Government Test
Terms
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- state constitution
- the document that usually sets forth the powers and duties of local governments and may even describe the form of government a locality may adopt
- impeachment
- removal of judges
- proposal and ratification
- the two steps in the process of amending a state constitution
- constitutional convention
- a meeting of citizens, usually elected by popular vote, to consider changing or replacing a constitution
- item veto
- the power to turn down a particular section or item in a piece of legislation without vetoing the entire law
- initiative
- a procedure by which voters petition to propose an amendment to the state constitution
- civil case
- a legal dispute between individuals or organizations
- bicameral
- organized in two houses, like the United States Congress
- standing committee
- a permanent committee in a state legislature
- political base
- groups or sections of a state among whom a candidate enjoys popularity and influence
- speaker of the house
- the presiding officer in the lower house of a state legislature
- lieutenant governor or senate president
- the presiding officer in the upper house of a state legislature
- the Missouri Plan
- selection process for judges that combines appointment by the governor with election by the people
- legislative reference service
- an agency that provides assistance in drafting bills to members of a state legislature
- party primary
- an election held before the general election in which voters choose from several candidates for a party's nomination
- All states except Delaware ratify amendments to the state constitution by
- popular vote
- the Supreme Court's ruling in Reynolds v. Sims (1964) tended to give more voting power to
- suburban and urban areas
- A state constitution does all of the following EXCEPT
- describe how federal law will be interpreted in the state
- All of the following are criticisms of state constitutions in general EXCEPT
- they contradict the federal Constitution
- In general, the length and frequency of state legislative sessions is
- increasing
- A state bill may be introduced
- in either the lower or the upper house
- A nominating election for governor is called a
- party primary
- Negotiating for grants from the federal government is part of what function of a governor?
- spokesperson for the state
- The number of cases introduced in state courts
- is much greater than the number of federal cases
- The Missouri Plan for selecting judges combines
- governor appointment and general election
- tort
- a wrongful act that could result in a lawsuit
- corporate charter
- a document that grants a business legal status in a state
- public utility
- a privately or publicly owned company that supplies such necessities as electricity, gas, or telephone service
- monopoly
- a business that has no competition
- workers' compensation
- government payments to workers unable to work because of job-related injury or illness
- unemployment compensation
- government payments to workers who have lost their jobs
- tax credit
- a reduction in taxes that a state government offers to businesses
- mandatory sentencing
- a system in which a state government imposes a fixed, required term of imprisonment for a certain type of crime
- extradition
- a legal procedure by which a person who is accused of a crime and has fled to another state is returned to the state where the crime was committed
- public defender
- a lawyer who serves as a state or local government employee and whose full-time job is to defend poor clients
- bail
- a pledge of money or property given to a court as a guarantee that a defendant will return for trial after being released
- indictment
- a charge made by agrand jury that says a person should be tried for a certain crime
- arraignment
- a procedure in which the defendant appears before a judge to be formally charged with a crime and to plead guilty or not guilty
- plea bargaining
- a process by which the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for a promise from the prosecutor to reduce the charges
- shock probation
- a sentence in which a young offender is briefly exposed to prison life and then placed under supervised release
- In regulating corporations in the 1890s, states relaxed controls to prevent
- losing large businesses to other states
- All of the following are state laws to protect consumers EXCEPT
- limitations on the hours a juvenile may work
- Which phrase best describes the differences between the environmental policies of state governments and those of the national government since 1980?
- more active
- Which of the following requires cooperation between state governments?
- extradition
- A state can tax all of the following EXCEPT
- imports of foreign goods
- Which of the following helps the most to reduce the caseload in state courts?
- plea bargaining
- Which of the following is usually the largest percentage of a state budget?
- education funding
- In general, how is the funding for welfare programs under the Social Security Act divided between the federal government and the states?
- Fed.- 50% & States- 50%
- The largest revenue source for state government is
- taxes
- A state that wanted to renovate a Civil War museum would apply for what kind of federal aid?
- project grant
- local government
- the form of government closest to the people
- municipality
- an urban unit of government such as a town, borough, or city
- special district
- a unit of local government that deals with a specific function such as education, water supply, or transportation
- county board
- a committee of officials who ohld a county's power of government
- home rule
- the power of cities to govern themselves, without state approval
- property tax
- a tax on things that citizens own, such as land and buildings
- bond
- the funds borrowed by a local government that it must repay with interest by a certain date
- tax assessor
- a government official responsible for determining the value of property that is to be taxed
- market value
- the price a person may expect to receive by selling an item of property
- assessed value
- a percentage of a property's real value, used by a local government in calculating the tax the owner should pay on a property
- impact fee
- a local tax paid by builders, based on the effect new construction will have on community services
- sales tax
- a state or local tax on items and services sold there
- grant-in-aid
- the federal funds given to local governments so they can pay for programs specified by the federal government
- revenue sharing
- the practice of federal tax money being returned to state and local governments for unrestricted use
- The power to establishand control local governments is held by the
- state governments
- The main function of local governments is to
- provide services
- Local governments use zoning laws to accomplish all of the following goals EXCEPT
- providing public transportation
- Local governments are adopting new structures and procedures for all the following reasons EXCEPT the
- reduction of need for local services
- Officials of county governments enforce and administer state laws and provide services in all regions EXCEPT in
- New England
- Legislative business carried out in town meetings is conducted by
- all the voters or their selectmen
- Local governments control the amoung of revenue collected by all the following methods EXCEPT
- block grants
- Property taxes are often viewed as unfair for all the following reasons EXCEPT the
- difficulty of collecting these taxes
- All of the following are examples of intergovernmental revenue EXCEPT
- state and federal bonds
- To give local governments unrestricted use of federal funds, Congress replaced revenue sharing with
- block grants