State Government

• Lesson One

  • The States

• Lesson Two

  • State Legislatures

• Lesson Three

  • The State Executive Branch

• Lesson Four

  • State Courts

State Government Powers

• 13 States ratified the Constitution & agreed to come together as one country

• The States did NOT want to hand too much power over to the federal government

• Some powers----delegated powers----were given to the federal government

• Delegated powers include conducting foreign policy, printing money, and defending the country

Power Reserved to the States

• The states kept control over more local concerns

• The 10th amendment of the U.S. Constitution says any power not delegated to the federal government belongs to the people and the states. These powers are known as reserved powers

• Reserved powers allow state governments to establish rules for health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of their states

• Another reserved power of the state is to conduct all local, state, and national elections

Concurrent Powers

• Some government powers are shared by both state and federal governments. These powers are known as concurrent powers

• Another important concurrent power, or shared, power is making and enforcing laws.

• Most states also have a state police force that helps enforce those laws and keep the states safe

State Constitutions

• Each of the 50 States has its own constitution

• Many state constitutions contain the following: Preamble, Bill of Rights, Outline of Branches, Provisions for Elections, Provisions for state affairs, and methods of amending the state constitution

States Work Together

• By signing the U.S. Constitution, the states agreed to cooperate with each other

• The Full Faith & Credit Clause ensures that each state will accept the decisions of civil courts in other states

  • Examples: Marriage and Birth certificates, wills, contracts, and property deeds

• States also work together in other ways as well

  • For Example: A person who commits a crime cannot escape justice by fleeing to another state. The suspect would return to the state the crime was committed in. This process of returning fugitives is called extradition

States Work with the Federal Government

• Federal and State governments often work together to share the cost of providing a wide range of social services to the American people.

  • For example: Building highways, assisting the unemployed, helping people with low incomes, and conserve natural resources

• State and national governments also cooperate in times of crisis

  • For example: Natural disasters, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornadoes.

Organization

• All but one of the fifty states have legislatures divided into houses

• State Legislatures decided into two houses are known as bicameral legislatures.

• Only the state of Nebraska has a unicameral, or one-house, legislature, called the Senate.

• State legislatures vary greatly in size

  • For example: Alaska has the smallest legislature with 40 representatives and 20 senators. New Hampshire's legislature is the largest in the United States. It has 400 representatives and 24 seantors.

Organization (Continued):

• The state legislatures are organized to represent all citizens of the state equally

• In the 1964 case of Reynolds v. Sims, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state election districts must be equal in population or as equal as possible.

• Legislatures are now required to establish election districts that are almost equal in population

Compensation:

• The salaries and benefits received by state legislators vary widely from state to state

  • For example: In Rhode Island, legislators who serve part time each receive $15,000 a year. New York's full-time legislators are among the highest paid in the country, each receiving an annual salary of $79,500, plus $172 a day for expenses

Sessions & Leaders:

• Each State determines when its legislature meets

• At the beginning of each session members of the legislature choose the presiding officer and other leaders

• In most states the lieutenant governor presides over the state Senate

• Members of the lower house in all states choose their own presiding officer, usually called the speaker

• As in the U.S. Congress, most of the work of the state legislatures is done in committees that specialize in certain areas, such as agriculture or education.

Passing State Laws

• How bill gets passed:

• Bill is Introduced

• The Bill Is Sent to Committee

• The Bill Reaches the Floor

• The Bill is Sent to the Second House

• The Bill Is sent to a Joint Conference Committee

• The Bill Is sent to the Governor

Working with the Legislature:

• Constituents can help develop state laws

• The meetings and hearings of state legislatures are open to all citizens

• Citizens can follow legislative activities through newspapers, televisions, and magazines

Bypassing the Legislature:

• Citizens are able to initiate, or start, new legislation through a process called the initiative

• To begin an initiative, citizens write a petition describing the law they are proposing

• A required number of voters---the number varies from state to state---must then sign the petition

• If enough signatures are collected then the proposition appears on the ballot at the next general election

• If enough people vote for the bill, it becomes law

Bypassing the Legislature (Continued):

• In many states the voters must approve certain bills passed by the legislature before the bills can become laws

• This method of referring potential laws directly to the people for approval is called a referendum

• Some states also allows voters to remove elected officials from office. This process is known as a recall, begins when a required number of voters signs a petition. A special election on the petition is then held. If a majority of voters favors the recall, the official is removed.

State Court Cases:

• Each state creates its own penal code.

• A penal code is a set of criminal laws

• State attorneys prosecute individuals who violate the penal code by committing a crime

Selection of State Judges:

• In most states, citizens elect state supreme court judges

• In some states, the governor appoints supreme court judges

• State law determines how judges are selected in each state and the length of each type of judge's term

• Some states have adopted a method of selecting judges called the Missouri Plan. Under this plan, a committee of judges, lawyers, and ordinary citizens prepares a list of qualified judges. The governor appoints a judge from this list. The judge must then face the voters in the next election