How many state agencies in Texas are substantially independent from the governor?
Around 200
Fragmentation of the Texas executive branch into independent agencies was done by various legislatures to
avoid the issue of power becoming too centralized.
State agencies within Texas were created by the
Texas Constitution and Texas legislature.
The mission of the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission is to
recommend the merging, abolition, or continuation of state agencies
State agencies are sometimes created as a result of
citizen complaints and outrage over an issue.
State agencies are occasionally reorganized, merged, or abolished under a process called
sunset review.
Red tape" contributes to the image of most bureaucracies as
inefficient.
Bureaucracies in Texas
influence policy outcomes by the decisions they make.
Three factors that are important in determining a state agency's success in achieving its policy goals are
elite access, vigor and vision of their leadership, and resources.
Over the years criticism has been leveled at the Health and Human Services Commission and the Texas attorney general for
a lack of drive in pursuing nursing home violations.
The ability of business leaders to meet directly with high ranking bureaucrats to resolve issues is called
elite access.
By 2012, how many employees did the state of Texas have?
311,000
The largest single employer in Texas is
the state of Texas.
Acquiring a government job based on political loyalty, without regard to ability, is called
political patronage.
A system that hires employees based on their expertise and competency is called a
merit system
Which policy regarding state employees is set by the legislature?
Salary and compensation
Which employs the most people in Texas?
All local governments taken together
The system that replaced the merit system in Texas was a
centralized compensation and classification system.
Controversy has surrounded the State Board of Education due to its
extremist ideological positions.
The approximate number of independent school districts in Texas is
1,237.
Texas's commitment to education began with which state constitution?
1836
Decisions by local school boards and superintendents are primarily shaped by
state rules.
Conservative members of the State Board of Education tend to be
Anglo Republicans.
In recent years, Texas public school students have been increasingly
ethnic or racial minorities and the economically disadvantaged.
Which of the following individuals has the most influence over Texas K-12 education?
The commissioner of education
One of the most contentious issues facing the State Board of Education in recent years has been
review of textbooks.
Which of the following makes policies that affect independent school districts and approves textbooks for public schools?
State Board of Education
. The Texas Workforce Commission
operates the workers compensation program that assists workers injured on the job.
Which of the following is not a responsibility of the Texas Education Agency?
It creates attendance zones for individual public elementary and secondary schools.
The Texas commissioner of education gets into office as a result of an appointment by the
Texas governor, with confirmation by the Texas Senate
Which of the following is not true of charter schools in Texas?
They receive total funding from the legislature.
The current Texas testing program (STAAR) is controversial because
it requires end-of-course tests for some subjects.
it is used for evaluating teachers and schools.
in practice, it encourages teaching to the test.
How many community college districts are there in Texas?
50
The two widely recognized ''flagship'' state universities in Texas are
the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University College Station.
Which of the following is not considered a "tier-one" national research university in Texas?
Baylor University
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
recently saw its power reduced through the sunset process.
The governance of Texas community colleges is performed mainly by
local boards of trustees.
Colleges and universities in Texas are most influenced by the
Higher Education Coordinating Board.
In the case of University of California v. Bakke (1978), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that __________ could be considered as one factor along with other criteria to achieve diversity in higher education.
race
The Coordinating Board's plan to increase minority enrollment and success in Texas colleges has
never been implemented.
In the case of Fisher v. University of Texas, the Supreme Court held that to use race as a criterion for admission,
the university must demonstrate to a court that it is necessary.
the university's decision to use race must fact "strict scrutiny.
It appears that the student bodies of UT-Austin and Texas A&M
have become more diverse.
In recent years, Texas's poverty rate has been
15-23 percent of the population.
Under the national Affordable Care Act, Texas
refused federal funds for Medicaid expansion and has one of the highest rates of uninsured citizens of all the states.
Which of the following sets human service policy in Texas for those agencies that administer such policy?
The commissioner of Health and Human Services
The Health and Human Services Commission in Texas administers all the following, except
Social Security benefits
Imagine you are a 19-year-old mother of one child, a recipient of public assistance, and a resident of Dallas County. Which of the following most threatens you?
The cap on consecutive and lifetime receipt of cash public assistance benefits
The Lone Star Card is used by a recipient of public assistance
to obtain food items in a grocery store.
The state-federal program that provides direct cash payments to poor children and their families is
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
Assume that you are a newly divorced, 27-year-old mother of two nondisabled children; your former husband has run off and cannot be located to make child support payments; you never graduated from high school; and you own no property. You are definitely i
Medicare.
Which of the following is true?
Texans age 15-24 account for the majority of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
The purpose of the payroll tax collected by the Texas Workforce Commission is to
provide unemployment compensation.
In Texas, education, health, and human services expenditures account for __________ of the state's budget.
three-fourths
Which interests tend to benefit most from Texas business and regulatory policies?
Business
The Texas Railroad Commission has responsibility for all the following, except
breaking up railroad monopolies.
Probably the most important duty of the Texas Railroad Commission from the standpoint of the rest of the United States is
regulating the production of oil and natural gas.
Electric providers in Texas are regulated by the
Public Utilities Commission.
Elimination of government restrictions and allowing free market forces to prevail is called
deregulation.
The ability of the Public Utilities Commission to regulate communication in Texas is somewhat limited by the
policies of the national government.
The Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) has constructed and maintains more than __________ miles of roads and highways.
80,000
In response to a shortage of highway funding, Texas has attempted to
shift to additional privately constructed toll roads.
Ninety-five percent of public transportation in Texas is by
bus
In Texas,
the parks system is the responsibility of the Texas Environmental Quality Commission.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
enforces state and some federal air and water quality standards.
Environmental policies in Texas are coordinated by the
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Because of its growing population, industry, and irrigation-based agriculture, Texas faces serious shortages of
water
Under the "rule of capture," underground water is controlled by
individual landowners.