State Legislatures
Governors and Other Top Execs.
The Bureaucracy and Budgeting
The Courts
Potpourri
100

This is the division of a legislative body into two chambers.

Bicameralism or bicameral legislature

100

This is is a rule, regulation, or policy issued unilaterally by the governor to change executive branch operations or activities

Executive order

100

This is the policy of removing a program from one level of gov’t by delegating it or passing it down to a lower level, such as from the national gov’t to the state and local gov’ts

Devolution

100

This is a type of case that concerns a dispute involving individuals or organizations.

Civil case

100

The only state to have a unicameral legislature:

Nebraska (non-partisan at that)

200

This is an electorate that is allowed to elect only one representative from each district, aka winner-take-all.

Single-member district

200

_________ powers are powers of the governor NOT derived from the state constitution or statute.

Informal powers

200

These are costs or resources involved in the organizational decision process that is irrecoverable.

Sunken costs

200

This is the making of judicial public policy through decisions that overturn existing law or effectively make new law.

Judicial activism

200

This is a decision-making theory in which ALL alternatives are considered, ALL costs and benefits, with ALL of them compared for consideration - even the most absurd/ ridiculous ones.

Rational-comprehensive

300

This is the (appropriate) redrawing of legislative district lines to, as closely as possible, generate equal districts by population count.

Redistricting

300

_________ powers are powers of the governor derived from the state constitution or statute.

Formal powers

300

The organization of government personnel to provide for hiring and promotion on the basis of knowledge, skills, and abilities rather than patronage or other influences is known as:

The merit system

300

This is a negotiation between a prosecutor and a criminal defendant’s counsel that results in the defendant pleading guilty to a lesser charge or pleading guilty in exchange for a reduced sentence.

Plea bargain or plea bargaining

300

This is an approach in order to reach a decision that is satisfactory, yielding benefits that suffice to meet situational needs of the decision maker.

Satisficing

400

This is the process of "creatively" designing a legislative district, usually to enhance the electoral fortunes of the party in power.

Gerrymandering

400

This position was originally created to 1) provide for orderly succession, and 2) to fill in for the governor when he/she is temporarily incapacitated or out of state.

Lieutenant governor

400

This is a budgeting method that makes estimates of future tax revenues based on a series of economic assumptions – employment rates, growth of the economy, and other economic factors. Budgeting changes are often labelled as a reduction or increase to fit a desired narrative.

Baseline budgeting

400

This is unwritten law based on tradition, custom, or court decisions.

Common law

400

This decision-making theory can often be thought of as "baby steps", that only the most important costs and benefits are considered among attainable and marginal alternatives, though these are far from perfect solutions.

Incrementalism

500

This is an electoral district that sends two or more members to a legislative chamber.

Multi-member district

500

The _______________ is the state's chief legal council and represents the state in litigation (including in federal court).

Attorney General

500

This is a budgeting method that requires agencies to justify any and all expenditures. This means that even stalwart, good programs must re-justified each budget cycle.

Zero-based budgeting

500

Typically, this is a case in which a gov’t agency applies rules to settle a legal dispute.

Administrative case

500

This is a theory regarding the notion that there are prescribed boundaries, controls, or upper and lower limits on the decision-making abilities of individuals.

Bounded rationality