Federal or National Government
Checks and Balances: How does one branch have power over the other two? Use your Constitution trifold on page 7 of
your spiral to review these powers.
Legislative Branch
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Executive Branch
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Judicial Branch
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Extra Credit:
Texas Senators=
________________________________
_______________________________
Representative from US Legislative
District 25
_______________________________
President=
__________________________________
Vice President=
__________________________________
Chief Justice=
_________________________
On the chart below, make a graph showing the percentage of population for four ethnic groups in Travis County. Include a
title and label the x and y-axes. (Data found in Texas Almanac P. 391)
TITLE:---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
City Government
Use the City of Austin website http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/ to answer :
1. Who is the mayor of Austin?____________________________________
2. How many other council members are there? ___________________________________________
3. Under Administrative Offices, who is the City Manager? ____________________________________
4. What name and describe the new form of city government was created following the 1900 Storm?(T&T, p.
459) _____________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Name and describe two other forms of city government (T&T p. 657) ____________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
State Government
Use the chart on p. 630 of Texas and Texans to complete the chart below.
Legislative Branch
Judicial Branch
Executive Branch
What do they do?
What do they do?
What do they do?
_____________________________ _____________________________ ______________________________
_____________________________ _____________________________ ______________________________
Who are they?
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
Extra Credit:
State Senator from Austin=
_____________________________
State Representatives from Austin=
____________________________
____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
Who are they?
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
Who are they?
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
Extra Credit:
Governor of Texas=
_____________________________
Lt. Governor=
_____________________________
Answer the following questions while viewing the power point presentation on State Government
1. When was our current state constitution adopted? ________________ (also see p. 473 in text)
2. How often does the Legislature meet? _____________________________________________________
3. How much is a state senator or representative paid?__$_____________
“Per diem” means for each day. How much do they get to pay for expenses such as travel, food, and
hotels for each day? $______________
4. If a session lasts 140 days, how much money would a legislator earn per diem? __________________
5. After Reconstruction, which parth controlled state government for over 100 years?
_________________________________
6. Which Party controls the both houses of the Legislature today? ________________________________
7. What makes the Speaker so powerful? (what can he do?)__________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
8. What powers does the Texas Constitution give the Lieutenant Governor that make him more powerful than
the governor?______________________________________________________________________________
County Government
County
Officials
Commissioner
use the chart on page 659 to complete the following:
Job description+ duties
County
Job description+ duties
Officials
_____-commissioners. Make ________,
District clerk Keeps the ____________________ of
direct county ________
the state district _________________
approve ________ and set ____ rates
County Judge
Head of the ______________________court;
Prepares the ________________________;
Serves as a _________________________;
Performs special ______________________
Treasurer
Acts as the county _________________
Sheriff
County’s chief_______ enforcement
officer; along with ________________
Manages the county __________
Tax
Assessor
Collects __________ and ____________
Fees;
Issues automobile __________________
County
Attorney
Legal ________________
Justice of the
Peace
There are _______ to __________
justices who hear minor ___________
and ______________cases
County Clerk
Maintains _______________such as
Constable
__________________________________
__________________________________
Serves ________ papers
“I Am A Bill”
–before you view Schoolhouse Rocks, try to fill in as many answers to the following questions
to see what you already know. Listen without stopping to write. Fill in remaining answers after watching the video.
1. Before Bill was a bill, how did he start out? __________________________________________________________
2. What did folks back home have to do? ________________________________________________________________
3. What happens while Bill is stuck in committee? _________________________________________________________
4. What happens to some bills? ________________________________________________________________________
5. If they vote “yes” where does Bill go? ________________________________________________________________
6. If the Senate votes “yes” , Bill goes to the _____________________________________________________________
7. What else must finally happen for a bill to become a law?_________________________________________________
8. How can a president stop a bill from becoming a law? _________________________________________________
Notes to Teachers:
1. Print pages 1-4
2. Run pages front to back.
3. Staple as a flip folder.
4. This foldable references a tri-fold brochure on the US Constitution that students completed in the first six weeks which
surveyed the Preamble, branches of government and the Bill of Rights. School House Rocks “I Am A Bill” can be
downloaded from iTunes. Create a Power point to provide information on the Texas Legislature or adapt as needed.
Textbook references are based upon the current adoption of Texas and Texans.