IM

chapter 3

Federalism: Forms and Framework

  • Three major forms of government organization

    • 1st form: Federalism (the U.S. system) — How the Federal System Works

    • Authority: Federal government and states derive authority from the people

    • 2nd form: Unitary Government

    • 3rd form: Confederation government

  • How the Federal System Works (overview)

    • The federal government and states derive authority from the people

Unitary Government

  • How Unitary Government Works

    • Local and Regional Government exist, but power is centralized at the national level

  • Example mentioned: France is an example of a unitary system

Confederation Government

  • How Confederation Government Works

    • Power concentrated at regional/subnational levels with loose central authority

How Many Governments Do We Have in America?

  • Answer: 90,106 governments (U.S. Census Bureau, 2013)

    • 1 US Government

    • 50 State Governments

    • 3031 County Governments

    • 19,519 Municipal Governments

    • 16,360 Town Governments

    • 38,266 Special District Governments

    • 12,880 Independent School Districts

  • In Texas, there are 5,343 local governments (2017)

Good Things About Federalism

  • Diverse policies for a diverse population

  • Minimizes policy conflict

  • Interstate compacts

  • Closer to people

  • Healthy dispersion of power creates more opportunities for participation

  • Policy innovation at the state level (states can act as "laboratories" for new ideas)

  • State and local levels provide good training grounds

  • Privileges and Immunities Clause

    • What does this mean?

Concerns About Federalism

  • No national standards can create inequities

  • Dispersion of power can allow groups to protect interests that may be undemocratic or contrary to national trends

  • Low visibility and information flow about local governments

  • Is diversity always good? Potential for bad competition between states

How to Divide Power? (Intro to American Government)

  • National Powers

  • State Powers

  • Concurrent Powers

  • Denied Powers

National Power

  • Obligation to protect states from invasion and violence

  • Supremacy Clause (Constitution is the supreme law)

  • Other powers include:

    • Coin money

    • Conduct foreign relations

    • Regulate commerce

    • Provide an army and navy

    • Declare war

    • Establish courts inferior to the Supreme Court

    • Establish post offices

    • Make laws necessary and proper to carry out these powers

    • Admit new states

  • Note: These powers are tied to the Necessary and Proper Clause

State Power

  • Reservation Clause = 10th Amendment

  • Unique to the US system

  • Powers of States include:

    • Legislate public health, safety, and morals of their citizens

    • State criminal laws

    • Set time/place/manner of elections

    • Ratify amendments to the federal Constitution

    • Exert powers not delegated to the national government or prohibited to the states

    • Establish local governments

    • Regulate commerce within a state

    • Regulate voting

  • Example artifact: Texas flag (illustrative of state powers)

Concurrent Power

  • Powers given to both national and state governments

  • Examples:

    • Tax

    • Borrow money

    • Make and enforce laws

    • Charter banks

    • Spend money for general welfare

    • Take private property for public purposes with just compensation

Denied Powers (Powers we don't give to anybody)

  • Also called A.K.A. Powers Denied

  • Denied to State Governments

  • Denied to National Government

  • Examples include: Bill of Attainer; Ex Post Facto laws

Development of Federalism in the USA

  • Key inflection points and actors

  • Marshall Court

    • McCulloch v. Maryland

    • Nullification

    • Preemption

The Civil War Amendments

  • Federal power expands to enforce national standards

  • 13th Amendment — Abolish slavery

  • 15th Amendment — Former male slaves the right to vote

  • Fourteenth Amendment

    • Due Process Clause (incorporation doctrine)

    • Equal Protection Clause

    • Remedial legislation comes from Section 5 of the 14th Amendment

    • National laws can address discriminatory state laws

Different Types of Federalism

  • Traditional models taught in many texts: Dual and Cooperative Federalism

  • Some models are more interpretive; not all texts use the later models consistently

  • Picket Fence Federalism is a modified form of Cooperative Federalism

Which Is Which? (Cake Metaphor)

  • A visual metaphor used to explain different federalism models

  • Some slides reference using cakes to illustrate the concepts

Dual Federalism

  • Each level of power remains supreme in its own jurisdiction

  • Separate and distinct levels; state-centered view

  • Historical reference: Dred Scott decision (1857)

  • Ended in the 1930s; often described as a division of labor like a large national cake with smaller state cupcakes

Cooperative Federalism (Marble Cake Federalism)

  • Also called "marble cake federalism" or shared federalism

  • Solutions for state and local problems are directed and sometimes funded by both national and state governments

  • Administration of programs characterized by shared power, shared responsibility, and shared blame if they fail

  • No clear divisions of power

Other Models and Clarifications

  • Some books go beyond Dual and Cooperative; include improvisations and interpretations

  • Reality: Cooperative doesn't always fit every modern model; authors explain it accordingly

Picket Fence Federalism

  • Modified form of Cooperative

  • Different Policy Areas; Level of Government

  • Not as messy as a marble cake; more organized, but not completely separate like dual federalism (analogy: white picket fence)

Why Should the Federal Government Spend Money Cooperatively?

  • National money to pay for national problems and to set minimal standards

  • Spillover effects

  • The national government provides revenue to state and local governments to help equalize resources

  • Programs might be managed better by state and local agencies (attack national problems while limiting growth of federal agencies)

  • Cutthroat Competition & Race to the Bottom

  • Competitive Federalism: Pros and cons

    • Good side: states compete to attract business

    • Bad side: race to the bottom, undermining standards

How Do They Allocate the Money? (Fiscal Federalism)

  • Federal funds distributed to lower levels of government are termed fiscal federalism

  • Categorical Grants (with strings attached)

    • Medicaid is the biggest example

  • Program Grants (narrow like categorical grants but limited in time periods for a specific issue)

  • Block Grants (few or no strings attached)

  • New Federalism (political program aimed at shifting power to the states)

  • Revenue Sharing (predetermined formula for allocating funds)

  • Formula Grants (money allocated in a predetermined manner)

  • Unfunded Mandates (federal requirements without accompanying funding)

Coercive Federalism

  • If you want money, you must comply with conditions

  • Commonly associated with categorical grants

  • Example: Federal highway money often tied to the drinking age of 21

  • Diagrammatic idea (text indicates a state-government vs. national-government dynamic)

  • End of notes on Section 3: Federalism