You have received a traffic ticket from a Dallas police officer. You decide to contest it
and must appear in the court which exercises original jurisdiction over limited criminal
violations of Dallas city ordinances. What court is that?
A) Justice of the peace court
B) Municipal court
C) Statutory probate court
D) County court at law
E) District court
If a politician makes an argument that a country should not have to rely on other
countries for help in military operations, what would be the MOST likely reason it
would “go nuclear”?
A) International prestige
B) Defense
C) The influence of a strong military interest group
D) The desire to demonstrate scientific knowledge
E) World peace
Which of the following are potential reasons for a negative trade relationship between
China and the United States?
I. Loss of U.S. jobs due to a surge in Chinese imports
II. China’s increasing emphasis on maintaining relations with the rest of the world
III. China’s failure to reduce tariffs on agricultural and industrial projects
IV. U.S. tariffs on tires imported from China
A) I only
B) IV only
C) I and II
D) II and IV
E) I, III, and IV
A special election is held in Texas to
A) elect executive branch members.
B) fill vacancies in the state legislature.
C) resolve a primary election if no candidate receives a majority vote.
D) select judges.
E) recall the governor.
The supremacy clause is found in
A) the Declaration of Independence.
B) the Preamble.
C) Article II of the Constitution.
D) Article IV of the Constitution.
E) Article VI of the Constitution.
The Environmental Protection Act
A) was relaxed during the George W. Bush Administration.
B) was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
C) was a product of the Carter administration.
D) has been preempted by Georgia’s Peachtree Protection Act.
E) requires local governments to install water filtration systems.
The National Consumers’ League
I. sponsored Muller v. Oregon.
II. was the major advocate for consumer rights.
III. used sociological and medical data to prove that women should be barred from
working more than eight hours a day.
IV. was part of the abolitionist movement.
A) III
B) I and II
C) II and III
D) I and III
E) II and IV
Which of the following describes the purpose of www.recovery.gov?
A) A site designed by charities to help citizens apply for disaster relief funds
B) A site set up by banks to improve their image after the financial crisis
C) A site established by the government to offer resources to Americans with substance
abuse problems
D) A site planned by the government to educate citizens on where and how their
stimulus funds are being spent
E)A site designed to describe new state-level education reforms
The authors of The Federalist Papers were convinced that
A) the new republic would not succeed without a Bill of Rights.
B) all government rests on public opinion.
C) until one could accurately measure public opinion, leaders would find it hard to lead.
D) public opinion should not affect congressional actions.
E) public opinion was unimportant when ratifying the new Constitution.
Which Native American tribe of northeastern and eastern Texas greeted early Spanish
explorers as Tayshas, meaning friendswhich was the genesis of the name Texas?
A) Caddo
B) Comanche
C) Kickapoo
D) Kiowa
E) Tonkawa
During the 1960s and 1970s, most regulatory programs enacted by the national
government fell into the category of ________ regulation.
A) due process
B) paper tiger
C) environmental protection
D) social
E) moral
The president’s fundamental authority over the military comes from
A) treaty powers.
B) Congress.
C) being commander in chief.
D) Marbury v. Madison.
E) the War Powers Act.
There are ____ federal agency regions in the United States.
A) eight
B) nine
C) ten
D) twelve
E) fifteen
One of the earliest blogs, which pioneered spreading newsworthy rumors during the
Clinton administration, is
A) the Drudge Report.
B) the Daily Kos.
C) the Huffington Post.
D) Red State.
E) Townhall.
Voter turnout in Texas elections is highest in
A) presidential elections.
B) gubernatorial elections.
C) special elections.
D) partisan elections.
E) judicial elections.
Institutionalized collections of policy-oriented researchers and academics who are
sources of policy ideas are known as
A) policy walks.
B) brain drains.
C) group thinks.
D) think tanks.
E) policy imaginers.
If a person yells that there is a bomb on a bus when he knows that there isn”t, his
exclamation is not considered protected speech under
A) Schenck v. U.S.
B) Brandenburg v. Ohio.
C) Roth v. U.S.
D) Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District.
E) Lemon v. Kurtzman.
Which of the following is a true statement regarding the House rules given to each bill?
A) They originate with every committee in Congress.
B) They determine the limits on floor debate.
C) They rarely specify the type of amendments that can be made to a bill.
D) They affect the composition of House budget bills.
E) They govern debate in both the House and the Senate.
The statute that contains Texas’s rule-making process is known as the
A) Texas Constitution.
B) Administrative Procedures Act.
C) Texas Digest.
D) Texas Order Act.
E) Texas Government Code.
Which of the following is an example of the George W. Bush administration’s policy
toward the states?
A) No Child Left Behind
B) Privatizing Social Security
C) War in Iraq
D) USA PATRIOT Act
E) Repealing the Defense of Marriage Act
The early front-runner in the 2008 Democratic nomination contest was
A) John Kerry.
B) Barack Obama.
C) John Edwards.
D) Hillary Clinton.
E) Al Gore.
In Marbury v. Madison, the opinion of the Court stressed that
A) the Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional.
B) John Marshall was not to be outdone by his cousin, Thomas Jefferson.
C) it is the authority of the Court to say what the law is.
D) Marbury could not become a justice of peace in the state of New York.
E) Marbury could receive his commission.
Standing committees can
I. kill bills.
II. amend bills.
III. hurry bills through the process.
IV. reconcile differences in House and Senate versions of bills.
A) I and II
B) II and III
C) I and III
D) II, III, and IV
E) I, II, and III
Problem recognition
A) is the first stage of the policy-making process.
B) is the last stage of the policy-making process.
C) requires governmental intervention.
D) is not necessarily critical to the policy-making process.
E) can occur at any time during the policy-making process.
An officially recognized, federally mandated fund-raising committee for an interest
group is called a/an
A) campaign committee.
B) political action committee.
C) interest group campaign committee.
D) political interest group.
E) political funding organization.
Which of the following tend to favor the Republican Party?
I. Presbyterians
II. Methodists
III. Catholics
IV. Episcopalians
A) II only
B) I and III
C) III and IV
D) I, II, and III
E) I, II, and IV
The justices of the Supreme Court are
A) elected in a nonpartisan election.
B) confirmed by the president.
C) nominated by the Senate.
D) nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
E) nominated by the president and confirmed by both the House and Senate.
In terms of personal ideology, most Texas governors have been
A) libertarian.
B) conservative.
C) moderately liberal.
D) populist.
E) socialist.
The coherent set or system of values and beliefs that shape the thinking of individuals
and how they view the world, as well as their beliefs about the purpose and scope of
government, is known as
A) political theory.
B) political ideology.
C) sociology.
D) political culture.
E) political psychology.
Which of the following best describes the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
in Texas?
A) The legislature has cut funding for the program and many children remain without
insurance.
B) The legislature has cut funding for the program because a growing percentage of
Texas children are covered under their parents’ health insurance policies.
C) Texas offers very generous benefits and covers all children who are uninsured.
D) CHIP offers affordable health insurance and covers an increasing percentage of
Texas children every year since its inception.
E) CHIP was declared unconstitutional by the Texas Supreme Court in 2008.
If an employer engages in a practice whereby it gives bonuses to employees who live
by themselves, it is practicing _______ discrimination against married employees.
A) de jure
B) de facto
C) direct
D) practical
E) cultural