the steps through which a bill becomes a law.

4. explain the powers of the lieutenant governor and how the lieutenant governor obtained these powers.  How does the lieutenant governor use these powers in coalition building, especially now that the Senate exhibits elements of partisan division?

5. explain the ways in which the Texas legislature differs from those in other states.  Be sure to consider size, rules, qualifications of members, and other important dimensions of a legislature.

 

Chapter 5-The Governor and Executive Branch (pages 134-173)

 

Food for Thought

 

 “In government and politics, appearance and perception become reality.”                 Barbara Jordan

 

“One of the distinctions between democracy and other forms of government is that while democracy is messy on the surface, other forms of government are messy underneath.”                                                                Daniel Boorstein

 

Chapter Overview

 

The focus of this chapter is the office of Governor. and the administrative agencies of state government..  The chapter opens with a description of the governor’s office and the manner in which the office has changed throughout history.  The authors then look at the roles of the governor and the historical development of gubernatorial power.  The chapter concludes with an extended study of executive agencies in Texas.

 

TERMS

 

Administrative Procedures Act                                         agriculture commissioner   attorney general                   captured agency

chief budget officer             chief executive officer        chief of state                        clemency                               commander in chief comptroller of public accounts                                               executive commissioner of Health and Human Services Commission        

full-time equivalent             good government                                governor’s message             insurance commissioner     land commissioner

overrepresentation and underrepresentation                 plural executive                   public counsels                     Public Utility Commission

quasi-judicial                        Railroad Commission         revolving door                      senatorial courtesy              staggered terms

State board of Education  succession                             sunset law                             Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

Texas Education Agency   Texas secretary of state

 

Learning Objectives

 

After reading and reviewing this chapter, the student should be able to:

 

1. list elected officers of the executive branch and their functions.

2. briefly discuss the powers of the governor.

3. explain the important differences between the Texas governor and other governors.

4. explain the factors that contribute to the problem of captured agencies and discuss at least two historical examples of private interests capturing agencies.

5. describe the structure of the plural executive and explain how Texas’s history has shaped the plural executive.

6. describe the structure of the modern Texas bureaucracy giving examples.

 

Chapter 6-The Judicial Branch (pages 174-201)

 

Food for Thought

 

“The judge does not make the Law.  It is the people that make the Law.  Therefore is a Law is unjust, and if the Judge judges according to the Law, that is justice even if it is not just.  It is the duty of a Judge to do justice, but it is only the People who can be just.”                                                                                                                                                      Alan Paton

 

“If I asked you to design a criminal justice system and you came up with the ones we have here in Texas, we’d have to commit you to the Austin State Hospital because you’d be a danger to yourself and to society.”

                                                                                                                                                Jim Mattox, Attorney General of Texas, 1988

 

Chapter Overview

 

The chapter opens with a description of the roots of the Texas judiciary.  The authors then discuss the organization of the court system in Texas from the municipal court up to the Supreme Court of Texas.  Next is a discussion of judicial selection in Texas followed by a section on criticism of the Texas judicial system.  The chapter concludes with a description of the judicial process in Texas.

 

TERMS

 

application for discretionary review                                                constitutional county court                               county court at law         

court of appeals                                   district court          justice of the peace court                   municipal court

petition for review                               Texas Court of Criminal Appeals                                    Texas Supreme Court                        

trial de novo

                                               

Learning Objectives

 

After reading and reviewing this chapter, the student should be able to:

 

1. discuss some of the differences between the Texas Supreme Court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

2. describe the ethnic and racial composition of the Texas judiciary.

3. explain why the court of Appeals does not take testimony or use juries.

4. explain the various phases of the criminal justice process.

5. explain the problems of the Texas judiciary and various solutions to the problems that state officials have considered.

   

Chapter 8-Public Policy in Texas  (pages 230-265)

 

Food for Thought

 

“But in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”                         Benjamin Franklin

 

“Any jackass can kick a barn down but it takes a real carpenter to build one.”    Lyndon B. Johnson

 

Chapter Overview

 

The chapter begins with a brief overview of public policy roots in Texas followed by a discussion of the public policy process.  The authors then provide an extensive discussion of state finance issues, public and higher education, heatlh and human services, and transportation policy.

TERMS

 

agenda setting                      Available School Fund       Available university Fund    balanced budget                                biennial budgeting system

block grants                          bond programs                     budget execution authority                                                               budget

CHIPS                                   comptroller’s certification  debt                                          dedicated funds                 economic policies

Edgewood v. Kirby             evaluation                             federal funds                          fiscal years                          gross domestic product

Higher Education Fund      implementation                   Medicaid                                 Permanent School Fund  

Permanent University Fund                                               policy making                        political economy              progressive tax

proportional tax (flat tax)  public policy                         regressive tax                          regulation                            revenue estimate

Robin hood                           Rodriguez v. San Antonio ISD                                            social policies                     subsidy 

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)      tolling                                       Trans-Texas Corridor       vouchers

West Orange-Cove Consolidated ISD v. Alanis

                               

Learning Objectives

 

After reading and reviewing this chapter, the student should be able to:

 

1. describe transportation policy in Texas.  How are transportation policies funded and implemented?

2. explain what we mean when we say Texas is a low-tax, low-services state.  What are the advantages and disadvantages of this system?  What kinds of changes to the levels of taxes and services would you recommend?  Why?

3. describe the evolution of the school finance system in Texas.  Is the current “Robin Hood” system fair?  Why or why not?  How do you think schools should be financed to provide the best education for all Texans?

4. how Hopwood v. Texas  affected admissions to public colleges and universities in Texas.  How does the Top 10 Percent Law address access to higher education?   Has the law been a success?  Evaluate the criticism levied against the current system.  How might this issue be affected by the recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions regarding affirmative action programs at the University of Michigan?

5. explain the differences among progressive, regressive, and proportional taxes.  Give examples of each type of tax.  What kind of taxes does Texas tend to rely on?  Do you think this is a fair system?  Why or why not?  What changes would you like to see Texas use for generating tax revenue?