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Government Ch. 27
Local Government in Texas
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Decentralized nation | A country, such as the US, that possesses many units of local government controlled by citizens at the local level (US = most decentralized in world!) |
| Nationwide, about ______ units of local government. ______ in Texas. | 90,000 5,000 |
| All local governments are creatures of the _______ and power is derived from _________________ | State State constitutions and statutes |
| General-purpose governments | A government given broad discretionary authority by the state government |
| Limited-purpose governments | A government that has very limited authority or control over its finances and is governed by a set structure |
| School districts and counties are examples of ________ governments. | Limited purpose |
| Texas cities are an example of _________ government. | General-purpose |
| City governments are technically ___________ | Municipal corporations |
| State government grants _________ to cities. | Charters. A document like a constitution, basic structure and organization, outline of power and authority |
| General-law city | A city whose charter is created by state statutes (can choose from 7) 938 |
| Home-rule city | A city whose charter is created by the actions of local citizens. Pop must be 5,000+ |
| Implicit or explicit prohibition on city ordinance power | Limitation on the power of cities, preventing them from passing ordinances that are explicitly prohibited by state law and from passing ordinances that by implication may violate state law |
| Home-rul charters may be amending IF | approval of city voters |
| Incorporation | The process of creating a city government. Petition, election held, voters must approve, state issues charter |
| Requirements to become a city in Texas | 201 citizens within 2-squre mile area signed by 10% of voters and 50% of landowners County judge calls election City is created, general-law charter adopted. Second election held to elect officials. |
| Extra territorial jurisdiction | City powers that extend beyond the city limits to an adjacent area |
| A city may/maynot be incorporated within the ETJ of existing city unless that city approves. | MAY NOT |
| Cities can ______ lands inside their ETJ. | Annex. City council, majority vote, unilaterally annes land |
| Impact, Texas | Allow for sale of liquor. Abilene. Surrounded. Law passed creating ETJ, limiting incorporation of cities inside them. |
| Two basic forms of government in US and Texas: | Mayor-council and council-manager |
| Traditional form of city government is | mayor-council |
| Weak executive | Mayor shares power, authority limited, terms limited, little or no veto |
| Strong executive | Appoint/remove, budget, no term limits, can veto |
| There are many more _________ forms in the general-law cities in Texas than in home-rule cities. | Mayor-council |
| Galveston unique government style | Commission form. Five commissioners to oversee rebuilding of city after hurricane. Single body of government.Transition. |
| Most popular form of government in Texas cities | Council-manager |
| Council-manager | A form of government in which voters elect a mayhor and a city council; the mayor and the city council appoint a professional administrator to manage the city. All cities EXCEPT HOUSTON |
| City manger can do what? | Appoint/remove heads of departments, responsible for budget and execution, day-to-day |
| _________ is the policy-making body. | Council |
| p. 785 | mission, policy, administration, management |
| In council-manager govt, mayor is | NOT chief executive. NO separation of powers. member of city council. leader, presides, reps. |
| City manager | Official hired by the city council to manage the city and serve as chief administrative officer |
| Single-member district | A system in which the city is divided into election districts and only the voters living in that district elect the council member from that district. Tranditional method. MOST |
| At-large election system | System in which all voters in the city elect the mayor and city council members |
| Cumulative voting | A system in which voters can concentrate all their votes on one canidate rather than casting one vote for each office up for election |
| Preferential voting | A system that allows voters to rank candidates for the city council |
| Many cities have moved since Voting Rights Act was amended from ___________ to ___________ | At-large system to SMD. More minorities! |
| Mayors are generally elected in | at-large elections |
| Nonpartisan elections | Ballot form in which voters are unable to determine the party of candidates by looking at the ballot. About 70% are elected this way now. |
| No city to date has used ______ elections. | Partisan |
| Voter turnout in city elections is _______ | Quite low. Lower than state. Low as 4% , rarely about 25% |
| Reasons for low voter turnout | off-year elections, lack of contested races, low levels of voter interest |
| Off-year elections | Local elections held at a different time of year from state and national elections |
| ______ and ______ more accurately describe what happens in county government. | Patronage and politics |
