Gov2301Ch25

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897 Describe the traditional view held re: the prevailing consitutional theory on the relationship of local governments to the state?: Based on the Unitary System, this theory holds that local governments are the creations of the state; powers, functions, and responsibilities that they exercise have been delegated or granted them by the state governments;
no local government has sovereigbn powers.
897 What is the name for the prinicple that no local governments have sovereign powers, functions, and responsibilities?: Dillon Rule
897 Who developed the theory of local government designed in part to strengthen the powers of the states, in which local sovereignty was rooted in the sovereignty of the individual?: Thomas Jefferson
898 What is the consitutional arrangement whereby authority rests with the central government regional governments have only those powers given them by the central government?: Unitary System
898 What is the principle holding that local governments are creations of state government and that their powers and responsibilities are defined by the state?: Dillon rule
898 Cite 2 examples where Texas mandated local governments to carry out state mandates?: 1. local taxdollars for prisons
2. local taxdollars for raising state educational standards
898 In Texas, whose primary responsiblity is public education?: Local school districts
898 In Texas, whose primary is highways, public welfare, and public health?: State government
898 In Texas, whose primary responsibility ios police & fire protection, water, and sanitation services, parks, recreations and libraries?: City governments
898 In Texas, whose primary responsibility is public hospitals?: Shared between state, county, and special interests
898 Approx. how many local goverments are in Texas?: 4700
898 In Texas, whose primary responsiblity is for the court and criminal justice system?: Counties and state
899 What was the percent of Texas population lived in cities in 1876 when Texas consitution was adopted?: 10 percent
899 According to 1880 census, what was the largest city in Texas?: Galveston : 22,248
899 For most of the period from 1880-1920, what was Texas's largest city?: San Antonio
899 Since 1930, what has been Texas's largest city?: Houston
899 List the 3 out of the 10 largest cities in the US that are in Texas:: 1. Houston
2. Dallas
3. San Antonio
899 How many incorporated municipalities are there in Texas:: 1200
899 T or F Texas is an urban state.: True
899 T or F Few Texans live in cities.: False, most do.
899 What define the basic forms of city government in Texas?: 1. constitution
2. statutory law
899 List the 2 general categories of Texas cities:: 1. general law
2. home rule
899 What is the term for a city allowed to exercise only those powers specifically granted to it by the legislature?: General law
899 How many residents live in general law cities?: less than 5,000
900 T or F General law cities have more restrictions in organizing their governments, setting taxes, and annexing territory than do home rule cities.: True
900 T or F The minority of Texas cities are general law cities.: False, most are general law cities
900 Approx. how many Texas cities are general law cities?: 885
900 What is the term used to describe a city with a population of more than 5,000, which can adopt any form of government residents choose, providede it does not conflict with the state consitution or statutes?: Home Rule city
900 What is the term used for the documnet, based on state authorization, which defines the structure, powers, and responsibilites of a city government?: Charter
900 What does a charter establish?: 1. City government
2. administrative agencies
3. municipal courts
4. taxing authority
5. procedures for elections
900 Approx. how many cities in Texas are home rule cities?: 318 as of 2002
900 List the 3 main forms of governments cities have experimented with:: 1. mayor-council
2. council-manager
3. commission
900 In Texas how many cities operated with some variation of the mayor-council form of government?: 900
900 How many Texas cities used some form of council-manager or commission-manager government?: 280
900 How many Texas cities used the commission form of government?: Handful
900 What is the most common form of municipal government in Texas?: mayor-council
900 What country is the Texas mayor-council form of government based on?: English model of city government
900 In the mayor-council form of gov., which body has legislative responsibilities?: Council
900 In mayor-council form of gov. which body has executive responsibilities?: mayor
900 In mayor-council, in theory, who elects mayor: City wide elections
900 list the 2 distinguishable forms of mayor:: 1. weak mayor
2. strong mayor
900 T or F In Texas most cities have a strong mayor.: False
901 What determines a city mayor's strength?: City Charter
902 Which type of mayor is "the chief executive in name only?": weak mayor
902 Which type of mayor clearly distinguishes between executive and legislative functions?: strong mayor
902 List the 2 Texas cities with strong mayor forms of government?: 1. Houston
2. El Paso
902 List reasons why the strong mayor has been historically unpopular in Texas?: 1. more often associated with political machines, ward politics, and political corruption;
2. reminders of deep distrust in government rooted in Reconstruction times;
3. Texas individualistic & traditionalistic subcultures reinforce hostile attitudes toward governmental institutions that are potentially more responsive to lower socioeconomic groups.
