Chapter 7: Other Governments

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. California ranks ______ that contain(s) the highest number of governmental entities in the United States.

A. as the #1 state

B. among the top five states

C. among the top 25 states

D. among the bottom five states

Answer Location: Introduction

2. California is divided into ______.

A. 12 very large counties, equal in geographic size and population

B. 20 counties, all of which are approximately equal in population

C. 32 counties, whose boundaries were redrawn in 1974 to account for shifting populations

D. 58 counties, most of which were created in 1879

Answer Location: County Government

3. An unincorporated area is land governed by a ______.

A. county board of supervisors

B. town or city council

C. special district only

D. regional government only

Answer Location: County Government

4. The two types of cities and counties in California are ______ and ______.

A. charter; general law

B. county; townships

C. unincorporated; incorporated

D. dependent; independent

Answer Location: County Government | Municipal Governments

5. Suppose you live in an unincorporated area of the state. Who would be your local government representative?

A. a city council member

B. the city manager

C. local agency formation commission member

D. a county supervisor on the board of supervisors

Answer Location: County Government

6. Which of the following powers do county boards of supervisors possess?

A. legislative

B. executive

C. quasi-judicial

D. any of these

Answer Location: County Government

7. What type of political body governs a county?

A. county council appointed by the governor

B. board of supervisors

C. professional county managers with different area specialties

D. a council-manager system

Answer Location: County Government

8. Counties supply services for which of these public policy areas?

A. public safety, public assistance, public health

B. education, transit, vital records

C. elections and voting, environment and recreation

D. any of these

Answer Location: County Government

9. What is the largest county (by population) in California?

A. San Diego

B. Los Angeles

C. San Francisco

D. San Bernardino

Answer Location: County Government | Map 7.1 California, 2017 Population by County

10. The largest source of county revenue is ______.

A. sales taxes

B. licenses, fines, and permitting fees

C. rents and leases

D. the state

Answer Location: County Government | Figure 7.1 County Revenues and Expenses, 2014–5

11. Other than the state, which provides about one-third of county revenues, the largest single source of county revenues is ______.

A. charges for services

B. federal grants

C. property taxes

D. licenses and permits

Answer Location: County Government | Figure 7.1 County Revenues and Expenses, 2014–5

12. How do counties usually pay for the public services that they provide?

A. The state fully funds all required operations.

B. Sales taxes and fees charged to users of services.

C. income taxes

D. cities

Answer Location: County Government | Figure 7.1 County Revenues and Expenses, 2014–5

13. Do counties receive federal funds?

A. yes

B. no

Answer Location: County Government | Figure 7.1 County Revenues and Expenses, 2014–5

14. What are the two largest categories of county expenditures?

A. public ways and facilities

B. recreation and cultural services

C. public assistance and public protection

D. education and health

Answer Location: County Government | Figure 7.1 County Revenues and Expenses, 2014–5

15. “Municipality” refers to a ______.

A. county

B. region

C. city

D. any government below the state level

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

16. Suppose you live in an incorporated city or small town. Who would be your local government representative?

A. a city council member

B. the city manager

C. local agency formation commission member

D. a county supervisor on the board of supervisors

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

17. Of 482 incorporated cities in California, about ______ of them operate under general law.

A. 10%

B. 25%

C. 50%

D. 75%

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

18. A city that forms its own constitution and grants local government supreme authority over municipal affairs is considered a ______.

A. charter city that operates under the principle of home rule

B. general law city

C. special district

D. constitutional law city

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

19. Most cities in California, about 70%, have a five-person city council that hires a professional ______ to oversee the city’s budget and manage municipal operations.

A. supervisor

B. mayor

C. city manager

D. alderman

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

20. The average city employee in California earns about ______ annually.

A. $15,000

B. $30,000

C. $65,000

D. $120,000

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

21. All city and county governments must provide advance notice of all meetings, hold meetings open to all visitors, and publicly disclose the proceedings of all meetings--as required by which state law?

A. the Ralph M. Brown Act

B. the General Law Act

C. the Fair Political Practices Act

D. Proposition 13

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

22. The largest single source of city revenues is ______.

A. fines and forfeitures

B. bonds

C. property taxes

D. charges for services

Answer Location: Municipal Governments | Figure 7.2 City Revenues and Expenses, 2015

23. Generally speaking, what is the largest category of city expenditures?

A. public safety

B. transportation

C. public utilities

D. general government expenses

Answer Location: Municipal Governments | Figure 7.2 City Revenues and Expenses, 2015

24. ______ fees are charges passed to homeowners by builders who are responsible for funding new infrastructure such as sewers, street lighting, and school construction.

