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GA GOV EXAM GCSU | BRAND NEW EXAM
QUESTIONS & VERIFIED ANSWERS 2025
What kind of activities do legislators engage in as part of their overall responsibility to "represent and serve" their constituents? - correct-answer- making speeches at various clubs and gatherings, contacting state agencies to resolve problems or claims that constituents may have, providing information and interviews to the news media and to interest groups, answering letters and phone calls from citizens complainin Why do most state legislators have other full-time jobs? - correct-answer- because it's not a year round job; and salary is very low Why did the Georgia Senate change from having their legislative districts represent counties? What are senate district lines based on now? - correct- answer- until the 1960s, many state legislatures were based on the logic that the upper chambers representing counties and their lower chambers representing people. The U.S. supreme court eventually declared such arrangements on the state level to be unconstitutional. The basis of representation in both chambers is population. within each chamber, all districts must have equal populations or "one man, one vote." accordingly, after each census, the district lines have to be redrawn in order to reflect population growth and decline.
What does it mean that Georgia has a bicameral legislature? Which chamber is often called the "upper house" and which the "lower house"? How long is the term of office for an elected member of the House or Senate? - correct-answer- the general assembly has 2 legislative chambers; upper: senate lower: house of representatives; both have two year terms In what ways is the composition of the General Assembly not representative of the broader public? - correct-answer- Legislative leadership posts - correct-answer- - Speaker of house is still most important in house
- Lieutenant governor is most important in senate [similar to VP but is much more involved and has a lot more power (elected by the people, answers to people not governor)]
- House Speaker of Pro Temp and Senate President Pro Temp
- Majority/minority leaders/whips
- Administration Floor Leader in house and senate (represents governor) What major role do standing subject committees play? Why are some bills "shelved" when sent to standing committees? - correct-answer- 1) nearly all such bills are either basically flawed, and underserving of serious attention, or are so controversial that compromise is impossible at least in the short run.
passive and must wait for problems to come to them; access to the courts is restricted to certain types of problems (justiciable cases) handled by people with specialized training; they dont want to appear biased How did the 1983 Constitution change the structure of the Georgia judiciary? - correct-answer- it decreased the size by half 7 types of courts in the Georgia judicial system - correct-answer- supreme court, court of appeals, superior courts, state courts, juvenile courts, probate courts, and magistrate courts Uniform Jurisdiction? - correct-answer- throughout the state, courts of the same class hear the same type of cases; all 7 have it except probate courts Which court establishes uniform rules of practice and procedure for all others? - correct-answer- supreme court Which types of judges are selected in non-partisan elections and which types are selected in partisan elections (what does this mean?) - correct-answer- non- partisan elections are elections where candidates will not be listed on the ballot as democrats or republicans
Different types of jurisdiction (appellate vs. general trial vs. limited trial) and which type of court has each - correct-answer- 1 appellate jurisdiction- they hear cases which were previously tried by other courts 2 general trial jurisdiction- most criminal and civil cases 3 limited trial jurisdiction- specified cases supreme court and court of appeals:
- how many judges are on each?
- how are the judges selected? how long are their terms?
- when are the cases sent immediately from trial court to the supreme court?
- which court is the "court of last resort" for interpreting the Georgia constitution?
- what kind of administrative supervision does the supreme court exercise? - correct-answer- 1) there are 7, however the constitution allows, but does not require, 9.
- chosen through statewide non-partisan elections for 6 - year terms
- those involving interpreting of the federal or state constitution or capital crimes (punishable by death)
- supreme court
- the state's legal system
- have duties such as hearing cases involving minor civil disputes and county ordinance and issuing search and arrest warrants, peace bonds, and summons
- larger cities often have these courts that hear to traffic offensives and violation of city ordinances What all is entailed by saying that the local governments are "creatures of the state"? - correct-answer- the state government creates them, retains sovereignty over them, and can change or abolish them Comparative sizes of the federal and state workforces, as well as which includes more elected officials - correct-answer- State workforce is much larger than the federal (3 mil/13 mil); state has much more elected officials (537/500,000) What areas of public policy do the states take most of the responsibility for? - correct-answer- public education, highway network, law enforcement, public health, welfare, recreational services How similar are the different state governmental systems to one another? - correct-answer- no two state governments are exactly alike
Principles and beliefs associated with Constitutionalism - correct-answer- Gov created by the people for certain limited purposes; lays out powers and establishes institutions; the constitution itself should be easily changed Age of current Constitution - correct-answer- went into affect in 1983 Number of constitutions Georgia has had since 1777 - correct-answer- 10 Length of the last two Georgia constitutions - correct-answer- 1977 (over 500, words); 1982 (~25,000 words) Prevailing constitutional doctrine in Georgia vs nationally - correct-answer- the state govt can only do something if the constitution allows it to do something, fed govt can do anything unless the constitution says it can't (makes the state constitution longer, need for more amendments to act) Special amendments vs. general amendments - correct-answer- special amendments (not allowed) apply to only one section of the state, general amendments apply to the state as a whole
