The Texas Legislature
Legislative Organization and Process
Texas Governors
The Plural Executive and the Bureaucracy
The Texas Judicial System
100
Legislators in Texas are elected to _____________ so that the state is divided into a number of districts equal to membership of the chamber.
What are single member districts?
100
________________ are in charge of redrawing district lines.
What are state legislatures?
100
___________ was the only governor to be impeached and removed.
Who is James "Pa" Ferguson?
100
_____________ is the kind of executive branch in place in Texas whereby all but one of the officials are elected not appointed.
What is plural executive?
100
The _________________ is the highest court in Texas for criminal cases.
What is the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals?
200
_______________ are called by the governor; they last thirty days but the governor can call as many as necessary an sets the agenda.
What are special sessions?
200
________________ refers to a step in the legislative process in which a bill is killed by the chair of the standing committee to which it was referred, as a result of his or her setting the bill aside and not bringing it before the committee
What is Pigeonholing
200
A _____________ allows the executive to veto specific provisions (lines) of an appropriations bill passed by the legislature.
What is line-item veto?
200
The ___________ sets high school graduation criteria; establishes standards for accreditation; selects public school textbooks; and more
What is the State Board of Education (SBOE)?
200
______________ involves violation of criminal statutes; if guilty, punishment can involve loss of liberty or life.
What is criminal law?
300
House members serve______ year terms and Senators serve ______ year terms.
What is two and four?
300
A _______________ is a tactic used by members of the Senate to prevent action on legislation they oppose by continuously holding the floor and speaking until the majority backs down.
What is filibuster?
300
__________, __________, __________, __________ are the basic powers of the governor.
What are issuing pardons, appointment, declare martial law, veto?
300
State agencies must justify their existence to the ______________ every 12 years before the legislature votes whether or not they are allowed to continue operating, be reorganized, or abolished.
What is Sunset Advisory Commission (SAC)?
300
Grand juries decide weather or not there is sufficient evidence to warrant a trial by issuing an __________.
What is indictment?
400
There are _______ Texas representatives and ______ Texas Senators.
What is 150; 31?
400
The Texas House of Representatives votes to impeach an official and ____________ holds the trial.
What is the Texas Senate
400
_________ and ____________ have been the states only female governors.
Who are Miriam “Ma” Ferguson and Ann Richards?
400
_______________ refers to the deferment to an individual’s state senator for approval of the appointment before a nomination.
What is senatorial courtesy?
400
______________, _____________, ______________, _____________ are the minimal requirements to serve in either the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals or the Texas Supreme Court.
What is being a U.S. citizen, a resident of Texas, be at least 35 years of age, and have been either a practicing lawyer or judge for at least 10 years?
500
The Texas Legislature is a model of this type of legislature.
What is Hybrid?
500
The ___________ and the ____________ are the most powerful individuals in the House and Senate, respectively.
Who is Speaker of the House and lieutenant governor?
500
Perry’s handling of Hurricane Katrina garnered public support showed that he was a capable ____________, another role of the governor.
What is crisis manager?
500
The __________________ is the one member of Texas’s plural executive that is not elected and is appointed by the governor.
What is Secretary of State?
500
Because of the high cost of taking cases to court, these are often sealed through ____________ or _____________.
What is mediation or arbitration?
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