A. Mello-Roos

B. Charter

C. Redevelopment

D. Brown Act

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

25. Another word for a law passed by a city council is ______.

A. initiative

B. administrative mandate

C. proviso

D. ordinance

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

26. A city that does not provide its own services but instead enters into an agreement with a neighboring city, private firms, or county to provide essential services is known as ______.

A. an independent municipality

B. a contract city

C. an unincorporated city

D. a furlough town

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

27. To help plan and set policy with respect to many aspects of city life, from recreation to identifying transportation needs, council members often rely on appointed ______ to assist them with making policy recommendations.

A. local agency formation commissions

B. receivers

C. boards and commissions

D. business leaders

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

28. The (Ralph M.) Brown Act ensures that public meetings will be ______.

A. either held open or kept closed at the discretion of the city council

B. open to the public, but there is no requirement that the time and place be advertised

C. open to anyone, with advance notice of the meetings, and disclosure of the proceedings

D. cancelled if at least 10 members of the public do not show up

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

29. If a group of people living in an unincorporated area want to form a city, to which government entity must they appeal?

A. the state legislature

B. the secretary of state

C. a local agency formation commission (LAFCO)

D. the county board of supervisors

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

30. How do local governments typically finance large construction projects, such as retrofitting hospitals to be safe in earthquakes, fixing aging community facilities, or expanding schools?

A. by getting jumbo loans from a bank

B. by selling bonds that must be paid back with interest

C. by raising taxes to pay for each project

D. by contracting with developers and then charging fees to users of the facilities

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

31. Which of these categories of expenditures is among the most expensive for both counties and cities?

A. parks and recreation

B. education

C. road maintenance and transportation

D. public protection

Answer Location: County Government | Municipal Governments | Figure 7.1 County Revenues and Expenses, 2014–5 | Figure 7.2 City Revenues and Expenses, 2015

32. Which of these is not a special district?

A. vector control

B. local agency formation commission

C. redevelopment agencies

D. water districts

Answer Location: Special Districts | Municipal Governments

33. If about 70% of the money K-12 schools receive comes from the state’s general fund budget, from where does the rest come?

A. almost solely from the federal government, through the Department of Education

B. mostly from the federal government, property taxes, and local school bonds

C. exclusive contracts with private companies and vendors

D. mostly private donations to school foundations

Answer Location: School Districts

34. School districts are governed by ______.

A. city councils

B. county boards of supervisors

C. five-member boards of education

D. the state superintendent of public instruction

Answer Location: School Districts

35. Proposition 98 guarantees a minimum funding level for state education; every year, approximately ______ of the state budget is spent on K-14 education.

A. 5%

B. 10%

C. 25%

D. 40%

Answer Location: School Districts

36. About ______ special districts exist in California, and ______ of them operate independently of counties or cities, with their own elected boards of governors.

A. 500; half

B. 1,000; half

C. 4,700; two-thirds

D. 5,000; none

Answer Location: Special Districts

37. How are most special districts funded?

A. by the state

B. through special assessments (fees levied) on property owners

C. income taxes

D. sales taxes levied by counties

Answer Location: Special Districts

38. What is true about regional planning for issues that affect millions of people living in large areas that encompass many cities and several counties?

A. There’s really no way to plan for any large-scale infrastructure projects, so it doesn’t happen.

B. The governor is in charge of coordinating regional planning because he heads the administrative branch, in which the relevant state planning agencies operate.

C. Councils of government (COGs such as SANBAG) bring together local elected officials to plan for transportation, housing, water availability, and other types of large-scale, long-term projects.

D. All planning for regions, or large areas covering the state, must be dealt with by the legislature.

Answer Location: Regional Governments

39. A regional governmental organization that provides a forum for local city and county leaders to plan for future, common needs such as transportation, housing, and water is called a ______.