| Local governments in Texas collect taxes from two primary sources: | Property tax, sales tax |
| Sales tax broken down | 6.25 state 2.0 local 8.25 total |
| State-level property tax in texas? | NO |
| As taxes climb, local govt must abide by more and more mandates. | Laws passed by federal and state that apply to local. |
| Unfunded or underfunded mandates | Laws enacted by federal or state governments that impose responsibilites and financial burdens on city and county governments |
| Oldest type of local government in US | County government |
| County government | The oldest type of local government, adapted from British, whose numbers vary greatly among states; it is the primary administrative arm of a state govt, providing services such as voter registration, courts and jails, roads and bridges |
| Texas has _______ county governments. | 254 |
| County govt originally intended as _________ of state govt. | Subdivision, arm. Voter registrar, marriage, birth, car registration, courts. |
| All Texas counties provide | Road construction, police. SOME: Hospitals, libraries, parks |
| How many counties in US? | 3043 |
| In TExas, _____% of op live in 10 largest urban counties. | 56 |
| How are heads of major departments chosen? | Elected@ |
| County commissioner's court | Legislative body made up of five elected officials that governs Texas counties. 1 constitutional county judge, 4 county commissioners Local ordinances, budgets, programs, oversee govt. |
| County judge _____________ Commissioners _______________ | Elected at large single-member districts called commissioner precinct 4 year term. Partisan. |
| Constitutional county judge | Chief administrative officer of the county commissioner's court; may also have judicial duties in rural counties |
| Where county courts of law are created, constitutional county judge | has very limited judicial functions |
| Seven constitutionally prescribed officers are elected by voters: | Sheriff, district atttorney, county attorney, tax assessor collector, district clerk, county clerk, county treasurer |
| County sheriff | Elected head law enforcement officer for a county who in smaller counties may act as the tax assessor collector |
| Constables | Elected county law enforcement court officers |
| County and district attorneys | Elected chief prosecuting attorneys for criminal cases |
| Tax assessor collector | Elected officer responsible for collecting revenue for the state and the county. Voter registrars, licenses, permits, property tax |
| Tax assessment districts governed by | Board elected by the governing bodies of all govt in the jurisdiction |
| County clerk | Elected chief record keeper for the county. Marriage, birth, other records. |
| District clerk | Elected official who maintains county and district court records. Court official. |
| County treasurer | ELected official who manages county funds |
| District judge | Elected official who appoints the county auditor. If under 10,000, don't have to have auditor. Acts as budget officer. |
| Challenges to county govt | Lack of power, plural executive, Hire own staff, not always competent, designed for rural, lack general ordinacne authority, inequity of financial resources |
| Texas Association of Counties | Umbrella organization that represents elected county officials. Oopses granting county govt home rule. |
| Special districts are often referred to as _________ governments. | Shadow. |
| Examples of special districts: | fire, water, sewer, mass transport, soil and water conservation, flood conrtol |
| MUDS Municipal utility districts | Multifunction districts generally created outside cities to provide water, sewage, and other services |
| Multiconty special districts are governed by ______________. Single-county special districts usually have ______________. | Boards appointed by governmental units covered by district. Board of directors elected by voters. |
| Many special districts do/dont have taxation authority? | DO. |
| Demand today is not for consolidation but for | decentralization with "open-enrollment charter schools" |
| Independent school districts | School districts that are not attached to any other unit of govt and operate schools in Texas. All but 1 of 1089. Seven member school board elected some single-member, most at large, all nonpartisan. |
| Issues in school politics | Finance, quality, curriculum. |
| State pays about ______% of education cost. | 38% Local districts provide remainder. Property tax. |
| "Robin Hood plan" | nickname for provision in the education statutes that consolidated property taxes so that they are distributed among rich and poor districts; revised later to require rich districts with a property tax base per pupil above 305,000 to share wealth |
| _______% of school districts in texas are poor districts. | 90 |
| Perry called special session for school finance. Redo. | Reduction in property tax for homes, more for business, tax increase on smoking, more franchise tax for businesses |
| House Bill 72 | Funding for teacher pay raise. Required state's teachers to pass a test to prove their competency. No-pass no-play. |
| First school accountability program under | Anne Richards. Then Bush, Texas Assesment of Academic Skills (penalized low-income and minority) |
| Three curriculum issues | Sex education, intelligent design, bilingual education |
Created by:
13emily14