POLS 207 Exam 1 - Jason Smith Exam 1 Review PDF

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Jason Smith
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State and Local Government Review Sheet – Exam 1

1. Know which level of government is responsible for which different policies ➢ Federal: ○ National government is the only level that can make foreign treaties and declare war. Cannot, however, manage local police forces. ○ Regulate business between states and other countries ○ Immigration and customs ○ Make treaties ○ Declare war ○ Coin money ○ Establish post offices ○ Tax imports & exports ○ Admit new states ➢ State: ○ Must ratify amendments to the national constitution by a ¾ vote ○ Conduct public elections ○ Establish local governments ○ Intrastate commerce ○ Provide public health, safety, and morals ○ Determine voter qualifications ○ Responsible for police ○ Education ○ Transportation ○ Spending ○ Taxation ➢ Local: ○ Create “sense of community” ○ Provide services ○ Manage conflict ○ Fund education ➢ State and local governments are responsible for policies concerning healthcare, health and welfare (biggest 2), transportation, public safety, civil rights, physical environment, and taxation ➢ Executive: enforces law ➢ Legislative: makes law ➢ Judicial: interprets law 2. What is policy conservatism?

➢ A state’s tendency to limit welfare benefits, deregulate business, keep taxes low, and generally place less reliance on government and more reliance on individuals and the marketplace to achieve social goals; AL, WY, UT ○ Limit/less welfare ○ No business regulation ○ Lower/less taxes ○ Less government 3. What is policy liberalism? ➢ A state’s tendency to expand welfare benefits, regulate business, adopt progressive state income taxes, and generally use the resources of government to achieve social change; Mass, OR, CT, Delaware ○ Expand/more welfare ○ Regulate business ○ More government ○ Progressive state income tax ○ They subscribe to more political culture 4. From where do state and local governments derive their revenue? ➢ Property taxes (majority for local) ➢ Gross sales tax (majority for states) ➢ Mostly from the federal government ➢ Selective sales tax or excise taxes ➢ State income tax (not in TX) ➢ Individual income taxes (next) ➢ Lottery and gambling revenue ➢ Corporate income taxes (TX doesn’t have) ➢ Vehicle registration fees (very small percent) ➢ User charges (fastest growing) 5. Know the different types of government systems ➢ Federalism: power is divided among central government and states ○ What we have in the US ○ Power is divided between national and subnational ○ Both exercise separate and autonomous (self-governing) authority ■ Both elect their own officials ■ Both tax their own citizens for the provision of public services ○ In between unitary and confederation ➢ Unitary: a single government ○ British government ○ No power at the state level ○ All derived powers from one central authority

○ Constitutional arrangement whereby authority rests w/ national govt ○ Subnational governments have only those powers given to them by the national government ➢ Confederation: all power rests with the states ○ Constitutional arrangement whereby the national government is created by and relies on subnational governments for its authority ○ A regional unit has the power to appoint to others ■ No government has this, but United Nations is closest to it ○ Vast majority of political power rests with the local governments ○ The central federal government has very little power 6. Why are state called “laboratories of democracy?” ➢ Sometimes, laws will be tested on a state level prior to becoming a national law ○ If the law is being tested in a state and it succeeds, lawmakers can use that as evidence that they think it will work on a national scale as well ➢ States can more easily implement new policies than the national government ➢ States are guinea pigs for the national government; not as large of a risk ➢ States are able to experiment and innovate in public policy 7. What is nullification? ➢ Nullification is the legal theory that the states have the right to invalidate a federal law that is deemed unconstitutional by the state ○ Has never been legally upheld by federal court because federal government will always win ➢ Nullification is the thought process that states can and must refuse to enforce unconstitutional national laws 8. What are enumerated or delegated powers? ➢ Enumerated (or delegated) powers are specifically mentioned in the Constitution as belonging to the national government- Article I, Section 8 ➢ Powers explicitly given to the federal government (Congress) in Constitution ➢ Provides the power to “make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this constitution in the government of the US or in any department or officer.” ➢ These are listed and specific ○ These powers include authority over matters of war and foreign affairs ○ Declare war, raise armies, equip navies, establish rules for the military ○ Coin money, control the money’s value, to tax ○ Regulate foreign and interstate commerce ○ Establish its own court system

