U.S. Government Practice Test: State and Local Government
- State and Local Government
- 10 questions
- 12 minutes
These 10 questions look at government closer to home: states, counties, cities and special districts. Details vary from state to state, so the questions focus on features that are common across the country.
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Question 1
Who is the chief executive of a state government?
Correct answer: B
The governor heads the state's executive branch, much as the President heads the national one. The lieutenant governor usually takes over if the governor leaves office.
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Question 2
Which state has a unicameral (one-chamber) legislature?
Correct answer: C
Nebraska has had a single-chamber, officially nonpartisan legislature since 1937. The other 49 states have two chambers, like Congress.
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Question 3
In some states, citizens can gather enough signatures on a petition to place a proposed law on the ballot for voters to decide. What is this process called?
Correct answer: A
An initiative lets citizens propose laws or constitutional amendments directly. A recall is a vote on whether to remove an official from office.
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Question 4
Voters in a state sign petitions and then vote to remove a governor from office before the term ends. What is this process called?
Correct answer: D
A recall election lets voters remove an elected official early; it is available in some states but not all. A referendum is a popular vote on a law or measure, not on an official.
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Question 5
In Louisiana, the local units of government that most states call counties are called:
Correct answer: B
Louisiana's 64 parishes are the equivalent of counties, a name that dates from its French and Spanish colonial past. Alaska uses boroughs for its county-level units.
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Question 6
A state allows a city to write its own charter and manage local matters without asking the legislature each time. What is this arrangement called?
Correct answer: D
Home rule gives a local government broad power to govern its own affairs. Dillon's Rule is the opposite approach: local governments have only the powers the state clearly grants them.
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Question 7
In the council-manager form of city government, who runs the city's day-to-day operations?
Correct answer: A
In the council-manager system, the elected council sets policy and hires a trained manager to run city departments. In the strong mayor-council system, an elected mayor runs the city.
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Question 8
Which tax is the largest source of revenue that most local governments raise themselves and often pays for public schools?
Correct answer: C
Local governments rely heavily on property taxes on land and buildings, and much of that money funds school districts. Tariffs are federal taxes on imports.
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Question 9
A local unit of government created for one purpose only, such as running a water system or a fire service, is called a:
Correct answer: C
Special districts provide a single service across an area that may cross city or county lines; school districts are the most familiar kind. Counties and municipalities provide many services.
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Question 10
Most governors can reject individual spending items in a budget bill while signing the rest, a power the President does not have. What is this power called?
Correct answer: A
A large majority of governors have a line-item veto over appropriations. Congress gave the President a similar power in 1996, but the Supreme Court struck it down in 1998.
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