Exam 1 Flashcards
(54 cards)
What are the 2 primary areas of policymaking for state and local governments
State and local governmnets primarily make policy related to education and law enforcement
What is policy conservatism?
state’s tendency to limit welfare benefits, deregulate business, keep taxes low, and less reliance on gov services and more on private sector/marketplace
What is policy liberalism?
state’s tendency to expand welfare benefits, regulate business, adopt progressive state income taxes, and use gov services to achieve goals
From where do state and local governments derive their revenue?
they mainly derive revenue from sales tax, property tax, income tax, and federal grants
what are federalism, unitary, and confederation forms of governments?
- Unitary: power in a single central government
- Confedaral: system concentrates power in regional governments
- Federal: national and regional governments share powers and are considered independent equals
What is nullification?
Nullification is a state’s rejecting of a federal law and making it invalid within state borders
What are enumerated or delegated powers?
Grants of authority explicitly given by Constitution
What are implied powers?
Broad, but undefined powers given to federal government by the Constitustion
What is the 10th Ammendment
The 10th Amendment states that any powers not explicitly given to the national government, as long as they are not prohibited by the constitution, are given to the States/the people.
MOST importantly, it established Federalism
Significance of McCulloch v Maryland
- Maryland tried to tax Second Bank of the United States.
- Decided Maryland does not have power to tax the bank
- Important for th “Necessary and Proper Clause”
Why was Marbury vs Madison important?
It established the Supreme Court’s ability for “Judicial Review”
What are federal grants-in-aid and why are they important?
They are cash grants given to the states. They are important because states need more money than they can raise themselves. This is slighlty controversial b/c the federal gov can put stipulations on the money and possibly “blackmail” states
What are mandates?
mandates force state and local governments to comply with federal rules under threat of penalties or as a condition for a grant
What is preemption? What allows for this?
The process of the federal government overriding areas regulated by state law. This is possible b/c of the “National Supremacy” clause
What is an unfunded mandate?
federal law that direct state action but provide no funding for that action
What is usually contained in a state constitution?
- bill of rights
- separation of powers
- limitation of governor’s power
- rules of legislation
- regulations of particular groups
- articles for taxes and finance
- debt limit for state
What is constitutionalism?
Constitutionalism means “limited government”
Advantage of amendments over laws
amendments cannot easily be touched by legislature. laws can be changed by day to day duties of legislature
where do local governments derive their power?
- they derive their power from the state
- exercise only policymaking authority the state is willing to grant
How do most states amend their constitution?
the most common method of amending state constitutions is “Legislative Proposal”
What title do county/city governments share? What duties do they preform?
County/city governments are all “General Purpose” governments which means they provide a wide range of services
What is a special district?
A special district is a unit of local government that does one single service in a limited geographical area
what are the 2 types of special districts in Texas?
1) school districts
2) nonschool special ditricts
what are the types of elections?
1) at-large system
2) single-member district system
3) combination electoral system