903 What is the term used to define a form of city government in which elecyted commissioners collectively serve as a city's policy-making bodyt and individually serve as adminstrative heads of different city departments?: City Commission
903 What Texas city originated the city commission form of government?: Galveston following the 1900 hurricane and flood
904 T or F Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio have experimented with city commission forms of government.: True
905 List the term for the form of city government in which policy is set by an elected cityy council, which hires a professional city manager to head the daily administration of city government?: Council-manager
905 List the first cities in Texas to use council-manager government:: Amarillo
Terrell
907 List the 3 main factors that contribute to a city manager's overall effectiveness:: 1. their relationships with their city councils;
2. their ability to develop support for their recommendations within the council and community without appearing to have gone beyond the scope of their authority;
3. the overall perception of their financial and managerial skills
908 What is the term for elections in which candidates do not represent a political party?: nonpartisan elections
908 T or F Virtually every city in Texas elects its council in non-partisan elections?: True
909 T or F To enforce separation of city elections from party politics most municipal elections are held at the same time party primaries or the general election occurs.: False, they are held at different times from the party primaries and general elections.
909 What is the term for an election systems under which officeholders are elected by voters in the entire city school district, or single-purpose district?: at large election
910 What is the form of an at-large election in which candidates run for specific positions, or places, on a city council or other governing body?: Place system
910 What is the term for elections that are required if no candidate receives an absolute majority of the votes cast in a city council, school district, or party primary race?: Runoff election
910 Who are the candidates in a runoff election, historically?: The top 2 vote getters
910 What is the name for a system in which city council members, legislators, or other public officials are elected from specific geographical areas?: Single-member district
910 T or F Texas cities receive state appropriations for their needs.: False
910 Texas cities rely on what type of taxes to meet their needs?: Regressive taxes such as property taxes and fees.
910 T or F The state of Texas limits the property tax rate that a city can impose.: True
911 What is a rollback election?: An election in which local voters can nullify a property tax increase that exceeds 8 percent in a given year.
911 What serves the public as a constraint on policy makers against raising taxes too high in Texas?: Rollback elections.
911 In 2002 what caused Texas cities to again face revenue pressures:: 1. 9/11
2.state's economic slowdown in last half of 2001.
911 T or F Texas cities are required by law to balance their operating budgets.: True
911 What is the money source for many municipal construction projects?: General obligation bonds
911 What is the term used for the method of borrowing money to pay for new construction projects,such as prisons,mental hospitals, or school facilities that require voter approval and that are repaid with tax revenue?: General Obligation bonds
911 What is the term used to describe the source of funds for projects that lead to income producing facilities that are repaid from the income produced by the facility?: revenue bonds
911 List examples of infrastructures:: 1. streets
2. wast disposal systems
3. libraries
911 List atributes of Texas cities that made them the envy of eastern and midwestern cities during the 70's and 80's:: 1. low taxes
2. pro-business tradition
3. few labor unions w/ sign.economic clout
4. abundant work force
5. proximity to natural resources
6. governing bodies that favored economic growth & development
912 What is the term for the reduction in property taxes that some local governments grant on a taxpayer's residence: Homestead exemption
912 T or F Some cities have granted additional propterty tax exemptions to citizen over 65 in addition to the homestead exemptions: True
912 List urban problems in Texas:: 1. graying of Texas cities
2. White flight
3. declining infrastructures
4. crime & urban violence
5. state & fed mandated programs
912 List causes for for increases crime & urban violence in Texas:: 1. drug abuse
2. gang violence
3. juvenile crime
913 What is the term for a law or regulation enacted by a higher level of government that compels a lower level of government to carry out a specific action?: Mandate
913 T or F Over the years there has been a decrease in federal mandates on the states, counties, and cities and an increase in state mandates on local governments.: False, there has been an increase on both.