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Decide cases arising under the constitution Decide cases arising laws and treaties of the US Decide cases involving certain parties Grant copyrights and patents Establish post offices, enact bankruptcy laws Punish counterfeiters, punish crimes committed at sea Govern the Washington DC area

9. What are implied powers? ➢ Powers not specifically mentioned in the US Constitution as belonging to Congress, but inferred as necessary and proper for carrying out the enumerated powers; Article 1 Section 18 “Necessary and Proper Clause” ○ Established by McCulloch v Maryland 10. Know the 10th Amendment ➢ States that any powers not explicitly given to the national government, as long as they are not prohibited by Constitution, are given to the States/the people ○ These are known as reserved powers 11. Know the following cases: a. Marbury v. Madison (1803) ➢ The Supreme Court declared a law unconstitutional for the first time ➢ Thomas Jefferson refused to recognize the appointment of Marbury ➢ The normal practice of making such appointments was to deliver a “commision” or notice of appointment. This was normally done by the Secretary of the State; Jefferson’s at the time was James Madison ➢ At the direction of Jefferson, Madison refused to deliver Marbury’s commision and so Marbury sued Madison, and the SC took the case ➢ Chief Justice John Marshall wrote that the Judiciary Act of 1789, which spelled out the practice of delivering such commissions for judges and justices of the peace, was unconstitutional because it gave the Supreme Court authority that was denied by Article III ○ Set up judicial review: if there is a distinction between the law passed by Congress and the Constitution, the Supreme Court has to side with the Constitution; up to judge’s interpretation ○ Expanded the authority of the Supreme Court ○ Involved Marbury who did not receive the commission that he was supposed to receive from Madison b. McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) ➢ At this time, the United States had a federal bank (the Bank of the US) ➢ The state of Maryland voted to tax all bank businesses not done with

state banks. This was meant to be a tax on people who lived in Maryland but who did business with banks in other states. ➢ However, Maryland also sought to tax the federal bank ➢ Andrew McCulloch refused to pay the tax. The State of Maryland sued, and the Supreme Court accepted the case. Chief Justice John Marshall wrote that the federal government did indeed have the right & power to set up a federal bank. He also wrote that a state did not have the power to tax the federal government; “the right to tax is the right to destroy.” ➢ He wrote that states should not have that power over the federal govt ○ Solidified the idea of preemption & implied powers of Congress ○ Expanded the implied powers of the national government ○ Fought over whether or not Maryland could tax the national bank branch in that state; Supremacy Clause 12. Why are federal grants-in-aid important? ➢ Federal grants-in-aid are payments of funds from the national government to state or local governments (higher government down to lower government) ➢ It is the cornerstone of the relationship between national & state governments ➢ Single most important source of revenue over state & local activity ➢ These grants are important because they provide much needed funds to the states and local governments. These funds are not mandatory and can, in fact, be turned down- participation is not mandatory. However, state and local governments do need these funds. But if states feel that they are being bribed or blackmailed by money (unfair conditions), they can refuse the money ○ Most grants-in-aid is health and human services ○ Categorical grants: money with strings attached, must be spent on certain things, purposes or projects (ex: food stamps) ○ Block grants: money without strings attached, allowed flexibility 13. What are mandates? ➢ Federal government orders state and local government to provide particular services or perform particular services ➢ Refers to federal-state relations; direct command from the national government to a state to provide particular services ➢ This “requirement” of states to enforce the laws/provide certain services is achieved by threatening legal action or removal of funds ○ Ex: the “No Child Left Behind” was signed into law by President George W Bush. States compliance was required in this case. However, if a state chose not to comply for one reason or another, the federal government threatened to take away all or some of their federal education funding.

