PSC 100 Final Lessons Review

Info to review

~~Events surrounding the settling of Nevada and in particular the factors that most specifically influenced the admission of Nevada into the Union~~
~~Direct democracy (what it is and what forms are used in Nevada)~~
{{The part-time nature of the Nevada legislature and the concept of legislative professionalism{{
{{Biennial aspects of state government operations{{
~~Duties and powers of elected executive branch officials~~
~~Structure of the state court system~~
~~Key sources of state revenues and limits on revenue types~~
{{Types of local government{{
~~How population growth affects politics and policy in Nevada~~
~~Role of interest groups especially gaming~~
~~How the structure of Nevada government (part-time legislature) enhanced non-governmental entities (think lobbyists/special interest groups)~~

Helpful hints

Review your lesson answers to prepare. (There is nothing from lesson 8 and little from lesson two.) I have given some hints as to items that can be specifically taken from lessons. You should also review lessons ==4, 7 and 10== as there are more general questions that draw on the material presented.

lesson 1:
- Mexican-American War, Mormons, mineral wealth: first brought settlers
- factors for Nevada’s quick process of statehood
lesson 3: direct democracy and types of elections
lesson 5: reapportionment
lesson 6: basic duties of executive branch officers
lesson 7: structure of the NV courts system
lesson 9: state revenue (how is it generated; pros and cons)
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Lesson 1

Outline how the Mexican-American War, the movement of the Mormons into the West, and the search for mineral wealth first brought settlers into what is now Nevada.
1. Mexican-American War
  1. The war ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
  2. Gave Cali, Utah, Nevada that were Mexico’s into the possession of America
  3. newfound American ownership of what is now Nevada and its surrounding regions allowed for settlers of Manifest Destiny to move into these territories
2. Mormons
  1. Mormons moved out west to escape religious persecution and violence
  2. Settled near Salt Lake and became powerful economically in Utah region
  3. After we won the Mexican-American war, they started settling in the Great Basin area bc it was expansive
  4. Began to establish towns and posts for travelers, became even more powerful in these regions
3. Mineral wealth
  1. Gold rush in 1849
  2. Travelers passed through Mormon posts/stations
  3. Comstock Lode in 1859
  4. Gold and silver in Nevada territory caused settlers to stay in these areas
What factors contributed to Nevada becoming one of the first western territories to gain statehood?
1. Senator James Doolittle, Republican from Wisconsin
  1. Proposed a bill in 1864 to allow Nevada, Colorado, and Nebraska to have constitutional conventions and establish state governments even though they were territories
  2. Bill passed within a month bc the government was Republican majority
2. Four main factors for the bill passing quickly
  1. President Lincoln was trying to solidify the two-thirds vote needed in both Houses of Congress for passing an amendment, in this case the Thirteenth Amendment, which needed another Republican vote (NV was Rep at the time)
  2. Lincoln needed more electoral votes to win the next presidential election in 1864, and Nevada would provide three more
  3. Radical Republicans wanted more control in Congress because they didn’t agree with everything that Lincoln was doing, specifically Reconstruction
  4. 1864 Presidential election: John C. Fremont announced his running as a third party candidate; possibility of the vote being so close to a tie that no candidate wins through electoral votes but is given to the House for a vote. Lincoln would receive another Republican vote in the electoral college with Nevada

Lesson 2

What are some of the reasons suggested in the text as to why the political power of Latinos has not matched its size within the general population of the state and even when compared to the political power exercised by other minority groups?
1. Less voter turnout
2. Nevada was founded on the discoveries and knowledge of Latinos, yet they were still seen as second class citizens. Often paid less and given worse opportunities
3. Split between groups under the Latino label and political disagreement: Cubans vs. Mexicans and Chicanos
  1. Cubans got higher-paying jobs in gaming; Mexicans and Chicanos were left with the lower jobs

