Exam 4 - Roblyer- Pols207

2023 - spring - CH 8 - CH 10

What is the balance of government

1 national government
50 state governments
90,000ish local governments

Overtime what happened to special and school distircts

School districts decrease

Special districts increase

What is a school district?

A specific type of special district that provides public education in a designated area.

Counties

* oldest form of U.S. local government
* Serve as limited administrator for state functions like vehicle licensing, voter registration

Typical composition of a county

* Legislative body (3-50 members) called a board
* Elected officials: Sheriff, constable, county clerk, tax assessor, treasurer, county attorney
* Appointed officials: Both individuals and boards: auditor, health officer, coroner, library board
* Bureaucracy: No civil service requirement

County revenue

Property tax \>50% of intake
Licenses and fees
Grants
Fines

County Government Budget

Law enforcement (~50%)
Roads and bridges (10-30%)
Health and welfare (~10%)

Where does the revenue come from urban or rural

Equitability not built into county finances
Majority of revenue comes from urban residents
Majority of expenditures is on rural residents

Charters

are enabling documents wherein the states authorize creation of a "city" government

what is written in chaters

Within a charter, the state defines essential parameters for local government

* Establishes the form of government for that municipality
* Lays out what that municipality may do or not do

General Law Charter

Municipalities only have powers specifically granted to them by the state

Home Rule Charters

Municipalities have all powers not forbidden by their charters

Municipal Government Types in the U.S.

Mayor-Council
Council-Manager
Town Meeting
Commission

Mayor-Council (38%)

Strong-mayor subtype:

* Strong mayors have powerful duties: budgeting, veto
* Councils and strong mayors check-and-balance each other

Weak-mayor subtype

* Weak-mayor form common among very small municipalities

HAS LOTS OF CORRUPTION

Council-Manager (58% and growing)

* Most prevalent form in TX
* Elected city council (5-15 members) appoints city manager
* Mayor is elected at-large or by the council
* Proponents argue this is most efficient form of city government

Town Meeting

* (4%)
* Membership of legislative body is undefined subset of qualified residents-- whoever attends that town meeting
* Frequently, a board is elected to oversee business between meetings
* Praised as "pure democracy" but but

Commission

(1%)

* Originated in Galveston to meet its emergency needs following city's devastation by hurricane in 1900


* 500 cities used this form in 1918—form was considered "progressive" then Rarely used now

Single-member-district

City is divided into pieces (precincts or wards) and residents of that geographic area elect one person to represent them in the legislative body (council, board, etc.)
Better represents diversity that appears geographically

At-large seats

* Voted on by residents without regard to precinct or ward
* Works to increase power of residents of particular socio-economic levels who tend to vote

Why did galveston start the commission system

Wealthy business owners claimed current city council could not return Galveston to its pre-storm glory
At their request, State of Texas created this new form

Problems with commision form

Debilitating problem was internal squabbling
Individual commissioners tended to become advocates for their departments rather than for public-interests

Largest city still using it

Portland, Oregon, is largest city still using this form

City Services

Police
Fire
Streets
make up 50% of the budget

School District

SAME AS COUNCIL-MGR
Superintendents make recommendations and school board votes

Americans think public schools are failing but...

Most think their local schools are doing a good job

Who is the ultimate authority for basic school policies

State

Ways the school board is different

School board decisions are generally well publicized
There is considerable public interest in and knowledge about school district politics
Number of school districts has been steadily declining for fifty years

School districts positions

Board - Always elected
Superintendents - Always hired by board; never elected

Special District

* Local government established for specific purpose by State legislature
* Overlays other local government boundaries
* Elected board usually oversees bureaucracy directly

Why Special Districts

Designed for special needs of rural areas with limited government resources, but special needs occur in urban areas, too

Sometimes established local governments cannot, or will not, pay for needed services

School Funding - Who calls the shots

* State legislatures have lead in determining breakdown of who pays what
* States decide to cut funding, school districts must react by either reducing their budgets, raising taxes, or increasing borrowing

Additional points of conflict over state & local authority in Texas

* Municipal ordinances banning discrimination based on sexual preference Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, etc.


* Municipal bans/limits on plastic bags due to trash, pollution concerns Dallas, Austin, Fort Stockton, etc.
* Laws and choices within municipalities to not ask residents for proof of legal presence State government officials call these places "sanctuary cities" Include Houston, Katy, Austin, etc.