○ Ex: Making the federal drinking age 21. Congress passed a law in 1984 requiring all states to raise their legal drinking age to 21 by 1986 or else they would lose 10% of their federal highway funds. ➢ Funded mandates: federal government tells states what to do, but pays for it; states don’t mind it as much because they don’t have to pay ➢ Underfunded mandates: federal government tells state what to do and only provides some of the money for it; pays portion of cost to do service ➢ Unfunded mandates: mandates imposed on state and local governments that are costly and no money is given to pay for them; forces compliance ○ Ex: clean air and water act 1990 - gives EPA 14. What is preemption? ➢ The displacement of state law by federal law ➢ Federal law trumps state law when laws conflict ➢ Invalidation of state law that conflicts with federal law ➢ In federal-state relations, the federal government’s assumption of regulatory powers in a particular field to the partial or full exclusion of state powers ➢ Total preemption: no state laws can be made on the subject ➢ Partial preemption: can have state laws but cannot conflict w the federal law 15. Know what state constitutions usually consist of (Bill Rights/detailed policies) ➢ Bill of Rights ○ Asserts basic freedom of speech, press, religion and assembly ○ Separation of powers: legislative, judicial, executive ■ Emphasizes legislative power over executive power ■ Legislative powers: all except Nebraska are bicameral ○ Weak governors: very divided, multitudes of board/commissions ➢ Local government are subdivisions of state government ○ Taxation/finance: severe limitations ○ Debt limitations: states must have a balanced budget ○ Interest group regelation ○ Describe organization of ■ Counties, cities, towns ■ Townships, boroughs ■ School districts, special districts ■ Most become ponderous tomes (books) that look more like law books than Constitutions ○ Lots of policies ○ They micromanage ○ More strict than the national Constitution ➢ All state constitutions reflect the American political tradition of separation of powers with separate legislative, executive, and judicial articles

➢ General outline of a state constitution: ○ Preamble, protection of rights, suffrage and elections, organs of government (explaining jobs of secretary of state, attorney general, etc), local government, taxation and debt, powers of government, and instructions on revising/amending the document 16. What is constitutionalism? ➢ The idea that the powers of government should be limited by a Constitution ➢ A government of laws, not people, operating on limited government ○ Government officials should be restrained in their exercise of power over individuals; government itself is restrained by a higher law 17. Why are state constitutions long? ➢ State constitutions are generally longer than the US Constitution ➢ This is the result of a few different things: ○ State constitutions are easier to amend. Because of this state constitutions are amended and added on to fairly often. ○ They have many amendments dealing with specific policies ○ They have more direct control over citizens ○ They don’t really leave room for interpretation ○ The US Constitution is more of a framework of basic ideas, and it does not get into specifics. The specifics come into play in the case of state constitutions which explains why they are generally so much longer. ➢ Average of 26,000 words, some even 100,000 18. From where do local governments derive their power? ➢ Dillon’s rule: power of local government is dictated to them by the state ➢ Mostly from very restricted state constitutions 19. How do most states amend their constitution? ➢ Legislative proposal (most common): amendments passed by the state legislature submitted to voters for approval in referendum. All states use this process except Delaware which does not have to submit to voters ➢ Popular initiative: registered voters sign a petition to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot for voter approval (17 states) ○ TX: legislature proposes, approved in ⅔ each chamber, published in 2 newspapers, majority of state voters must approve ➢ Constitutional Revision Convention (almost never used): legislature submits proposal calling for constitutional convention to voters; if approved, they’lll meet & draw up constitutional revisions & submit again for voter approval (41 states) ➢ Constitutional Commissions (almost never used): may be created by

legislature to study and recommend changes to the legislature ➢ Each American state has its own rules and procedures that govern how its constitution can be amended ➢ State constitutions tend to be amended frequently because they are so restrictive and detailed ➢ State constitutions can also be changed through judicial action. This can happen when a federal court declares that part of a state’s constitution is unconstitutional under the US Constitution & must be removed/treated as null ➢ Can also happen when a state court declares that an amendment to the state’s constitution is unacceptable ➢ Most states amend their constitution through referendum 20. Know the functions of counties and cities ➢ Counties… ○ Are legal subdivisions of a state ○ Are the administrative arm of the government ■ Ex: voter registration, car registration ○ Generally have one governing body ■ Country commissioners, board of supervisors, judges ■ Can have anywhere from 2-50 members ■ Can be elected for certain districts or countywide ○ Mainly perform administrative tasks for states ○ Take care of those on county land ○ Collect the property taxes you paid for ○ Provide many goods and services ■ Planning, transportation, health, welfare, libraries, parks ■ Taxes, road maintenance, mass transit, law enforcement ➢ Cities… ○ Can be municipal corporations ■ Home rule: must have at least 5000 population in an area to be a home rule city- gives them more power to tax and spend ■ General law: must have at least 200 in population ○ Have to provide services immediately ○ Are creations of the state ■ Devolving powers from the states down to local government ○ Forms of city government: ■ Commission: gives legislative and executive power to a small body, usually 5 or 7 members- had its start in TX- no true executive (no one person in charge)- work as a team- fallen out of favor with home rule because there is no blame ■ Council-manager: elected council (legislative body: passes laws) or commission appoints manager- handle day to day