A. special district

B. council of government (COG)

C. federal agency

D. LAFCO

Answer Location: Regional Governments

40. The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) is an example of a ______.

A. school district

B. special district

C. council of government (COG)

D. local agency formation commission

Answer Location: Regional Governments

41. AB 32 has gained much attention for being the world’s first law establishing ______.

A. state-run sustainable salmon fisheries

B. immigrant rights

C. regulations on a cap-and-trade system to curb greenhouse gas emissions

D. a tax on fatty foods

Answer Location: Box 7.2 California’s Landmark Climate Change Law: AB 32

42. Which piece of legislation makes California the first government to establish a combination of regulations and market mechanisms to curb greenhouse gas emissions?

A. AB 32

B. the Ralph M. Brown Act

C. Proposition 98

D. the 2010 Budget Act

Answer Location: Box 7.2 California’s Landmark Climate Change Law: AB 32

43. Congress wrote what law (in 1988) that restricts the scope of tribal gaming and defers regulatory authority over tribal gaming to the states?

A. the Brown Act

B. the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA)

C. the Indian Civil Rights Act

D. Proposition 5

Answer Location: Tribal Governments

44. How many federally recognized Native American tribes are there in California?

A. 10

B. 50

C. 110

D. 1,000

Answer Location: Tribal Governments

45. California’s Native American tribes are considered sovereign entities; in California they are governed by ______.

A. their own tribal councils; each tribe has its own council

B. councils that retain executive, legislative, and judicial powers

C. one “super-council” that governs all tribes

D. California state government and the federal government

Answer Location: Tribal Governments

46. The idea that the states and the federal government share authority for governing citizens is ______.

A. separation of powers

B. joint powers authority

C. federalism

D. collaborative government

Answer Location: Federalism

47. What does the federal government help the state of California pay for?

A. nothing

B. medical care, education, low-income housing, transportation, and more

C. 100% of the cost to house prison inmates who are undocumented immigrants

D. regional governments because they coordinate policy that involves the federal government

Answer Location: Federalism

48. What are parcel taxes?

A. taxes on packages that are sent between residents within a county

B. special commercial-only property taxes that are not subject to Prop 13 limitations

C. a voter-approved tax based on a property’s square footage or other characteristic, used to cover infrastructure projects

D. paycheck taxes now being raised to cover unfunded liabilities for state employees

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

49. Which of these is a convenient instrument for enticing states to comply with the wishes of Congress?

A. grants of federal funds

B. unfunded mandates

C. Mello-Roos fees

D. none of these

Answer Location: Federalism

True/False

1. Compared to other states, California has very few governmental entities at the state and local levels combined.

Answer Location: Introduction

2. Regular trash pickup, cemeteries, bus routes, sewage treatment, street lighting are the types of services either provided by or directly managed by state government.

Answer Location: Introduction | Special Districts

3. The number of counties in California changes about every 20 years to accommodate population change.

Answer Location: County Government

4. Counties rely heavily on property taxes to fund their operations.

Answer Location: County Government | Figure 7.1 County Revenues and Expenses, 2014–5

5. On average, about one-third of county expenses are devoted to public protection–related services.

Answer Location: County Government | Figure 7.1 County Revenues and Expenses, 2014–5

6. Unlike the state legislature, county boards of supervisors have legislative, executive, and quasi-judicial powers, with the authority to create, pass, and implement local laws, as well as hear decision-making appeals (such as disputed land use decisions, e.g.).

Answer Location: County Government

7. Counties are subdivisions of the state that exist to fulfill state government programs and mandates.

Answer Location: County Government

8. Counties typically do not have their own public safety and protection forces; they rely on cities to supply police, fire, and emergency services.

Answer Location: County Government | Figure 7.1 County Revenues and Expenses, 2014–5

9. Cities provide essential public services that may overlap or supplement the services that counties provide.

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

10. Cities cannot declare bankruptcy, no matter how dire their finances become.

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

11. City council and county board of supervisors elections are nonpartisan, meaning that candidates’ party affiliation does not appear next to their names on the election ballot.

Answer Location: Municipal Governments | County Government

12. Unlike the state legislature, city councils have legislative and executive powers, with the authority to create, pass, and implement local laws.

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

13. Elected officials who serve on some city councils and county boards of supervisors face term limits, because there is no state law regarding term limits for local officials.

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

14. If a city has a strong mayor form of government, then there is no need to hire a city manager.

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

15. School board members are elected in highly partisan elections; they tend to be hotly contested between Democrats and Republicans.

