Federal, State and Local
Governments
Unit 6
Federal System
• Federal and State governments both share
and divide powers.
Division of Powers
• The Constitution calls for a break up of
governmental powers; some are held by the
federal government and some are held by
state governments.
– Federal Powers: Expressed, Implied, Inherent
Reserved / Concurrent Powers
• States enforce both Reserved and Concurrent
powers
Supremacy Clause
• States can make no law superseding a Federal
law.
Grants-in-aid v. Unfunded Mandate
• Grants-in-aid: Money given to States to help
fund Congresses policies
• Unfunded Mandate: Regulation a State must
abide by without federal funding
Grant-in-Aid
Referendum & Initiative
• Referendum: Government creates policy and
people approve it.
• Initiative: People create policy and people
approve it.
Line Item Veto
• Blocking a specific part of a bill instead of the
whole bill.
Misdemeanor v. Felony
• Misdemeanor - Less serious crimes (less then
1 year in prison)
• Felony - More serious crimes (more than 1
year in prison)