Gov Exam 1

Geographic jurisdiction

the geographic location where power and institutions govern

• local government power is drawn to a specific, small geographic space and power is exercised only over that space

subject-matter jurisdiction

the set of things or topics that a government has power over

• powers of cities or counties may vary within states by factors such as population

Are local governments present in the constitution?

No.

The constitution states that power may be held by the federal government, the state governments, or the people

How did local governments come to be?

States delegated some of their authority downward, giving local counties and municipalities their own authority to handle a variety of domans

Flaw of local government

Since local government is not a formal part of the constitutional arrangement like the federal government is, powers given to local governments are easier to take back than those given to the federal government

What are within local governments?

Counties, municipalities (towns, cities, townships, etc.), school districts, and special districts

home rule

some American cities are given the power to govern themselves as long as they don’t conflict with state law. They are able to pass their own laws and ordinances

general law

Cities that are given far less autonomy and are only allowed to choose between options pre-set by the state. They may select to pass certain laws that the state has pre-approved

Texas’s rule for local power

Cities over 5,000 residents can pass a charter (similar to a constitution but for cities) and then exercise home rule. Cities under 5,000 residents must follow general laws.

what are cities organized as?

municipal corporations

What is a muncipal corporation?

A special type of corporation meant to serve public functions in a local area. It is a grant of recognition from the state to a non-person entity that can perform certain functions such as managing money

Mayors

Expected to solve the city’s problems, fire unpopular city officials, and make citizens happy about the state of their city. In most states, mayors exert limited influence due to the city-manager form of government

City manager form of government

people elect a city council and mayor. The mayor has little formal power than any other city councilor, but serves as a symbolic figure who communicates on behalf of the city and is present as a symbol of government at events and ceremonies

single-member districts

yield more diverse representatives than at-large districts.

city manager

hired by the mayor and city council. Oversees many of the city’s functions, implementing policy goals, and managing resources and personnel. Controls the day to day and implementation aspects of running the city

Tend to be professionals with specific training in municipal bureaucracy

Spend years as lower-level civils servants and assistant city managers

machine politics

a single dominant party structured the system of city governments to consistently yield victories for their party, reinforced by bribes that kept the party functioning

critiques to city-manager system

gives considerable power to an unelected official

separates the people from their ability to democratically control their local governments

Managers tend to be homogenous in terms of class, education, race, etc

Council-mayor system

voters elect the city council and the mayor, the mayor then has some portfolio of executive tasks to oversee. The amount of these tasks vary from city to city but can be thought of varying between weak-mayor systems and strong-mayor systems

Weak-mayor systems

the mayor has a limited portfolio, while other key parts of the government such as the police under the control of the city council or a co-executive

Strong-mayor system

the mayor has an expansive portfolio of powers and is responsible for most of the citi’s executive functions

Split executives

• different functions having their own executive official making key decisions

• if an executive serves at the pleasure of the mayor, they are more likely to implement the mayor’s favored policies

• the more executive power that is split, the fewer things are under the mayor’s control, thus weakening the mayor

difference between council manager and council mayor systems

Council manager cities are more active and create more policies. They are also less likely to produce convictions for corruption. Manager led cities also have advantages in efficiency and budgetary constraint. Cities with managers also entrust the market with higher bond ratings that allow them to borrow at lower costs. Managers are better able to keep cities on track and on budget.

Counties

vary in number from state to state

Typically run by elected councils or comissions with subject-matter domans that also vary

Large counties sometimes have more power to enable them to address special issues faced by urban counties. A county’s powers frequently overlap with conflict with the powers of the city govts in the county

Important role of counties

local administrative structure of state government. States have offices in each county, distribute funds to those county offices to administer services, and hire local county officials to act on behalf of the state

special district

Limited purpose layer of local government that handles a specific service or function within a defined geographical area

Special districts could be related to education, fire prevention, etc.