Lesson 3

Outline and describe how the two main political parties (Democrat and Republican) have fared over time in Nevada elections. What factors may be contributing to the re-emergence of the Republican Party since the mid-1980s?
1. Can be split into five main periods of political change
  1. First period 1864-1890
    1. dominated by the Republican party, from Nevada’s birth as a state, up until 1890
    2. Republican party supporting Nevada becoming a state for their own political reasons, as well as the recent Civil War
  2. Second period 1890-1906
    1. Not dominated by either party
    2. Free coinage of silver was the big topic
    3. Silver Party dominated politics, joined the Democratic Party in 1896
  3. Third period 1908-1930
    1. Relatively equal between parties
    2. Democrats won more positions in government, but Republicans were winning higher-level positions
  4. Fourth period 1932-1980s
    1. Democrat dominated
    2. FDR elected presidentially
  5. Fifth period 1980s-present
    1. Resurgence of Republicans in 1980s, but neither party fully dominates; switches back and forth
2. Resurgence of Republican party in 1980s
  1. increased voter registration
    1. By 1995, Republicans had a larger voter registration than Dems since 1930; kept the parties more equal bc of this
  2. Reagan’s popularity
  3. Movement of upper-middle and upper class people into Nevada
{{Describe the three aspects of direct democracy found in Nevada.{{
1. Direct democracy elections: allow the citizens to bypass the legislature and directly have a say in the political process
2. {{Initiative{{
  1. allows citizens to propose and enact constitutional amendments without having to go through the legislature anymore
  2. a petition has to be signed with ten percent of the number of voters that participated in the last general election in each congressional district to use this process
  3. Statute or constitutional amendment
    1. statute: it goes on to be approved by the legislature and can either be approved by the governor, or put on the ballot and be approved by the people.
    2. constitutional amendment: goes directly to the ballot and has to be approved by the people for the next two elections
3. {{Referendum{{
  1. allows voters to approve or disapprove laws passed by the legislature
  2. a law can either be referred to the people by the legislature, or the people can demand a referendum election through the petition process (same as initiative but without district requirements)
  3. laws enacted through referendum can only be repealed through another referendum election
4. {{Recall{{
  1. allows voters to remove any state or local official from office before their term ends
  2. only held through petition process
  3. requires 25% of the number of voters that voted in that official’s last election to sign the petition
  4. once the number of signatures is reached, the elected official in question has five days to resign or else the recall election is held
  5. Other candidates can run in this recall election, but if none do, then the vote is simply to recall the official or not

Lesson 4

What are the primary tools lobbyists use to influence the legislative process? Why are legislators in Nevada especially reliant upon lobbyists for information?
1. Lobbyists use many tools, but primarily have influence in the legislative sessions
2. Nevada legislators rely on lobbyists bc they’re only in session part-time so they have less time to learn about the proposed laws and less time to pass them
3. five most effective lobbying tools: personally presenting arguments, presenting research findings, testifying at hearings, initiating contacts by constituents, and contributing/withholding a contribution to a candidate
Why is gaming the most dominant interest group in Nevada politics? What are some other groups with a track record of success lobbying in the state?
1. Gaming is the main interest group for 3 reasons
  1. Nevada has been a mostly one-industry state
    1. used to be mining which is still important, but now it’s transitioned to gaming
    2. keeping the gaming industry’s economy healthy and thriving is one of the top concerns of the state’s officials
    3. the gaming industry provides jobs and a huge source of revenue for the state
  2. gaming contributes significantly to state election campaigns
    1. gaming gives much more to the candidate they want to/believe will win and will “freeze out” their opponent by not allowing them to raise enough funds
  3. gaming has powerful lobbyists to help them politically
  4. Nevada State Education Association: successful lobbying because the growing population needs more teachers, so these teachers and their families/friends are willing to campaign for the group in large numbers
  5. Organized labor and the State of Nevada Employees Association both provide large amounts of volunteers to campaign and do a lot of the groundwork

