POLS 207
State and Local Government
Review Sheet – Exam 1
This is a list of general topics you will need to know in order to do well on the first exam. The exam
covers lectures on the introduction, state and Texas constitutions, federalism, and local government.
1) Know which level of government is responsible for which different policies
State and local governments are responsible for policies concerning healthcare, health and welfare
(biggest 2), transportation, public safety, civil rights, physical environment, and taxation.
2) What is policy conservatism? A state’s tendency to limit the welfare benefits, deregulate business,
keep taxes low, and generally place less reliance on government and more reliance on individuals and
the market place to achieve social goals
3) What is policy liberalism? A state’s tendency to expand the welfare benefits, regulate business, adopt
progressive state income taxes, and generally use government to achieve social change
4) From where do state and local governments derive their revenue?
State and local governments derive the majority of their revenue from property taxes. However, following
closely behind on this list would be gross sales tax. After this comes individual income taxes and
corporate income taxes (for states that have these, TX doesn't). Lastly, vehicle registration fees make up a
very small percent of the revenue.
5) Know the different types of government systems (federalism, unitary, confederation)
Federalism: a system of government in which power is divided between national and subnational
governments (states) with both exercising separate and autonomous authority, both electing their own
officials, and both taxing their own citizens for the provision of public services
Unitary: all power rests within the central governments
Confederation: power is had in the states, only power national government has is what the states give
6) Why are states called “laboratories of democracy?”
States are sometimes call "laboratories of democracy" because sometimes, laws will be first tested on a
state level prior to becoming a national law. For example, if the law that 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.
7) What is nullification?
Nullification is the thought process that states can and MUST refuse to enforce unconstitutional national
laws.
8) What are enumerated or delegated powers? specific powers granted to Congress by the United States
Constitution
Enumerated powers (or delegated powers) are powers specifically mentioned in the Constitution as
belonging to the national government. These powers can be found in Article I, Section 8 of the US
Constitution. These powers include authority over matters of war and foreign affairs, the power to declare
war, raise armies, equip navies, establish rules for the military, to coin money, to control the moneys
value, to regulate foreign and interstate commerce, to tax, to establish its own court system, to decide
cases arising under the constitution and the laws and treaties of the US and cases involving certain parties,
to grant copyrights and patents, establish post offices, enact bankruptcy laws, punish counterfeiters,
punish crimes committed at sea, and govern the Washington DC area. Lastly, Article I Section 8 of the
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 dept. or officer thereof.
9) What are implied powers? powers of U.S. government which have not been explicitly granted by the
Constitution but that is implied by the necessary and proper clause to be delegated for the purpose of
carrying out the enumerated powers
10) know the 10th Amendment 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.
Not a state power: making treaties
11) Know the following cases:
a. Marbury v. Madison (1803)
-In the case of Marbury v. Madison, for the first time the Supreme Court declared a law unconstitutional.
Expanded the authority of the supreme court.
Gave the idea of judicial review
Involved Marbury who didn't receive the commission he was supposed to receive from Madison.
b. McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) one of the first and most important Supreme Court cases on
federal power, 1st use of the Necessary and Proper Clause- allowed the Federal government to
pass laws not expressly provided for in the Constitution's list of express powers, provided
those laws are in useful furtherance of the express powers of Congress under the Constitution.
Constitution grants Congress implied powers for implementing the Constitution's express powers, in order
to create a functional national government. Second, state action may not impede valid constitutional
exercises of power by the Federal government.
-Expanded the implied powers of the national government.
-Fought over whether or not Maryland could tax the national bank branch in that state.
-Solidified the idea of preemption and implied powers of Congress.
12) Why are federal grants-in-aid important? Any money given from one government to another, most
expensive functions goes to health, social services, and education
Grants-in-aid are payments of funds from the national government to state or local governments or from a
state government to local governments for specific purposes. 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, the state/local governments DO need
these funds. BUT, it is thought that the states are "bribed" by the temptation of much needed federal
money and "blackmailed" by the thought that other states will get the money, which was raised in part by
federal taxes on the state's own citizens. Again, if state's feel that the stipulations put on the money are
unfair, they CAN refuse the money.
13) What are mandates?
Mandates refer to federal-state relations. In this situation, it is saying that the federal government's orders
to state (or local) governments to provide particular services or perform specific services. This
"requirement" of states to enforce the laws/provide certain services is achieved by threatening legal action
or removal of funds. For example, the "No Child Left Behind" act 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. Another example of this is 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.
14) What is preemption?
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.
15) Know what is usually contained in state constitutions (Bill of Rights, detailed policies, etc.)
All state constitutions reflect the American political tradition of separation of powers with, separate
legislative, executive, and judicial articles. In this, the powers of state government are explained. The
following shows a 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?
A government of laws, not people, operating on the principle that governmental power must be limited,
that government officials should be restrained in their exercise of power over individuals.
17) Why are state constitutions long?
State constitutions are generally longer than our US constitution. This is the result of a few different
things. For one, state constitutions are easier to amend. Because of this, state constitutions are amended
and added on to fairly often. Lastly, 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.
18) From where do local governments derive their power? Local governments derive their power form
their state constitutions and state legislature
19) How do most states amend their constitution?
Each American state has its own rules and procedures that govern how its constitution can be amended.
The ways a state constitution can be amended or revised are:
¥ Via a legislatively referred constitutional amendment.
¥ Via an initiated constitutional amendment. Eighteen states allow this method of amendment although
the requirements in several of these states are so prohibitively difficult that the process has rarely if ever
been used (Illinois, Mississippi).
¥ Via a commission-referred amendment process, which takes place only in Florida.
¥ Via a constitutional convention. In some states, automatic ballot referrals allow voters to decide at
regular intervals whether to hold a convention.