In theory, who is the most important and powerful individual in the Georgia political system? In practice? - correct-answer- Governor How can the Georgia governor be removed before his term is up? How many times has this happened? - correct-answer- impeachment; never Eligibility requirements to run for Georgia governor - correct-answer- must be 30, have to be a US citizen for 15 years and a state citizen for 6 years General characteristics of most past governors of Georgia - correct-answer- White; male Different roles the Georgia governor plays - correct-answer- - head of state (ceremonial)
- head of government
- commander in chief
- Chief executive
- "management by exception"
Ways the Georgia governor has more or less power than the President - correct- answer- Fiscal Authority
- Office of Planning and Budget (OPB)
- most significant Legislative Authority
- line-item veto (governor can take of particular lines that he doesn't like on spending/ appropriation bills) Policy-making boards and why it is hard for the Governor to control them - correct-answer- (5- 7 yr terms) which are usually appointed by governor (except: depart of transportation) "Management by exception" - correct-answer- governor makes very few decisions directly; governor is only involved in resolving borderline/controversial cases In what different ways are the heads of executive departments selected in Georgia? - correct-answer- chosen through election How did Jimmy Carter reorganize the state executive agencies? What was the result of this reorganization? - correct-answer- Jimmy Carter was able to reduce the number of executive agencies from 300 departments to 22 departments; the reorganization did make the executive branch simpler in structure, more easily
- after a bill's passage by the legislature, the governor must make his veto decision within 6 days if the legislature is still in session, or 40 days is the legislature is adjourned. How can the legislature override the governor's veto? - correct-answer- 2/ majority of both legislative chambers is required; no veto has been over-ridden in GA in nearly 30 years Governor's ability to call special legislative sessions and when this might be used - correct-answer- a meeting called by the governor for the legislature only for issues he has designated; whenever GA re-draws its state legislative and congressional district lines, which it must do after every census, it occurs during a special session Term limits for the Governor and other constraints on the ability of the Governor to exercise formal leadership powers - correct-answer- in 1944 that the governor's term of office was extended from 2 - 4 years and in 1976 a governor could serve 2 consecutive 4 - year terms. governors are still prohibited from serving a third consecutive term What different roles will the Governor usually play in his/her party? - correct- answer- as the most prominent elected official in the state, governors automatically become the formal leader of their political party
How many members comprise the Georgia General Assembly? - correct-answer- House: min of 180 Senate: max of 56 Total: 236 Growth in the number of bills considered and passed by the General Assembly - correct-answer- the number of bills introduced increased by about 80% between 1970 and 2000, from 1000 to almost 1800; the number passed increased also, but at a slower rate from 600 to 700 What are special bills? Approximately what percentage of total bills passed are special bills? - correct-answer- bills that affect only particular cities and counties and not the state as a whole; 50% Different ways the General Assembly exercises "oversight" over executive agencies. Which branch confirms most of the governor's appointments? - correct- answer- Senate confirms governor's appointments What is Dillon's Rule? - correct-answer- local governments can only perform those duties that have been delegated to them by the states
What is city-county "consolidation"? - correct-answer- What, in terms of expenditures, is the largest form of local government in Georgia? - correct-answer- school districts What are special districts? What kind of services do they provide? - correct- answer- 1 government formed by other governments, typically cities and counties, to carry out a specific service 2 established to carry out single services such as water, sewer, recreation, and transportation Who oversees all elections within the State of Georgia? Who administers elections? - correct-answer- 1) secretary of state
- each individual county is responsible for administering its own elections. that means on election day, there are 159 elections just in the state of Georgia alone How do Georgia's voter identification requirements compare with those of other states? - correct-answer- Georgia has some of the toughest identification requirements in the nation.
What was the "County-Unit System"? Why is it not in force anymore? - correct- answer- each county is given a number of votes based on its population density. the 8 counties that are classified as "urban" each receive 6 votes, the 30 "town" counties each receive 4 votes, and the 121 "rural" counties each receive 2 votes. What is "pre-clearance"? - correct-answer- section 5 of the civil rights act of 1965 required states with a history of racial discrimination in elections to gain approval for any changes in the election system form the united states department of justice civil rights division. any changes that would have an effect on election administration, including polling place location, district boundaries, or balloting requirements, was required to be submitted for approval. What is the role of the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission? - correct-answer- an effort to promote transparency in the election process, as well as enforce statutory campaign limitations. the commission must also enforce reporting and disclosure requirements for current elected officials, lobbyists, and non-campaign political committees. How does voter turnout in Georgia typically compare with national averages? How did it compare in 2008? - correct-answer- typically, voter turnout remains very close to the national average. in the 2008 presidential election, the turnout in Georgia even exceeded the national turnout rate