914 How many counties are in Texas?: 254
914 What unit of government in Texas was created primarily to administer state laws?: Counties
914 T or F Texas counties all funciton under the same consitutional restrictions and basic organizational structure.: True
915 What is the name of counties' governing bodies?: Commissioners Courts
915 What are the functions of the commissioners courts?: For the counties, they are the principal policy-making bodies that set the county tax rates and supervises expenditures
915 List the members of commissioners courts:: 1. county judge
2. 4 county commissioners
915 How are the commissioners courts selected?: They are elected: judges are elected county-wide and each commissioner is elected from each county precinct
915 How long are the terms for commissioners courts' members?: 4 years
915 What required the commissioners courts to consider the interests of minority populations in the drawing up of county precinct lines?: Supreme Court case, Avery v. Midland County
915 T or F County commissioners courts have judicial functions.: False
917 T or F County judges are required to be lawyers under Texas law.: False, they are not required.
917 T or F Some county judges do have dual roles: presiding over commissioner courts and judicial responsibilities.: True
917 What governmental position is also known as the "dumping ground for miscellaneous functions of the county.?: County clerk
917 Who is the chief recordkeeping officer of a county?: County clerk
917 Who is responsibile for maintaining and generating birth and death certificates, and real estate deeds?: County clerk
917 Who serves as the county's chief elections administrator?: County clerk
918 Who is the elected county official who maintains custody of state district court records?: District clerk
918 Who is the elected official who is the chief legal officer of some counties.He or she also prosecutes lesser criminal offenses, primarily misdeameanors, in county courts?: County attorney
918 Who is the elected official who prosecutes more serious criminal offensees, usually felonies, before state district courts?: District attorney
918 Who is the elected official who determines how much property tax is owed on the different pieces of property within a county and then collects the tax?: Tax assessor-collector
918 What is the local agency that determines the value of pieces of property in a county. All governments are requred to use its evaluations for tax purposes?: Appraisal district
918 Who is the elected official who is the chief law-enforcement officer of a county?: Sheriff
918 Who is the elected law-enforcement officer who is primarily responsible for executing court judgments, serving subpoenas, and delivering other legal documents?: Constable
919 What is the term for court orders requiring people to testify in court or berfore grand juries or to produce certain documents?: subpoenas
919 Who is the appointed official who is responsible for determining the cause of death of murder victims or others who die under supspicious or unusual circumstances?: County medical examiner
919 What is the term for the examination by a justice of the peace or a medical examiner of unusual circumstances under which someone has died?: inquest
919 Who is the appointed officer who is primarily responsible for reviewing every bill and expenditure of a county toassure it is correct and legal?: County auditor
920 Who is the elected officer who is responsibilefor receivina dn disburising county funds?: County treasurer
920 What elected county position has been virtually eleminiated by many counties and whose responsibilities have been assumed by county auditors?: County treasurer
920 What has inhibited efforts of urban coutnies to respond to growing needs for public services?: Structure of county government
920 What subunit of government funtions primarily as an extension, or adminstrative subdivision of the State government in Texas?: County
920 What is the term for a system of filling public jobs by hiring friends and other politically connected applicants regardless of their abilities?: spoils system
920 What is the term for a system under which public employees are hired and promoted on their abilities; it features competitive examiniat6ions andoffers job security from one election to another?: civil service system
920 In 1971, what changed regarding public employees in the state of Texas?: A law was adopted that allows couties with more than 200,000 residents to create a civil service system, but it exludes severalcounty offices, including the district attorney.