Answer Location: School Districts

16. The state lottery provides a tiny fraction (about 1.5%) of public schools’ funding.

Answer Location: School Districts

17. State lottery funds contribute a large portion of most school districts’ annual budget.

Answer Location: School Districts

18. Charter schools are public schools that operate independently of a school district, and are free to all students.

Answer Location: School Districts

19. Charter schools are private schools that operate on public property.

Answer Location: School Districts

20. All told, annual federal expenditures of all types--to individuals, institutions, and governments--in California exceed an estimated $375 billion.

Answer Location: Federalism

21. More than half of the state’s slot machines are in tribal-run casinos located in three Southern California counties (San Diego, San Bernardino, and Riverside).

Answer Location: Tribal Governments

22. Tribal gaming has almost eliminated poverty among Native Americans in California.

Answer Location: Tribal Governments

23. Nationwide, particularly in California, donations by tribes to political campaigns have favored Democrats.

Answer Location: Tribal Governments

24. Gaming compacts that are negotiated between Native American tribes and the governor are typically subject to statewide voter referenda, and sometimes they are rejected by voters.

Answer Location: Tribal Governments

25. Legally, Native American tribes must pay in full for the costs on local governments that their gaming enterprises may impose, such as wear and tear on roads, added police protection and traffic controls, air pollution, or waste disposal.

Answer Location: Tribal Governments

26. No state can collect taxes from tribal nations.

Answer Location: Tribal Governments

27. If any tribal gaming revenue is to be used to cover local infrastructure needs, the amounts must be negotiated by the tribe and local governments and voluntarily agreed upon--not unilaterally imposed by local or state government.

Answer Location: Tribal Governments

28. California’s Native American Indian Tribes are sovereign entities and governed internally, but they are subject to federal law.

Answer Location: Tribal Governments | Figure 7.4 Tribes Are Recognized Sovereigns

Short Answer

1. The only California city that is also a county is ______.

Answer Location: County Government

2. Cities often borrow money by issuing ______ that must first be approved by local voters.

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

Essay

1. Why is there an abundance of subgovernmental entities (such as special districts) in California?

Answer Location: Introduction

2. What are counties and for what purposes do they exist?

Answer Location: County Government

3. Name at least three types of county elected officials.

Answer Location: County Government

4. List the categories of basic public services that counties provide.

Answer Location: County Government

5. List at least five types of public services that the state requires counties to provide.

Answer Location: County Government

6. How do counties finance their operations?

Answer Location: County Government | Figure 7.1 County Revenues and Expenses, 2014–5

7. What sources of revenue have replaced the property taxes that cities used to depend on to finance their operations, such as providing public services?

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

8. Explain what is meant by the “California Rule” with respect to public employee retirement benefits.

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

9. Explain what the “fiscalization of land use” means with respect to city government.

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

10. What are Mello-Roos fees?

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

11. What is a special district?

Answer Location: Special Districts

12. What is a charter school?

Answer Location: School Districts

13. Explain the purposes and functions of a regional government.

Answer Location: Regional Governments

14. How does the U.S. Congress entice the state government to follow its rules, even with regard to issues over which the states have sole jurisdiction?

Answer Location: Federalism

15. What kinds of governments below the state level provide essential services to residents of California? Describe the kinds of services they provide.

Answer Location: County Government | Municipal Governments | Special Districts | School Districts

16. Why are an increasing number of cities laying off public employees and turning to other entities (private firms, other cities or counties) to provide essential services?

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

17. What is a “strong mayor” form of government?

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

18. What is the difference between a charter city and a general law city?

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

19. Provide a few examples of a special district.

Answer Location: Special Districts

20. Why have several cities in California declared bankruptcy or are on the verge of doing so?

Answer Location: Municipal Governments

21. What does the term “nonpartisan election” mean, and which elected positions in California are nonpartisan?

Answer Location: Municipal Governments | County Government

22. What is California’s “cap-and-trade” system and what is its purpose?

Answer Location: Box 7.2 California’s Landmark Climate Change Law: AB 32

23. What are the main types of federal dollars that flow to California?

Answer Location: Federalism

24. How does the state of California collect money from tribal governments that run gaming enterprises?

Answer Location: Tribal Governments

25. In terms of public policy, what are the costs and benefits of tribal gaming enterprises?

Answer Location: Tribal Governments