Assignment # 4-Chapter 18-student copy
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American Government & Politics Today 19e
Assignment # 4 –
Chapter 18 – State & Local Government
1) Match the definition with the words listed below (20 pts)
Charter /
Consolidation
/ Constitutional Initiative /
Cooley’s Rule
/ Council of
Governments (COG) /
County
/ Dillon’s Rule /
Functional Consolidation
/ General
Law City /
General Sales Tax
/ Home Rule City
/ Item Veto
/ Municipal Home Rule /
New England Town
/ Property Tax /
Selectperson
/ Town Manager System /
Town
Meeting
/ Unincorporated Area
The governing authority of a New England town.
Qualified voters may participate in the election of
officers and the passage of legislation.
Town Meeting
A governmental unit in the New England states
that combines the roles of city and county in one
unit.
New England Town
A tax levied as a proportion of the retail price of a
commodity at the point of sale.
General Sales Tax
An area not located within the boundary of
municipality.
Unincorporated Area
A document issued by a government that
grants to a person, a group of persons, or a
corporation the right to carry on one or more
specific activities. A state government can
grant a charter to a municipality.
Charter
The narrowest possible interpretation of the
legal status of local governments, outlined by
Judge John E. Dillon, who in 1872 stated that
a municipal corporation can exercise only
those powers expressly granted by state law.
Dillon’s Rule
A city operating under general state laws that
apply to all local governmental units of a
similar type.
General Law City
A rural unit of government based on federal
land surveys of the American frontier in the
1780s. Townships have declined significantly
in importance.
Township
A city permitted by the state to let local voters
frame, adopt, and amend their own charter.
Home rule city
The union of two or more governmental units
Consolidation
to form a single unit.
The power exercised by the governors of most
states to veto particular sections or items of an
appropriations bill while signing the
remainder of the bill into law.
Item veto
A form of town government in which voters
elect three selectpersons, who then appoint a
professional town manager, who in turn
appoints other officials.
Selectperson
The power vested in a local unit of
government to draft or change its own charter
and to manage its own affairs.
Municipal home rule
A tax on the value of real estate. This tax is a
particularly important source of revenue for
local governments.
Property Tax
An electoral device whereby citizens can
propose a constitutional amendment through
petitions signed by the required number of
registered voters.
Constitutional Initiative
Cooperation by two or more units of local
government in providing services to their
inhabitants. This is generally done by
unifying a set of departments (e.g., the police
departments) into a single agency.
Functional Consolidation
The view that cities should be able to govern
themselves, presented in an 1871 Michigan
decision by Judge Thomas Cooley.
Cooley’s Rule
A voluntary organization of counties and
municipalities concerned with area-wide
problems.
Council of Governments (COG)
The chief governmental unit set up by the
state to administer state law and business at
the local level. Counties are drawn up by area,
rather than by rural or urban criteria.
County
A member of the governing group of a town.
2) Fill In the sample
State Court System
Chart.pg 671 (8pts)
State Supreme Court
Intermediate Appellate Courts
Superior Court
County Court
Municipal Court
Probate Court
Domestic Relations
Court
Justice of the Peace
and Police Magistrate
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3) Define the function of each court listed below: 8 pts
County Court:
Domestic Relations Court:
Intermediate Appellate Courts:
Justice of the Peace & Police Magistrate:
Municipal Courts:
Probate Court:
State Supreme Court:
Superior Court:
This court, sometimes called Common Pleas or District Court, has limited jurisdiction in both civil and criminal cases
Also called Family Court or Juvenile Court
About three-fourths of the states have intermediate appellate courts, which are intermediate appellate tribunals between
the trial courts and the courts of final resort. A majority of cases on appeal are decided finally by these appellate courts.
Lowest courts in judicial hierarchy. Limited in jurisdiction in both civil and criminal cases
In some cities, it is customary to have less important cases tried by municipal justices or municipal magistrates.
Some states call it Surrogate Court or Orphans’ Court. It is a special court that handles wills, administration of
estates, and guardianship of minors and incompetents.
Court of final resort. Some states call it Court of Appeals. Supreme Judicial Court, or Supreme Court of Appeals.
Highest trial court with general jurisdiction. Some states call it Circuit Court, District Court of Common
Pleas, and in New York, Supreme Court
4) List the 5 types and number of the Local Governments in the United States from 2012 U.S. Census Bureau, fill in
the table below: (12 points)
Local Governments in the United States
NUMBER
Municipalities
19,000
Counties
3,000
Townships
16,360
Special Districts
38,266
School Districts
12,880
TOTAL
90,056
Each multiple choice (27 pts – 3pts each)
5)
Which of the following is true of the federal system in the United States?
a. The states have most of the power.
b. Local governments create the state governments.
c. Governmental programs are mostly the exclusive responsibility of the federal
government.
d
. There are 50 separate state governments and one national government.
6)
When studying American government, why is it important to learn about local governments?
7)
Your state has just levied a new income tax. What type of power is it exercising?
a. Implied
b. Reserved
c.
Inherent
d. Remanded
8)
Your state has imposed a new traffic law by setting the speed limit on certain highways within the
state to 70 mph. What type of general power allows the state to do this?
a. Police
b. Fiduciary
c.
Commerce
d. Federal
a. Local governments can reverse the decisions of the state and federal governments.
b.
Local governments have the greatest day-to-day impact on the lives of citizens.
c. Local governments are specifically addressed in the Constitution.
d. Local governments all together spend more than the federal government.
9)
Which of the following entities has the power to regulate intrastate commerce?
a.
Congress
b. State governments
c. The president
d. National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB)
10)
What does the Constitution say in Article VI, Clause 2 regarding state and local governmental
activity?
a. It is permitted in actions that do not involve the national government.
b. It is unlimited because of fears of a strong national government dating to the Articles of
Confederation.
c. It is under the oversight of the legislative branch of the national government.
d.
It is restricted because of the supremacy of the national government.
11)
Consider the founders of your state drafting the state's constitution, which is lengthy and very detailed.
Why might they feel the need to be so specific in the state constitution?
a.
To protect themselves from the exercise of the supremacy clause by the federal government
b. To protect themselves from the overreaching authority of other states
c. Because state courts interpret their constitutions in a much more broad and liberal manner
than the Supreme Court interprets the U.S. Constitution
d. To fill gaps left by the very brief federal Constitution.
12)
Regarding the U.S. Constitution, which of the following is true of state and local laws?
a. They must be acknowledged by an existing amendment to the U.S
Constitution.
b.
They must not conflict with the U.S Constitution.
c. They must consider future Supreme Court opinions.
d. They must be in opposition to the U.S. Constitution.
13)
Which of the following do all state governments in the United States have?
a. A unicameral legislature
b. A parliamentary system of government
c. A provision allowing citizens to vote to alter state boundaries
d.
An executive, legislative, and judicial branch
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