Lesson 5

Although the Nevada legislature is modeled after the US Congress, what are some key differences in how the two legislative bodies operate?
1. Congress uses committees frequently, but the Nevada legislature often relies on them for information and expertise since it is a part-time legislature
2. Any type of bill can be introduced in either house in the state legislature in Nevada
3. “rider” amendments are allowed with the federal constitution, but prohibited in Nevada’s
4. no pocket veto in Nevada
What is reapportionment and how has reapportionment changed the balance of power between regions in Nevada?
1. Reapportionment is the redrawing of legislative districts; Nevada constitution requires this to be done on the basis of population so each district is to represent equal population
2. from 1915-1965 Nevada was malapportioned bc state senate was apportioned by one senator per county and each county was given at least one assembly member– no matter how small their population.
3. rural counties were overrepresented and the populated counties were underrepresented
4. In 1964, the Reynolds v. Sims court case determined that the U.S. Constitution requires both houses to be apportioned by population.
5. goal of the 1965 reapportionment and current ones are to give more power to the populous counties in Nevada, especially Clark County which is the largest

Lesson 6

Describe the basic duties of the six elected executive officers in Nevada.
1. Governor
  1. 3 main roles
    1. chief executive
    2. oversees execution of laws within the state
    3. can appoint executive officials to help execute laws
    4. chief of state
    5. attending state functions and representing Nevada to the rest of the world
    6. meets with other high-ranking officials in the country and engages in low-profile ambassador activities
    7. can hear directly from the people during these endeavors
    8. chief legislator
    9. gives State of the State address every biennial regular session
    10. can lay out his legislative agenda of which bills he supports and will sign in this address
    11. budget proposals; all budget requests have to be approved by the governor
    12. can veto bills passed by the legislature
    13. other duties
    14. commander in chief of National Guard
    15. chief of his party within the state
2. Lieutenant Governor
  1. serves as the state governor when the actual governor is vacant through death, disability, impeachment, or recall, or “effectively absent” from the state
  2. serves on important boards and committees
  3. can serve as the governor’s personal adviser if close to the Governor; if not, then he is often left out of important decisions
3. Attorney General
  1. chief legal adviser to the state (not required to be an actual attorney)
  2. serves on important boards
  3. provides legal advice to various state government agencies through advisory legal opinions
  4. defending the state or prosecuting cases in the state and federal supreme courts
  5. overseeing the district attorneys in each Nevada county
  6. submit a biennial report about the condition of Nevada’s law enforcement to the governor
4. Secretary of State
  1. custodian of state records
  2. 3 main duties
    1. sign all state grants and commissions, along with the governor
    2. serves on the Board of State Prison Commissioners and the Board of Examiners
    3. keep an accurate record of the Official Acts of the Legislative and Executive Departments
    4. printing official government acts and returning vetoes to the legislature
    5. issues certificates of incorporation to businesses in the state and regulates their securities
    6. elections: preparing the official ballot, publishing the official election results, and issuing certificates of election to the winning candidates
5. Treasurer
  1. receives all money paid to the state of Nevada and disburses it accordingly
  2. deposits all state funds to their relative locations; makes sure they don’t get lost and checks on interest rates
6. Controller
  1. issues a receipt of a warrant for the treasurer to receive the state’s money
  2. serving as the state’s primary bookkeeper
  3. issuing an annual report of state expenditures
  4. serving as the auditor in claims against the state