Pro State

* Hard to do business in Texas if associated laws differ from city to city—stop the "Californization"
* There cannot be rational economics at the state level if every home-rule city can trump state law through their ill-conceived ordinances

Pro Municipalities

Big government is getting bigger at the expense of local residents

Local needs are best known and protected by the people

Legislative Branch

All state governments have legislatures
Nebraska has only unicameral in U.S.

No taxation without representation!" is changed to what?

Today's cry: "Representation without taxation!"

Legislative Functions

Make statutory laws
Amend state constitutions
Bring government funding to their districts

Takeaway Points from McNeely

* Important to view legislature as a system with a unique culture
* Value of a legislator is how many votes he/she can bring to bear
* Reliance on expertise of others is routine and necessary
* Supermajorities (that vote as a block) mean the party in power doesn't need the other party to govern

Representation Today

* Zip-code representation
* voting registration
* probability of voting

Challenges of Geographic Representation

Heterogeneous constituency without clear identity—"mix" of all types and concerns
Forces compromises to win elections (unless boundaries are rigged—see "gerrymandering")

Legislative Redistricting

* Determination of "who represents who"
* Fair" redistricting is defined as "equal" division of population within state
* Goal: "One person, One vote," with each vote having "equal" impact on election of representatives

Redistricting: Formal Rules of the Game

Equality of population
Contiguity
Protected groups
Shape of district

Equality of population (redistricting)

Within limits provided on previous chart

Contiguity (redistricting)

All portions of a district must be in contact with each other

Protected groups (redistricting)

* Do groups previously prevented from voting by state law have a fair chance to affect the outcome of an election?
* racial minorities
* These groups cannot be worse off than in previous districting schemes
* Texas' designated groups: African-Americans & Hispanics

Shape of district (redistricting)

Cannot be "bizarre," can be "odd" (undefined terms used by Court)

Gerrymandering

manipulate the boundaries of (an electoral constituency) so as to favor one party or class

perpetual re-districting

allowed: If at first you don't succeed: redistrict, redistrict again!

Shelby County v. Holder (2013)

Removed requirement for approval from Federal government before many states could implement new redistricting plans

Results of Gerrymandering in U.S. States

Growing
Can be done better with tech
Party who wins is really controlled

Marks of gerrymandering in Texas

* >2/3s of Texas legislative districts have unopposed incumbents
* Executive state-level elections remain competitive, but most legislative contests are not

Today's representational model is based on?

communication, not congruency
meaning its popularity not necessarily if views overlap

Legislature's Most Important Activity
(News Media and Textbooks)

passing Bills but only 20-25% pass in a session

Legislature's Most Important Activity
(Members)

Killing bad bills!
Harm their constituents
Waste resources
Ideologically wrong

Individual bills

one bill and only one

Duplicate bill

copy of a bill introduced in the same chamber

Companion bill

copy of a bill introduced in the other chamber

Why do "identical bills" exsist

* Identical (both duplicate & companion) bills increase chances of passage, despite accepted fact that, at most, only one will survive
* Spreads success across authors of bill and each identical

Traditional success measure

Passage of an individual bill

Legislators' success measure

Passage of a bill or any identical bill

Ghost Voting

members of the house voting for other members

Texas House Changes in Reaction to Negative Publicity

Members now formally allowed to vote for other members

Cameras and smart telephones no longer permitted on House floor or in House gallery

Which Bills Are More Successful

House: Multiple authors is strongest predictor
Senate: Party is strongest predictor

Recruitment of Governors

Most are lawyers, but many come out of business backgrounds (sometimes both)

Governors come with considerable prior experience in public affairs

"Promotion" from other statewide elective office common, but not a "rule"

Recruitment of Governors
(as a result of TV)

Youthful, good looks
Instantly photogenic at all times
Able to always speak in "sound bites"
Not frequently susceptible to "foot-in-mouth" disease

Governorships are (growing/declining) in Power

Growing

Governor's Careers

Not everyone can become President, so those who remain in public service often seek other government "promotions"

How to end Governor's Careers

Can end by recall in 13 states
Can end in impeachment in 49 states

Duties of Governors
(according to them)

* Division of labor by role as self-reported via survey of governors (roles differ by state)
* Administrator: 28% of their time Oversees state bureaucrats, crafts budget
* Legislator: 17% of their time Lobbying, vetoes (49 states), calling special sessions


