POSC 2306 Final Exam Review
3 Systems of Government - correct answer-Unitary System: Constitutional authority rests
with a national or central government.
Confederal System: member states or regional governments have all authority.
Federal System: Governmental power divided and shared between central government
Annexation Power - correct answer-Initiative: Allows local voters thought the use of a petition
to propose new legislation for their city at a city council refuses to enact.
Referendum: Allows voters to repeal an existing ordinance that may be unpopular.
Recall: Allows voters to remove member of the city council.
Bi-Cameral - correct answer-Consist of two branches or chambers (i.e. Senate & House of
Reps.)
Biennial Sessions - correct answer-meets every other year for 140 days
Branches of Government - correct answer-Legislative: Bi-Cameral (two house) legislature,
31-member senate (4 year terms), 150-member House of Representatives (2 year terms),
annual salary of $7,200, no term limits, in session once every two years (biennial regular
sessions).
Executive: Article 4 establishes the governor as the chief executive of the state, establishes
a Plural Executive: Executive branch where power is divided among several independently
elected officials. This weakens the power of the chief executive, governor lacks most powers
of typical executives, no term limits on the governor. Veto power has great influence on
legislative process, governor receives line item veto power meaning to strike out sections of
the bill without vetoing the entire bill.
Judicial: Article 5 of the Texas constitution fragments the judicial branch, Judges are
selected by partisan elections, and governor has the power to appoint a new judge when a
judge leaves office before the term is over.
Bureaucratic Oversight (Sun Setting) - correct answer-Reviewing state agencies and closing
them down if they are no longer viable for the state.
Calendar Committee - correct answer-Where a bill is placed so it can be debated and voted
on, includes the time for the floor debate and for when the vote on the bill will occur
Characteristics of American political System - correct answer-Two-Party System
Democrats & Republicans
, Single Member Districts: election districts in which a candidate is elected to a legislative
body.
Characteristics of Voters - correct answer-Education: The more education a person has the
more likely they are to vote.
Income: The more income a person has the more likely they are to vote.
Age: The older a person is the more likely they are to vote.
Interest: in politics or affiliation with a party.
Checks & Balances - correct answer-Each branch of government is assigned power to limit
abuses by the other branches.
Citizen Legislature - correct answer-Members DO NOT hold professional full-time paid jobs
in the legislature, only meet for 140 days every two years.
City Charter - correct answer-The organizing document for a municipality
Commerce Clause - correct answer-Gives congress the power to regulate commerce (i.e.
Obamacare came from this) used to justify broad national government actions.
Concurrent Powers - correct answer-Powers shared by the national government and the
states.
Conservative - correct answer-Limited role of government in our lives, traditional values, and
cautious of social change.
Deadwood - correct answer-inoperable constitutional provisions that have been either voided
by the U.S. Constitution or made irrelevant by changing circumstances
Delegated Powers - correct answer-Powers that the constitution gives the national
government.
Expressed: those powers that are clearly listed in Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S Constitution.
Implied: Those powers that are assumed to exist for the federal government to perform the
functions that are expressly delegated.
Inherent: Those powers that come with an office or position- general the executive branch.
Demographics - correct answer-population characteristics such as age, gender, ethnicity,
employment, and income that social scientists use to describe groups in society
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