Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
64 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
An example of licensing on the local level would be
|
when contractors are required to meet building codes.
|
|
In 2007, Texas ranked _____ in per capita state spending.
|
fiftieth
|
|
A 1991, ethics reform law extended _____ restrictions to numerous agencies.
|
revolving door
|
|
Legislative policies
|
don't always translate well into bureaucratic programs and can have unanticipated results.
|
|
Each state agency is largely free to set its own personnel policies.
|
True
|
|
Many of the best and brightest young people seek professional employment with government bureaucracies because of the high esteem the public holds for them.
|
False
|
|
Sometimes bureaucrats are blamed for problems that are better placed on the shoulders of
|
elected policy makers
|
|
A major test of the effectiveness of the whistleblower protection act was brought by
|
George Green
|
|
Privatization, the process of governments contracting with provate companies to perform services, has become increasingly popular in recent years.
|
True
|
|
Texas was one of the first states to implement
|
sunset legislation.
|
|
In 2003, after a series of budget disputes, performance reviews were transferred
|
from the office of the Comptroller of Public Accounts to the Legislative Budget Board despite critics' insistence that reviews should be carried out by an independent office holder.
|
|
Implementation is the conversion of policy plans into reality.
|
True
|
|
In the early part of the twentieth century, _____ regarded bureaucracies as efficient means of organizing large numbers of people to accomplish a given task.
|
Max Weber
|
|
When things go wrong in state government and problems go unresolved, there is a tendency to blame bureaucrats for
|
excessive red tape, mismanagement, and inefficiency.
|
|
Higher education and public school employees
|
are subject to different employment policies than state employees.
|
|
In recent years, the bureaucracy has grown because
|
citizens expect a wide range of public services, federal mandates require more funding and personnel and interest groups have successfully implemented new programs.
|
|
Which of the following is NOT correct regarding government in Texas?
|
Attempts to limit government growth and spending have been very successful.
|
|
Each agency is subject to sunset review every
|
12 years.
|
|
Every _____ the legislature sets budgets for state agencies.
|
two years
|
|
Performance reviews to limit mismanagement and inefficiency are conducted on state agencies and_______ by the
|
school districts; Legislative Budget Board.
|
|
State and local governments can also regulate by offering operating subsidies to businesses, including
|
tax breaks that are subject to limitations imposed by the legislature.
|
|
Many industries try to influence and control the government agencies that are supposed to regulate them. This is called
|
co-optation.
|
|
The legislature permitted performance reviews in order to promote
|
efficiency and reduce waste.
|
|
Legislators depend on administrative agencies for counsel and advice when they draft public policies.
|
True
|
|
The more than 1.3 million Texans now employed by state and local governments are collectively called
|
the bureaucracy.
|
|
The legislature usually defines a program and gives a state agency detailed instructions for carring it out.
|
False
|
|
Within governmental organizations, specific positions are assigned specific responsibilities or given authority in a hierarchical arrangement.
|
True
|
|
The process of moving from governmental regulation of an industry to lobbyist for the same industry has often been called
|
a revolving door.
|
|
Which part of government generally broadly defines a program?
|
the legislature.
|
|
The legislature delegates a great deal of authority for carrying out state policy to
|
regulatory agencies.
|
|
Bureaucracies are NOT characterized
|
as being chaotic.
|
|
In Texas, the role of the bureaucracy is enhanced because
|
the governor has limited powers over the bureaucracy.
|
|
When a person in an agency reports an agency for costly mistakes or waste or an endangerment to the public, they are protected by the
|
whistle blower protection act.
|
|
Hiring a person on the basis of a personal relationship is called
|
political patronage.
|
|
Texans have come to expect good roads and schools, safe drinking water, and a host of other public programs.
|
True
|
|
The legislature has empowered the _____ to conduct performance reviews of state programs.
|
Legislative Budget Board
|
|
The bureaucracy has the primary responsibility for carrying out the policies adopted by
|
the legislature.
|
|
To better serve the public, some reformer advocates pushed for a
|
merit employment system based somewhat on U.S. law.
|
|
Which part of government generally fills in the details of a program?
|
the bureaucracy.
|
|
The two ways that the legislature can use budgetary control over bureaucracies are by
|
the amount of funds allotted and approval of line items in agency budgets.
|
|
In per capita spending in the areas of public health, education, and welfare, Texas ranks
|
below most states.
|
|
Implementation is the conversion of policy plans into
|
reality.
|
|
Each one of us comes into regular contact with organizations that can be defined as bureaucracies.
|
True
|
|
Which of the following is the LEAST likely obstacle to policy implementation in Texas?
|
The governor does not choose to manage the agency in charge.
|
|
According to whistle blower laws, public employees are required to report wrongdoing within their agencies.
|
False
|
|
In Texas, the role of the bureaucracy is enhanced because
|
the governor has limited powers over the bureaucracy.
|
|
Lt. Governor Bob Bullock called the whistle-blower ordeal that the state endured
|
“a black mark on the history of Texas.”
|
|
About 50 percent of special district employees in Texas work
|
in social services, including public hospitals.
|
|
Legislators depend on administrative agencies for counsel and advice when they draft public policies.
|
True
|
|
The Texas Workforce Commission is responsible for
|
assisting agencies in recruiting by listing all state job openings .
|
|
A merit employment system
|
is inconsistent with the individualistic political culture in Texas because of the decentralized plural executive and officeholders who jealously guard their prerogative to hire and fire.
|
|
Each state agency is largely free to set its own personnel policies.
|
True
|
|
When a person in an agency reports an agency for costly mistakes or waste or an endangerment to the public, they are protected by the
|
Whistle Blower Protection Act.
|
|
How successful has the sunset process been in Texas?
|
Despite failing to reduce the size of the bureaucracy, it has helped rid state government of some obsolete agencies, modernized state laws, and made some agencies more responsive to the public.
|
|
In the early part of the twentieth century, ________ regarded bureaucracies as efficient means of organizing large numbers of people to accomplish a given task.
|
Max Weber
|
|
The sunset process has reduced the size of the Texas bureaucracy.
|
False
|
|
Why is the revolving door viewed in a negative way?
|
It has raised questions about possible insider industry influence over regulatory agencies and decisions.
|
|
In most cases the Sunset Commission will propose that an agency be terminated or consolidated with another agency.
|
False
|
|
Implementation is the conversion of policy plans into
|
reality.
|
|
How successful has Texas been in curtailing government growth and spending?
|
Except for the 2003 and 2011 budget crises, efforts to slow growth have met with only marginal success as a result of federal mandates and opposition by Texans unwilling to lose services.
|
|
In 2010, Texas ranked forty-eighth among the states in per capita spending by state governments, despite the almost doubling of state spending in the last ten years.
|
True
|
|
Eighty-two percent of state government employees in Texas work in areas of higher education, public safety and corrections, and
|
social services.
|
|
Generally, the ________ broadly defines a program, and the ________ fills in the details of it.
|
legislature; bureaucracy
|
|
To better serve the public, some reformer advocates have pushed for a
|
merit employment system based somewhat on U.S. law.
|