* Ceremonial Duties: 14% of their time "Friendly" football game bets with other governors
* Chief Negotiator: 14% of their time With federal/other-state/local governments, business
* Public Opinion Leader: 9% of their time Frequent focus of media attention
* Party Leader: 7% of their time Appointment power; patronage

Institutional

POLS term that means "arising from structure, organization, and rules"
Not personality-dependent

Institutional Power - Types

Appointment
Tenure Potential
Managerial
Fiscal
Legislative

Institutional Power -Appointment

Power to choose other statewide executive officials
Although state senate must confirm most gubernatorial appointments by 2/3rds majority

Institutional Power -Tenure Potential

Ability to remain in office, including any re-election restrictions
Few governors serve more than 8 years

Institutional Power -Managerial

Oversight of administration
Coordination
Executive orders

Fiscal

* In 48 states, Governor supervises preparation of budget Can use veto
* Can use "bully pulpit" \*Try to win battle of public opinion and force LBB into doing something they don't want to do

Institutional Power-Legislative

All governors have veto power Texas governorship is above average: has line-item veto(a.k.a., a "pick-and-choose" veto)

Calls special sessions for legislature & sets agenda; legislators limited to that agenda

Oil/gas represents \___% of industry in Texas

60%

Railroad Commission

3 commissioners, 6-yr staggered terms

Members say killing bad bills is important because

Harm their constituents
Waste resources
Ideologically wrong

Which government is the fastest growing

local

What is a Special district?

A unit of local government that performs a single service, such as education or sanitation, within a limited geographical area.

CH9A: what is a unicameral?

they only have one house

CH9A: what is a bicameral?

divided into two equal houses: the house and the senate

CH9A: characterize the presence and type of legislatures across the us?

All states have a legislature, all states have a bicameral system except for Nebraska(unicameral)

CH9A: Explain the benefits and the disadvantage of a taxpayer pledge.

* Wont have to raise taxes!
* might lose support from constituents :(

CH9A: Describe the game of chicken

two parties make a dare to see who will get the closes to enacting these policies

CH9A: use the game of chicken with tax pledge

if a legislator want to pass a bill that will raise taxes, an opposing legislator can challenge said legislator by claiming they pledge not to raise taxes

CH9A: What is a statutory laws?

targeting a common purpose to oppose a certain act

CH9A: How do state legislators provide “service” to constituents

Usually helping constituents who oppose the law or were affected by the law

CH9A: How do state legislators bring money to their districts?

Usually through amendments to a bill and if they succeed, they might receive overwhelming support for their future election.

CH9A: How do state legislatures seem more ideal than the US congress.

Congress has to represent at a large scale, while state legislatures have an idea of what their citizens are thinking.

CH9A: What did Dave McNealy said about the legislative system?

* the system is a unique culture
* they don’t know everything so they need outside expertise
* supermajorities don’t need cooperation of opposing party
* the value of the legislature is determined on the number of votes they can bring for their party.

Reality Check 8: What was the chief complaint about ride-hailing companies that came from the city of Austin?

Passenger safety was at risk when the companies used drivers that had not passed background checks

Reality check 8: When uber and Lyft didn’t get the results they wanted, what did they do? According to this CNET article, what happened?

* Had their lobbyist contact state legislators
* The state forces Austin to allow Uber & lyftt to operate

Reality Check 8: State Senator Huffines starts off his critique with "*Local control is great, but....*"  You'll notice that the he goes on to use words that can trigger certain images:  "blank check," "personal responsibility," "violate," "personal liberty," and "heavy-handed."  Which other word or phrase below is also part of his sound bite?

Trust

Reality check 8: School district elections began attracting uncommon amounts of attention due to which set of issues listed below?

COVID-19

Reality check 8: What reflect the growing desire to influence school board election outcomes?

* Political organizations offering training to parents to motivate and equip them to run for school board positions
* a mobile phone company spent 500,000 to help put conservatives in charge of four Texas school boards
* A governor endorsed local candidates running for school boards for the first time ever in that state
* Races becoming more about cultural issues and less about traditional education issues

Reality Check #9: Which option below was NOT one of the reasons cited of the “bathroom bill” that these leaders cited as rationale for their stance?

It would NOT be discriminatory