Have corporate powers that enable them to take on debt and enter into contracts as a legal identity

Sometimes have the power to levy taxes

where does a third of local government revenues come from?

Inter-governmental transfers

WHat are inter-governmental transfers?

Monies given from one level of government to another

ex: the fed government gives money to states to enhance public schools. states give away that money to school districts to implement education. Thus, local governments spend on those flows of money from higher levels of government in order to fund their operations

voting in local government elections

• low turnout races

• electorate is made up of the wealthy, educated, and property-owning

What is a reason for low turnout in local government elections?

They are held at odd times and not attached to big national elections.

Roll-off

The act of not voting in one election when a voter has turned out and voted in other elections

High in local elections

Zoning

the process of local government designating every parcel of land within its geographic jurisdiction into a particular type of zone

what are zoning boards used for?

Maintaining and increasing the property values of wealthy residents at the expensive of poorer citizens

Unitary governments

local governments have only those powers that are granted by the central government, which retains the ability to revoke powers or override actions taken by the local government

most common forms of general-purpose local governments

counties and municipalities

municipal corporations (cities)

general-purpose governments with jurisdiction over a defined unit of territory that are formed by application of the residents

responsibilities of cities

water supply, police and fire protection, general infrastructure, and public education

Death Star bill

prevents local governments from passing ordinances that go further than state laws regulating businesses in broad areas, including labor, agriculture, finance, and natural resources

Some people argue that it lowers the cost of doing business by ensuring a uniform set of laws throughout the state, others argue that it conflicts with constitutional provisions

Texas Education Agency

authorized to remove elected school boards and replace them with appointed members in cases where schools have suffered long standing academic failure

metropolitics

local politics within large metropolitan areas

Consist of a central city surrounded by suburbs

Tiebout’s Model of Efficient Public Goods

Asserts that competition between many different cities in a metropolitan area leads to efficient spending on local public goods

Assumed that cities are run by city managers who seek to achieve an ideal population size where average costs of providing services are minimized

Each city offers a bundle of taxes that residents can “purchase” by choosing where to live

Peterson’s Model of Limited Local Government

Argues that policies and programs are in the interest of cities whenever the policies maintain or enhance the economic, social, or political power of the city

Argues that local government services can be classified as developmental, redistributive, or allocational

Developmental policies

Those that enhance the economic productivity of the city

ex: kinds of infrastructure and amenities that make the city a more attractive place to live and work

Redistributive policies

Those that are paid for by one group of people but largely used by another group and may have negative effects on the local economy

Allocational policies

Involve “housekeeping” policies like police and fire protection, waste management, and general administration

urban sprawl

when metropolital areas tend to occupy more and more territory over time. Growth emerges from the uncoordinated decisions of self-interested individuals

leapfrog development

happens when private real estate developers leap over the outermost ring of suburbs to start developing unincorporated areas, which allows them to avoid existing land-use laws and any fees a city may charge

result of leapfrog development

reliance on cars as the primary source of transportation

environmental justice movement

argues that the environmental costs of an individual society should be spread more equally among those who benefit from it

redlining

classifying a residential area as a poor credit risk due to the amount of residents that are minorities or low income

consolidation

involves merging overlapping units of local government in order to reduce redundancy and encourage efficiency

most common form is city-county mergers

Annexation

the merger of two units of government at the same level

regional planning council

most common institution for dealing with metropolitan area issues

representatives from different local governments in an area come together to discuss issues and exchange information

may provide services and technical assistance

Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs)

purpose of deciding how federal transportation funds will be allocated within any area with a population above 50,0000

have no direct authority over transportation projects except those funded by federal dollars

Dual sovereignty

multiple governments exercising power over one area

states and federal governemnt have this

What does the federal government include?

Congress, the president, and the federal courts

What is the federal government responsible for?

