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Topic 8: Public Policy in Texas

Multiple Choice

Multiple Choice

This activity contains 15 questions.

	Why does the Texas government provide subsidies?   to encourage a certain kind of economic activity because it is required to do so by the Texas Constitution to prevent an industry from gaining monopoly power because direct payments are illegal to prevent urban sprawl

	Which of the following best describes the Texas budget?   annual and balanced annual and in massive surplus biennial and balanced biennial and in massive deficit annual and in massive deficit

	What is the comptroller's certification?   that a public policy will be revenue neutral that the proposed budget will be within the projected state revenue formal permission for the governor to draw funds from the Texas treasury to pay for vital public policies that a proposed budget will not increase taxes that the state of Texas is complying will the U.S. Constitution and all federal laws

	What happens if a state agency has a budget emergency while the legislature is not in session?   There is no recourse for the agency other than to cope until the legislature convenes. The agency can receive a voucher from the Speaker of the House to cover emergency expenses until the legislature convenes. The agency must sell its assets and declare bankruptcy. The governor and the legislative budget board can use their budget execution authority. The Texas Supreme Court can grant an emergency stay that funds the agency until the legislature convenes.

	Which of the following is the largest revenue source for the state of Texas?   proceeds from oil and gas leases lottery income federal funds fees taxes

	What is the single largest source of tax revenue for the state of Texas?   personal income taxes excise taxes sales taxes inheritance taxes corporate income taxes

	Overall, Texas's tax system can be described as   progressive. proportional. regressive. flat. taking a higher percentage of the income of the wealthy than that of the poor.

	Texas spends the most money in which of the following policy areas?   natural resources and recreation health and human services employee benefits transportation public safety and corrections

	What did the U.S. Supreme Court decide in Rodriguez v. San Antonio Independent School District?   The school finance system in Texas was inequitable and therefore violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The school finance system in Texas was not inequitable because students chose to live in whichever school district they preferred. States must make reasonable efforts to ensure that school spending "approaches equality." Texas must abolish local property taxes and pay for school financing through general revenue funds. Education is not a fundamental right under the U.S. Constitution.

	What did the Texas Supreme Court decide in Edgewood v. Kirby?   Schools must integrate "with all deliberative speed." Texas must ensure equality within a given school district, but not between school districts. Texas's school finance system was inefficient and violated the Texas Constitution. Texas's "Robin Hood" program was unconstitutional. School districts must give vouchers to students from failing schools. These vouchers must be redeemable at any Texas school, whether public or private.

	Why has there traditionally been considerable inequity in school funding in Texas?   The Texas Creed discourages individualism and self-reliance. Without these attributes, it is difficult for school districts to finance public schools. The "Robin Hood" policy has taken funding from poor districts and given it to wealthy districts. Some school districts place a higher value on educating their students than do other school districts. Schools are financed primarily though alcoholic beverage taxes, tobacco taxes, and lottery revenue. Because social conservatives are unlikely to drink, smoke, or gamble, socially conservative school districts have trouble raising enough money. School districts pay for schools through property taxes, and some districts have much more valuable property than others.

	Which of the following best summarizes policies implemented in Texas in the 1990s to improve the quality of public education?   increased uses of standardized tests lowering teacher salaries to ensure that teachers are "there for the students, not the money" implementing "new math" and "new reading" curricula school voucher programs that require all students in underperforming schools to transfer to other private or public schools redesigning schools using the "open classroom" model

	What is the Texas Top 10 Percent Law?   The top 10 percent of students in all Texas high schools are guaranteed admission to the Texas public university of their choice. Each public university in Texas must set aside 10 percent of its admissions slots to the top minority students in the state. Students from underrepresented populations (e.g. Hispanics and African Americans) who have a Texas high school diploma are guaranteed admittance to one of the top ten public universities in Texas. Minority students will be exempt from paying tuition at all Texas public universities as long as they remain in the top 10 percent of their class. Texas students who graduate in the top 10 percent of their class from a public university will be reimbursed for the cost of their tuition.

	Recent transportation policies in Texas have tended to emphasize   bike lanes public transportation high-speed rail pedestrian access toll roads

	Which of the following best describes how health and human services policies operate in Texas?   The federal government provides the bulk of the money and implements the public policies, using only minimal input from the state of Texas. The state of Texas provides the bulk of the money and establishes some regulations, but the federal government implements the programs. The federal government provides the bulk of the money and establishes some regulations, but the state of Texas implements the programs. The federal government and the state government contribute equally to funding and implementation. The federal government gives the state of Texas strict regulations to implement and mandates that the state pick up about 90 percent of the cost.

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