Lesson 7

Describe the primary duties of each major part of Nevada’s court system. How do the various parts of the system interact in terms of division of court workload?
1. four levels of the court system
  1. Nevada Supreme Court (court of last resort)
    1. unless a federal issue is involved that brings it to the federal courts, this court’s decisions are final
    2. jurisdiction over original and appellate cases
    3. hears appeals from the district courts within the state, but only for questions of law, and not of fact
    4. cannot give advisory opinions or hear debated issues
    5. the attorneys of each side of the case submit written– and sometimes oral– arguments to the justices to explain their side
    6. the workload was too much so the court of appeals was established to help relieve some of this
  2. Court of Appeals
    1. push down model: other courts have appeals from trial courts that go directly to the court of appeals. The case is appealed to the supreme court only if one of the involved parties is dissatisfied with the verdict
    2. cases are appealed directly from the trial courts to the supreme courts
    3. supreme court will push down some of these cases to the court of appeals to relieve the amount of cases they have to hear
  3. District courts
    1. oversee specific districts of counties
    2. appellate and original jurisdiction
    3. reduce workload: civil cases of less than $50,000 have to be submitted to non-binding arbitration first; the defendant can still request a trial if they aren’t satisfied with the arbiter’s decision which proceeds to the district courts
    4. can issue the same writs as the supreme court
    5. appellate jurisdiction: hearing cases from the justice and municipal courts
  4. Municipal and Justice courts (courts of limited jurisdiction)
    1. only have original jurisdiction
    2. hear minor criminal and civil matters, most often traffic violations
    3. Justice courts:
    4. hearing misdemeanor cases
    5. hearing civil cases of $15,000 or less
    6. holding preliminary hearings in felony and gross misdemeanor cases to determine probable cause for a trial in a district court
    7. small claims court: claims for money that don’t exceed $10,000
    8. Municipal courts:
    9. traffic cases, violations of city ordinances, and city recovery cases for $2,500 or less
How are judicial vacancies filled?
1. Nevada Commission on Judicial Selection: takes applications from interested candidates when a vacancy occurs and recommends three names to the governor
  1. governor selects one of the three candidates on the list within thirty days of the recommendation
2. Supreme court vacancies
  1. “Permanent commission”
    1. the supreme court chief justice or a justice designated by him, three members of the state bar appointed by the bar’s board of governors, and three people not in the law field named by the governor
    2. same name-list process
3. District court vacancies
  1. “Temporary commission”
    1. permanent commission as well as another member of the state bar and another person not in the law field living in the district that the vacancy pertains to
    2. same name-list process
4. Justice courts vacancies
  1. filled by that county’s county commission
5. Municipal court vacancies
  1. filled by rules outlined in city charter

Lesson 9

What are the primary sources of state revenue in Nevada? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of the state’s revenue generating system?
1. taxes, fees, fines, and the federal government
2. Taxes
  1. federal estate tax
  2. gaming taxes (over half of Nevada’s revenue)
    1. largest one: gross gambling income of each casino; money goes into the state’s general fund and is distributed by the legislature
    2. annual tax of $250 on each slot machine; money from this tax goes 80% to education and 20% to pay bonds for construction at UNR and UNLV
    3. live entertainment events in both gaming and non-gaming establishments; put into general state fund
    4. each gaming table in the state; distributed equally among each state county
  3. sales taxes; into general fund
    1. very high sales tax rate → NV switched from high property taxes to high sales taxes instead
    2. keeps the burden on residents and tourists rather than just residents
    3. in times of economic downturn (when tourism is low), the state doesn’t make enough revenue
    4. Sales taxes are less stable and more difficult to predict than property taxes
    5. sales taxes are regressive: takes a higher percentage of an individual’s income the lower the income is
    6. in 1984 food was exempted from the sales tax
  4. property taxes
    1. very low now; cap on property taxes established
  5. business taxes
  6. excise taxes
    1. only on specific items such as cigarettes, fuel, alcohol, and insurance
3. Fines and fees
  1. Parking and traffic fines
  2. things like marriage, hunting, and fishing licenses, motor vehicles
4. Grants
  1. usually for education or infrastructure

Lesson 10

The chapter divides Nevada political history into four eras. What are the two primary factors that have shaped Nevada since 1980? How have these factors shaped both Nevada politics and state and local policy?
1. From 1980-present, 2 main factors
  1. two-party competition
    1. since the start of Nevada as a state but specifically since the 1980s, the two parties have been switching back and forth in their power holds
  2. population growth
    1. took off in the 1940s and has been growing since
    2. Nevada has been struggling to meet the needs of new residents through new schools, roads, and other infrastructure
    3. battles of “fair share”
    4. distribution of the city-county relief tax funds and sales taxes
How does the state’s growth rate, citizen demands, public revenue structure, and constitutional requirements influence the form and delivery of public services in Nevada? Do you agree with the author that citizens may be showing a type of hypocrisy?
1. growth of the state’s population has led to large expansion in the gaming and tourism industries, as well as housing and construction
2. large population of retirees: tendency for them to reject government funding for services that don’t appear to directly affect them
3. rejected tax increases for more support toward emergency and police services, infrastructure, senior services, and other community-building human services
4. Nevada relies largely on sales tax revenue to generate enough money for increased human services
  1. residents refuse increases in taxes or bonds to pay for better quality and a larger quantity of these services
  2. they demand lower tax rates
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