INTRODUCTION TO FEDERALISM The National Government and the States

Governmental Structure Federalism: a political system where local government units can make final decisions regarding some governmental activities and whose existence is protected Unitary System: local governments are subservient to the national government

Super Simple Unitary System - Great Britain

Confederacy

What’s a Confederation and What Isn’t? Is the European Union a confederation? What about the United Nations?

Federalism Federalism is a system of government in which power is NOT shared, but DIVIDED between the central, or federal, government and the states. Dual Federalism: Dual federalism is the theory that the federal government and the state governments operate in separate realms in which each is respectively sovereign. Support for this in practice is made with appeals to the 10th amendment and the states' insistence that the enumerated powers are the sole powers of the national(federal) government. Cooperative Federalism: Cooperative federalism, however, emphasizes the overlapping spheres of power and operation across the levels of government. This cooperative principle is seen in the implementation of federal policy with federal funds, by the states who have sanctioned such policies. Fiscal federalism is the understanding of what functions and instruments are allocated across different parts of administration. An important part of this is the transfer of payments from the central government to lower governments.

Positives and Negatives of Federalism Negative view: Federalism blocks progress and protects powerful local interests The United Kingdom might agree with this Positive view: Federalism contributes to governmental strength, political flexibility, and fosters individual liberty Federalist #10: small political units allow all relevant interests to be heard Federalism increases political activity

Federalism: A Bold New Plan No historical precedent Tenth Amendment was added as an afterthought to clarify the limits of the national government’s power Elastic language in Article I: Necessary and Proper Clause expands federal power This last bit is to ensure that even though power is divided, the Federal Congress can still take charge when necessary.

McCulloch v. Maryland What do we remember? Could Congress charter a national bank? Yes, even though this power is not explicitly in the Constitution (Necessary and Proper Clause) Could states tax the national bank? No, because “the power to tax is the power to destroy”

Grants in Aid A giving of federal funds to a state or local government to subsidize a public project. Dramatically increased in scope in 20 th century Grants were attractive to state officials for various reasons Required broad congressional coalitions with wide dispersion of funds, because every state had incentive to seek grant money

Categorical Grants v. Revenue Sharing Categorical grants for specific purposes defined by federal law; often require local matching funds Block grants (sometimes called special revenue sharing or broad-based aid) devoted to general purposes with few restrictions—states preferred block to categorical grants Revenue sharing (sometimes called general revenue sharing) requires no matching funds and can be spent on almost any governmental purpose

The Changing Purpose of Federal Grants to State and Local Governments Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2005, table 12.2.

Federal Grants to State and Local Governments, Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2002, Historical Tables, table 6.1, and Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2005, table 12.1.

Federal Aid and Federal Control Conditions of aid: tell state governments what they must do if they wish to receive grant money Mandates: federal rules that states or localities must obey, generally have little or nothing to do with federal aid Americans With Disabilities Act No Child Left Behind Drinking Age 21 You can lose government funding for not meeting the requirements of these. However, you may not be given any money to help you meet the mandate: you find a way to meet it, or there will be consequences. This is called an “unfunded mandate.”

Devolution Devolution initiatives returned program management to the states, with some federal guidelines, but there is no guarantee of federal support Block grants fund entitlements Entitlement Programs - A government program that guarantees certain benefits to a particular group or segment of the population. Welfare Reform Act of 1996 include: States were given the power and money to run their own welfare program. States were given discretion to determine how to implement the federal goal of transferring people from welfare to work. Part of a larger movement of devolution, or giving power back to the states.

The Devolution Revolution Devolution proponents harbor a deep-seated ideological mistrust of federal government and believe that state governments are more responsive to the people Deficit politics encouraged devolution Devolution is supported by public opinion, but the strength of that support is uncertain George W Bush and his attempts to reform Social Security went down in flames, and some politico’s argue that this was the beginning of the end for Bush 43’s second term.

Devolution Local governments such as municipalities, counties, parishes, boroughs, school districts, and other types of local government and political subdivision entities are devolved. They are established, regulated, and subject to governance by the constitutions or laws of the state in which they reside. Many local governments are given some degree of home rule, depending on the state. U.S. state legislatures, in most cases, have the power to change laws that affect local government structures. In some states, the governor may also have power over local government affairs.

Dillon’s Rule Dillon’s Rule is the cornerstone of American municipal law. Under Dillon's Rule, a municipal (local) government has authority to act only when : (1) the power is granted in the express words of the statute, private act, or charter creating the municipal corporation; (2) the power is necessarily or fairly implied in, or incident to the powers expressly granted; or (3) the power is one that is neither expressly granted nor fairly implied from the express grants of power, but is otherwise implied as essential to the declared objects and purposes of the corporation. The Dillon rule is used in interpreting state law when there is a question of whether or not a local government has a certain power. Judge Forest Dillon, the chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court expounded this famous rule, which was quickly adopted by state supreme courts around the nation.

Congress and Federalism Members of Congress represent conflicting constituencies The erosion of parties increases political competition Americans differ in the extent to which we like federal versus local decisions Remember, I asked you about this earlier in the year. Almost all of you said local power was more important than national power. And yet, almost every issue you mentioned was already something the states have control over. I also mentioned Virginia’s laws about gay marriage. And yet many of you wrote that issues of morality should be left up to the states, NOT the federal government as a whole.