Which is not an example of a civil suit?

arson

Texas officially uses which method to select state judges?

partisan election

The governor may be removed from office only by impeachment with conviction by the

senate

____ refers to a situation in which the prosecutor and defense attorney negotiate an agreement whereby the accused pleads guilty to a less serious crime than originally charged or in return for a reduction in the sentence to be served.

plea bargaining

What percentage of the 4.6 million Texans living in poverty receive welfare benefits?

3

____ are divisions of standing committees.

subcommittees

The most costly service in Texas is

education

What is the most important constitutional duty for the comptroller of public accounts?

certifying the approximate biennial revenue for the state

Which two individuals are the presiding officers of the state legislature

lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house

Which veto gives the governor the opportunity to shape legislature?

threat of veto

Which statement about Texas's executive branch is incorrect?

elected officials are directly responsible to the governor

Legislative power is concentrated in the offices of which two state officials?

lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house

Currently there are ____ district courts, all of which function as a single-judge courts.

457

Which of the following is not a formal qualification to become a member of the Texas house of representatives?

having lived in Texas for five years prior to being elected

The line of succession places which official next in line, should the governor vacate office?

lieutenant governor

The Texas governor lacks ____ power that is available to man other chief executives, including the president of the U.S.

pocket veto

Which of the following is not a criticism of the Texas method of selecting judges?

judges elections are nonpartisan

Which of the following income groups in Texas paid the highest percentage in effective taxes?

lowest

Which of the following is not true about recent state budgets?

demands for state services have decreased over time

An item veto allows the governor to do which of the following?

remove funds for specific items or projects without killing the entire bill

The general sales tax yielded what percentage of the state's revenue?

26.2

Which term best describes the executive branch?

fragmented

Appellate proceedings are based on

review of law as applied in the original court

All of the following items have a hidden tax included in their price except

real estate

The Texas court of criminal appeals has one presiding judge and ___ other judges.

eight

In 1931, Texas adopted a tax on

cigarettes

The burden of proof standard used in civil cases is

a predominance of the evidence

Articles of impeachment in the Texas Senate against a governor require a vote of

two-thirds

One of the most important distinctions between civil and criminal cases involves the issue of

burden of proof

Municipal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over the following except

jail sentence

Most states use the ___ system to select their judges

merit

Property taxes are the major source of revenue for virtually all of the following except

national government

Texas has how many county courts?

254

Which of the following is incorrect?

raising the tax rate guarantees increased revenues

The justice of the peace is elected for a ____ term.

four

The supreme court consists of one chief justice and ___ associate justices.

eight

In the history of Texas, the only other female other than Miriam Ferguson, was

Ann Richards

To prove a defendant guilty, in a criminal case, the state must provide

sufficient evidence that jurors will believe the defendant is guilty beyond reasonable doubt

A criminal case does not involve

cases that deal primarily with individual or property rights

Which profession is most frequently represented in the U.S legislature?

law

Which of the following statements best describes a Texas governor's term in office?

four years per term, with no limit on the number of terms

How many courts of appeals does Texas have?

14

Which of the following statements about court of appeals judges is incorrect?

they must have lived in the district five years prior to the election

Constitutionally, a state-of-the-state message must be given by the governor

at the beginning of each legislative session

Which of the following is not true about civil cases?

There are tougher rules of procedures to balance or weigh the evidence

____ refers to the power of an appellate court to review the decisions of a lower court.

Appellate jurisdiction

An excise or "sin" tax is levied on the sale, manufacture, or use of all of the following except

snacks

As of January 2014, the state of Texas had executed ____ people since 1982.

517

The most influential bargaining tools for the governor are

legislative

What percentage of Americans pays no income taxes at all?

40

____ is the power to try a case being heard for the first time.

original jurisdiction

At the beginning of each legislative session, the ____ reports to the legislature the total amount of revenues expected from current taxes and other sources.

comptroller of public accounts

The Texas constitution requires the speaker of the house to be selected by

the majority of the membership of the house

The vast majority of cases heard by municipal courts involve

traffic and parking violations

Which group is underrepresented in the legislature relative to their percentages in the general population?

all of these choices are true

Which of the following does not provide an opportunity for the governor to have greater influence on both the legislative and administrative policy?

the Texas constitution

If the legislature is in session and the governor refuses to sign a bill,

it becomes law in 10 days

Advocates of expanding Medicaid argue that failing to expand the program will harm

the uninsured

While Justice Roberts did not agree that the federal government had a right to impose an individual mandate, the mandate remained intact because the penalty was seen as part of the federal government's right to

tax

Subcommittees are divisions of

standing committees

The Texas governor has never been allowed to use the

pocket veto

HB 2 requires that all abortion clinic doctors must possess

hospital admitting priveleges

In a civil case, the individual filing the case is referred to as

the plaintiff

The kind of ballot that results from the election of a large number of independent executive and judicial officers is a

long ballot

Which of the following is not true of the Texas legislature?

senators serve six year terms and representatives four-year terms

Which statement is correct regarding term limitations of legislatures in the Texas state constitution?

term limits do not exist in the constitution

Texas has a plural executive, which means that

the governor shares executive powers with several other independently elected executives and boards

District court jurisdiction extends to all of the following except

original jurisdiction for traffic cases

Which is another name for the merit selection of judges?

Missouri Plan

The constitution stipulates that state judges are to be selected by which method?

partisan election by voters

Texas's largest single individual revenue source is

federal funds

Selective sales taxes in Texas are

applied to liquor sales

Public confidence in justice of the peace courts is

low

The justice of the peace courts is authorized by the

Texas constitution

What is Texas's general sales tax on retail purchases?

6.25 percent

Broad-based taxes collected on the retail price of most items are called

general sales tax

Texas has a ____ system of courts as a last resort

dual

A system that allows the chief executive to appoint and remove top-level administrators, thereby giving the chief executive more power over the administration is called

cabinet system

Which statement about the legislature's power to override bills vetoed by the governor is incorrect?

The vast majority of bills are passed and sent to the governor during the early days of session so that he or she has plenty of time to veto them

The legislature has the constitutional power to override the governor's veto

by two-thirds vote

Final passage of a bill requires a vote of

a simple majority in both houses

During the 2014-15 fiscal year, what percentage of estimated Texas revenues came from the federal government?

35.5

The merit plan for selecting judges is sometimes referred to as

Missouri Plan

Tax rates that place more of a burden on low and middle-income taxpayers than on wealthier ones are called

regressive tax rates

The governor's ability to influence the making and executing of government policy depends on all the following except his or her

prior experience as a legislator

An informal power of the governor not mentioned in the constitution or the law is the

threat of veto

If the office of the governor is vacated, who assumes the office?

lieutenant governor

Which court has exclusive jurisdiction over automatic appeals in death penalty cases?

Court of Criminal Appeals

Which of the following is not a provision of the federal Patient Protection and Affordability Care Act (Health Care Reform)?

The Medicaid program will be reduced due to a reduced need

Controversy surrounding the Affordable Care Act is an example of the friction inherent in

federalism

One of the most persuasive tools the governor has is the

threat of veto

Which court has exclusive jurisdiction to try violations of city ordinances?

municipal

The Texas constitution requires that the county judge be elected by voters for a four-year term and be

well informed in the law of the state

Compared to those of other states, the governor of Texas has

weaker executive and administrative powers

Texas is first in the nation for

the number of uninsured citizens

Controversy surrounding the Affordable Care Act is an example of the friction inherent in

federalism