operations- sets policy- most popular in home rule ■ Elected mayor: hybrid mayor-manager form of government- ⅔ of council-manager communities elect a mayor- most in TX ■ Mayor-council: may be “strong” (Houston’s mayor during Hurricane Harvey) or “weak” (being phased out)- higher up in the government but the “weak” answers to council ■ Changing city charters: trend towards hybrid form 21. What do special districts do? ➢ Provide a single service/function ➢ Can cross multiple counties ➢ Can have control over one specific area such as mass transit ➢ Special-purpose governments that are put in charge of administering a particular function or service on a metro-wide or citywide level ○ Could include a park, sewer system, water, parking, airport 22. Know the different types of elections (at-large, single member district, etc.) ➢ At-large elections: the entire community votes & the highest vote getter wins ○ Pure at-large election: all of the electorate votes and the candidates who receive the most votes get one of the available spots ○ At-large by position election: all of the electorate votes, but the candidates run for individual numbered seats ○ At-large from residency district election: candidates run to represent a specific district where they live but the entire city/county gets to vote ➢ Cumulative voting: a variation of at-large voting where voters have as many votes as there are seats. Voters cast their votes for individual candidates and the winners are the ones with the most votes. Voters may also “cumulate” or combine their votes on one or more candidates. ➢ Single Member District elections: candidates are chosen by voters in separate geographically defined districts ➢ Mixed (Combination) Electoral System: some officials are elected at large and others are elected from single-member districts 23. Know the different political cultures ➢ Moralistic: ○ Argues that government is a “good” thing ○ There to help man search for the good society ○ Government is open to all & participation is encouraged ○ Pushes fairness & equality and grows to protect these things ○ NOT in Texas, more in Northern states ➢ Individualistic:

○ Government is seen as a supply and demand thing ○ Government supplies itself only when the people demand it ○ Doesn’t rely on government- limited government ○ Has a hold here in Texas ➢ Traditionalistic: ○ Based on a social platform ○ Government is run by the elite ○ All about who you know and the connections you make ○ Doesn’t stress mass participation ○ Something Texans would want 24. What is the political culture of Texas? ➢ A mix of individualistic and traditionalistic ○ Low tax, low service ○ Don’t like big government ○ Dominated by business and special interests ○ If local government can take care of it, then they should ○ If not, then the state should take care of it- federal govt is last resort ○ TX is the third least taxed state (income) 25. What is the philosophy behind the current Texas Constitution? ➢ Limited government and limited powers for the governor ➢ In response to the oppressive Davis administration ➢ Taxes and debt were limited ➢ Part-time legislature (once every two years) ➢ Judges were elected/governor powers diffused (plural executive) ➢ It is easy to amend, but VERY difficult to overhaul (maintain) ➢ Easy to tack on laws but very hard to scrap the entire thing & start over 26. Know the historical development of the Texas Constitution ➢ Texas has had 5 state constitutions as well as 2 before it became a state ○ Constitution of Coahuila y Tejas (1827) ■ Written under Mexican rule in conjunction with Coahuila ■ A joint constitution for the region, in Spanish ■ Unicameral legislature: representation ■ Santa Ana tried to change Mexico from a federal system to a unitary system, causing the Texas revolution ○ Republic of Texas (1836) ■ Practically copy and pasted from the US Constitution ■ Allows slavery- governing document ■ Doesn’t join union (US) because of slavery ■ Gets annexed 10 years later due to manifest destiny

○ Texas State Constitution (1845) ■ One of the better constitutions ■ Polk promotes manifest destiny ...