¥ Through direct action of the state legislature with no vote of the people. (This happens only in
Delaware).
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 U.S. Constitution and must be
removed or treated as null. It can also happen when a state court declares that an amendment to the state's
constitution is unacceptable.
20) Know the functions of counties and cities
Counties: Counties are legal subdivisions of a state. Counties generally have 1 governing body, variously
called county commissioners, board of supervisors, or judges. This governing body can have anywhere
form 2-50 members and they can be elected for certain districts or countywide. You would also have a
sheriff, county attorney, auditor, recorder, coroner, assessor, judge, and treasurer. A large number of
special boards or commissions that have authority over various functions, is also a part of the
governmental setup. These members can be elected or appointed. Lastly, the county government has an
appointed bureaucracy in planning, transportation, health, welfare, libraries, and parks. Larger, more
urban areas may also have an elected chief executive and/or an appointed county administrator or
manager. Historically, states created counties as their administrative arms.
Cities:
21) What do special districts do? form of local government created by a local community to meet a
specific need. Inadequate tax bases and competing demands for existing taxes make it hard for cities
and counties to provide all the services their citizens desire
Special districts are local governmental units usually charged with performing a single function; often
overlap municipal and county boundaries. Basically, these units are special-purpose governments and are
put in charge of administering a particular function or service on a metro-wide or a city-wide level. These
things could include a park, sewer system, water, parking, airport, planning or authority. The nations
largest special districts, NY's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Boston's Massachusetts Bay
Transportation Authority, and Washington's Metro Area Transit Authority. (My ex: San Antonio River
Authority).
22) Know the different types of elections (at-large, single member district, etc.)
At-Large elections are elections in which the entire community votes, and the highest vote getter wins.
Single Member District elections are elections in which candidates are chosen by voters in separate
geographically defined districts. There is a form of election known as Mixed Electoral System in which
some officials are elected at large and others are elected from single-member districts. Cumulative voting
is a variation of at-large voting. 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.
23) Know the different political cultures
Moralistic, Individualistic, Traditionalistic
24) What is the political culture of Texas?
In Texas, our political culture can be best described as traditionalistic and individualistic. Traditionalistic
refers to the belief that there is an elite class governing for the masses, "government for the few".
Individualistic refers to the thought that basically, the government should stay out of social issues and
should only be involved in our lives when we ask them to be.
25) What is the philosophy behind the current Texas Constitution?
The philosophy behind the current Texas constitution is that it is easy to amend, but VERY difficult to
overhaul. Basically saying, easy to tack on laws but very hard to scrap the entire thing and 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. First came the Constitution of
Coahuila y Tejas in 1827; then the Republic of Texas in 1836; then the Texas State Constitution of 1845
when we joined the Union; then the Confederate Constitution of 1861; then the Constitution of 1861; then
the Reconstruction Constitution of 1869; then the Constitution of 1876 which remains in place to this day.
Our constitution today is long and detailed, having been amended 483 times.
27) Know the political climate of the Constitutional Convention of 1875 (retrenchment and reform)
The Constitutional Convention of 1875 was the result of of the determination of the democrats of Texas
to eliminate the Constitution of 1869. Ninety delegates were elected from all over the state. Members
were conservative and reflected the retrenchment and reform philosophy of the Grange (organization of
farmers). This conservatism included a strong emphasis on the constitutional purpose of limiting
government and a tolerance for racial segregation. They were determined to keep government from
oppressing them as they believed was so, under Reconstruction.
28) What are the differences between the Bill of Rights in the Texas and U.S constitutions?
There are several differences between the Bill of Rights in the Texas an US Constitutions. For example,
in the US constitution the Bill of Rights is included as an addendum in the first 10 amendments;
However, in the Texas Constitution the Bill of Rights is at the beginning in Article 1. The Texas Bill of
Rights appears to be MUCH more thorough. However, upon closer examination there is a lot of
overlapping with the US Bill of Rights, the overlapping is just reordered. Overall, the documents are very
similar and contain a lot of the same ideas, just overlapping and mentioned in multiple places.
29) What were the conditions of the annexation agreement for Texas to join the United States in 1845?
Texas can separate into 5 states, can maintain it’s own public lands, but would not have its debt paid
off
The conditions of the annexation agreement for Texas to join the US in 1845 stated that Texas could
retain control over their public lands, thus giving us the ability to extinguish our debt. In addition,
Brown's bill provided that Texas could be divided into several states as needed to deal with future
"balance" between slave states and free states, and that no slavery would be allowed north of the old
Missouri Compromise line.
30) What is the process to amend the Texas and U.S. Constitutions?
Resolutions to amend the Texas constitutions are proposed by the Texas Legislature and
Texas Senate. Texas voters then vote for or against the proposed amendments.
The only method of amending the constitution prescribed by Article 17 is through the
legislature, subject to voter approval.
Proposal by 2/3rds vote of the full membership of both houses of the legislature> passage by simple
majority of voters qualified to vote in elections for statewide office
31) How has federalism evolved over time?
Dual Federalism (1787-1913-1930s?): political arrangement in which power is divided between the
federal and state governments in clearly defined terms, with state governments exercising those powers
accorded to them without interference from the federal government
Cooperative Federalism (1913-Present): a concept of federalism in which national, state, and local
governments interact cooperatively and collectively to solve common problems, rather than making
policies separately but more or less equally
32) Know the different types of federalism
33) Know different types of city governments (mayor-council, council-manager, etc.)
Council-mayor (strong mayor/weak mayor):
Council-manager:
Commission:
34) Know the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Amendments
Sixteenth: allows the Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states or basing it
on the United States Census
Seventeenth: providing for the election of two U.S. senators from each state by popular vote and for a
term of six years