920 What is the term for units of local government created by the state to perform specific functions not met by cities or countie sincluding the provision of public services to unincorporated areas: special purpose districts
920 T or F Public school districts are not considered special purpose districts.: False, they are considered special purpose districts.
920 List examples of special purpose districts:: 1. MUDs
2. WCIDs
3. hospital districts
4. public school districts
920 How many special purpose districts are there in Texas?: 3,300
920 What is a MUD?: municipal utility district
920 What is a WCID?: water conservation and improvement district
920 List purposes of special purpose districts:: 1. drainage districts
2. navigation districts
3. fresh water districts
4. river authorities
5. underground water districts
6. sanitation districts
7. housing districts
8. soil conservation districtsd
9. MUDs
10. WCIDs
921 How are the governing boards of special purpose districts selectted?: 1. appointed
2. elected in non-partisan elections
921 How are boards of hospital districts selected?: appointed by county commissioner courts
921 How are housing authority districts selected?: appointed by mayors or city councils
922 What is the basic organizational structure for public education in Texas?: independent school district
922 Where is the origins of the independent school district in Texas located?: Constitution of 1876.
923 How many local school districts are in TExas?: more than 1,000
923 What is the TEA?: Texas Education Agency
923 Who governs school districts?: School boards
923 What is the term used for school board members?: trustees
923 How are school board trustees selected?: Elected in nonpartisan elections
924 When are most school board and city elections?: First Saturday in May
924 What form of government resembles most school districts?: council-manager
924 Who is the "manager" in a school district?: Superintendent
924 What is the function of a school superintendent?: to direct the districts daily operations
925 What are COGs: Councils of government
925 What are councils of government?: regional planning commissions
925 COGs'purposes include the following:: 1. comprehensive planning and service responsibilities for employement and job training
2. criminal justice
3. economic deveopment
4.health
5. aging
6. early childhood developmenht
7. alcoholism
8. drug abuse
9. transportation
10. land resource management
11. environmental quality
12. rural development
925 How many COGs are there in Texas?: 24
925 How are COGs in Texas divided?: geographically
925 T or F Membership in COGs are voluntary.: True
925 Who decides how COGs are composed and their structures?: Each COG
925 What is the major funding source for COGs?: state and federal govs
926 List solutions to the problems of local government: 1. privatization of functions
2. annexation and extraterritorial jurisdiction
3. modernization of county govs
4. economic development
5. interlocal contracting
6. metro government & consolidation
7. public improvement districts
926 Cite examples of privatization of functions by local governments?: 1. garbage pickup/disposal
2. towing
3. food services
4. security
5. recycling
927 Cite examples of annexation and extraterritorial jurisdictions by local gov:: when local govs grow geographically by gobbling up unincorporated lands
927 What is the term for the authority of cities to add territory, subject to restrictions set by state law?: annexation
927 What is the term for the power of an incorporated city to control development within nearby unincorpporated areas?: extraterritorial jurisdiction
927 T or F The powers of cities to annex have been shrinking over the past years by successful lobbying by the suburbs.: True
929 What is the term for exemptions from property taxes granted to certain business, usually to encourage them to move toor expand their operations in a city or county; the exemptions are granted for specific periods of time?: tax abatements
929 What is an enterprise zone?: an example of economic development, they are industrial development corporations form by counties to relax state regulatory policies to encourage the redevelopment of depressed areas and undeveloped areas, for ex. the land to the north of DFW
930 What is the term for a system of local government in which city and county governments consolidate to avoid duplication of public services?: metrogovernment
930 T or F Metrogovernments are legal in Texas/: False, it was never passed by the legislature
930 What is the term for a specific area of a city in which property owners pay special taxesi return for improvement ot streets and other public facilities in their neighborhood?: public improvement district

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