Why does the long ballot weaken the power of citizens to control the bureaucracy?
a. Voters have difficulty making good decisions because there are so many candidates on the ballot.
b. Incumbent officials are often reelected only because voters recognize their names.
c. The framers of the Texas Constitution intended to limit the public's ability to hold government accountable.
d. Voters have difficulty making good decisions because there are so many candidates on the ballot, incumbent officials are often reelected only because voters recognize their names, and the framers of the Texas Constitution intended to limit the public's ability to hold government accountable.
e. Voters have difficulty making good decisions because there are so many candidates on the ballot, and incumbent officials are often reelected only because voters recognize their names.
Q. 2Sunset reviews involve all of these except _____.
a. determining which agencies will be renewed, reorganized, or eliminated
b. examining the performance of state agencies
c. forcing agencies to modify procedures
d. occurring over a twelve-year period
e. appropriating the funding for an agency's budget
Q. 3Which of these factors limits legislative oversight of the bureaucracy?
a. high turnover of legislative committee personnel
b. Texas's short biennial sessions
c. reluctance of legislators to offend interest groups that are connected to the bureaucracy and make campaign donations
d. inadequate staffing
e. all of these
Q. 4Which of these is not an example of legislative oversight?
a. the monitoring of the legislature by the news media
b. budgetary controls
c. investigation of wrongdoing
d. impeachment of officials
e. control through statutes
Q. 5What is a cabinet-style executive branch?
a. a way of organizing the executive branch in which gubernatorial power is severely limited
b. when the executive branch is composed of elected officials who run state agencies
c. where a chief executive heads a cabinet composed of appointed agency directors
d. where power over agencies is shared by the executive and legislative branches
e. an executive branch organizational form in which directors of executive branch agencies are elected
Q. 6You are writing an editorial arguing that Texas should implement a cabinet-style executive branch. Which of these would be your strongest argument?
a. The governor already has enough to do without supervising a cabinet.
b. Smaller departments would get lost in a cabinet system.
c. Most governors want more control over the bureaucracy.
d. A cabinet approach would strengthen the governor's power over agencies and make them more accountable to the public.
e. Other states have a cabinet system.