National defense, foreign relations, and domestic regulations (ex: regulating pollution in the environment)

federal government has the power to tax and spend, giving it the ability to get states to enact policies in exchange for grants

1980s drinking age

Fed government sought to raise the drinking age to twenty one to reduce car accidents caused by drunk driving. it provided funding to states for building roads

Commerce Clause

Gives congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, states, and Native American tribes

Commerce Clause 1960s

Declared that Congress could regulate discrimination because it affected commerce between the states

Which state has a unicameral legislature?

Nebraska

Which states have two state supreme court, one that handles criminal appeals and the other which handles all other appeals?

Texas and Oklahoma

How much in taxes does California collect per person in state and local taxes?

8,000

How much does Texas collect in taxes per person?

4,500

Laboratories of democracy

describes the process by which different states try different policies, which the results inform the other states about the merits of different policies

California 1995

Became the first state to adopt policies that curtailed the ability to smoke in public places

By 2010, 26 states adopted similar policies

What types of government are considered sovereign?

State and federal

Dillion’s Rule

Legal body of rulings that hold that local governments derive all of their power from the states and are completely subordinate to the state’s power

All institutional power must be traced to

either the federal or state governments

the constitution states that there is a power-sharing agreement with the states and the central government

How many county-level governments are there in the states?

3,000

How many municipal governments are there in the states?

20,000

county board/ board of comissioners

Combines executive and legislative functions in it that can pass ordinances and oversee some executive functions of the country government

Elected district attorney

Responsible for carrying out prosecutions for criminal violations

Elected county treasurer

Controls the collection and spending of money

What are counties responsible for?

Provides courts and hospital services and asses taxes and provides maintenance for some parks and roads

Wjat is the current population of the US?

335 Million

What is the most populous state?

39 million, 11.6% of the US

What is the population of Texas?

30.5 million

Urbanization

The process of people moving from rural areas to cities

Negative impact of urbanization

Increased presence of paved surfaces has increased the heat island effect of cities, making them warmer than the surrounding countryside

Positive impact of urbanization

Increased concentration of people makes rural land available for agricultural and recreational uses and allows for expansive natural areas without human habitation

What is increased urbanization driven by and why?

Driven by people seeking economic opportunity.

As the US economy has shifted from the production of goods to services, there has been decreasing opportunities in rural areas

What ethnicity makes up most of the US population?

Non-hispanic whites (59%)

How many seats does the US House Of Representatives have?

435

Where does much of the US petroleum production occur?

Texas

shale revolution: allows for drilling oil and natural gas were previously thought unrecoverable

Texas produces almost 42% of all US oil

Political ideology

A set of ideas, beliefs, and opinions exhibiting a recurring pattern that provides plan of action for public policy making

Conservative values

Oppose abortion, gun control laws, and same-sex marriage. Support limited government regulations and free-market policies. Favor expansive government to police behavior and lifestyles

Liberal values

Support greater levels of government intervention to promote economic equality. Support same sex marriage, abortion, and gun control laws. Support progressive taxes and welgare programs

How many states does the Republican Party and Democratic Party have legislative control in

28; 19

What happens if two legislative chambers are controlled by separate parties?

The legislative control is divided and will require a lot of compromise for bills to be enacted

Which two states have one chamber controlled by Republicans while Democrats control the other?

Michigan and Pennsylvania

What must a party do to have state control?

Have majority in two chambers and hold the governorship

How many people has Texas put to death with the dealth penalty?

578

What is unequal funding in schools driven by?

Most local revenues are raised via property taxes and some areas have land that is more valuable than others, so that increase the revenues in those areas

Recapture/Robin Hood plan

A percentage of income is taken from rich districts and redistributed to poor districts

How many constitutions has Texas had?

4

Why are state constitutions longer than the SU constitution?

They are easier to amend

How can a constitution be amended?

Place amendments on the ballot

police powers

powers that the states retain to promote health, safety, welfare, and morals

When was the Texas State constitution created?

1876

What does the Texas constitution include?

17 main articles