State and Local Government

The Basics Georgia – 159 Counties – – Founded in 1733 by James Oglethorpe – Named for King George II – Debtors and Prisoners – 13 th colony – Peach State – Recall we have a FEDERAL form of gov’t!

Recall Federal Gov’t We have BOTH state gov’t and national gov’t

National Government Breakdown National/Central U.S Executive Branch * president, vice president, and federal bureaucracy U.S. Legislative Branch * Congress = U.S. Senate (100) and U.S. House of Reps (435) U.S. Judicial Branch * Hundreds of federal courts, and one U.S. Supreme Court (9)

State Government Breakdown State State Executive * Governor, Lt. Governor, and State Agencies/Departments State Legislative * General Assembly = State Senate (56), and State House of Reps (180) State Judicial * State Supreme Court, District courts and local courts

For the purpose of this unit we will focus our attention on the STATE GOVERNMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We already learned National

Executive Branch of Georgia Head = Governor Current Governor = Nathan Deal Lieutenant Governor = Casey Cagle Both re-elected in 2014 They run separately (unlike Pres & VP)

Governor Requirements to become Governor in Ga 30yrs old 6yr resident of Ga 15yr citizen of U.S. Term In Office: 4yrs limited to two terms Duties include – enforce Ga laws, start and convene Congress, help with budget, work with state departments

Nathan Deal Republican First elected in 2010 Elected in 2014 to his 2 nd term

Powers of the Governor 1.The legislative power – to recommend legislation to the Georgia General Assembly 2.The power to call the GA General Assembly into special sessions 3.Judicial powers – Clemency – leniency toward a convicted criminal – Pardon – legal forgiveness for a crime – Commutation – reducing the length of a person’s sentence – Reprieve – postponing the execution of a person’s sentence – Parole – releasing a prisoner before the sentence is complete

Agencies and Departments to know Department of Education (GA) = Dr. Richard Woods– State school superintendent Department of State (GA) = Brian Kemp – monitors elections, corporations, state licensing Attorney General (GA) = Sam Olens – kind of like Ga’s lawyer for gov’t officials

Georgia’s Legislative Branch Bicameral = Senate and House of Representatives Georgia calls their Congress – Georgia’s General Assembly Both houses are up for election every 2yrs – vote in district 180 members in the House of Reps – 21 yrs old min age Trey Kelley = Polk Rep 56 members in the Senate – 25 yrs old min age Bill Heath = Polk Senator start the 2 nd Monday in January for 40 days

Powers of State Legislatures 1.Police power – the power to protect the safety and well-being of the citizens of a state. 2.Executive powers – the power to approve appointments made by the Governor 3.Judicial powers – the power to remove an elected official from office through impeachment 4.Constituent powers – the power to write and amend state constitutions

Georgia Judicial Highest Ga court = Georgia Supreme Court 7 Justices How many justices serve on the US Supreme Court? 9 Current Chief Justice of GA = Carol Hunstein Who is the Chief Justice for US Supreme Court? – John G. Roberts

Georgia Judicial Magistrate court – civil matters less than $15k, warrants, county ordinance violations Probate court – wills, estate matters, and traffic violations Municipal court – civil cases over $15k and misdemeanor criminal cases Superior court – dealing with larger criminal cases – typically each county will have a Superior Court

Polk County Incorporated (became a county) in 1851 Named for James K. Polk Cities include – Rockmart, Aragon, and Cedartown Rockmart’s name formed from Rock Market Polk Superintendent = Dr. William Hunter Local Congress members: Senator Bill Heath House member Trey Kelley

Polk County Government All state and federal laws are enforced Main body of government for Polk = Board of Commissioners - Chairman Marshelle Thaxton Local Ordinances (local laws) include – burning times, community development, sound, civil disobedience, animal control, expansion, zoning, waste management, permits, etc

Paying for services In a Federal country, which body of government is responsible for paying for all the services/goods that are provided to the people? – Federal, State, and Local government have specific financial responsibility as far as planning the budget and where the money will be spent. – Ex: Who would fund the U.S. Army? Who would fund the Georgia State Patrol? Who would fund a red light in Rockmart?

Civic Duty Once the bodies of government have determined what needs to be spent, where do they get the money? If they want a new school does it magically appear? Goods & services provided by the government are paid through TAXES!!! Taxes = money the government borrows to handle all their expenditures (spending) Each citizen has a Civic Duty (something you do b/c you want to keep your country great) to pay taxes

Taxes Income Tax – money withheld from your paycheck – both State & Federal gov’t tax your income. Sales Tax = a tax placed on commodities (items you buy)–– there are additional special taxes for gas, alcohol & tobacco Sales Tax break down: – Georgia State Sales Tax = 4% – Local Sales Tax = allowed by the General Assembly 1-3% – Polk County Sales Tax = 3% - What is the total Sales Tax in Polk County? – 7% b/c you add the state and local together

Taxes Con’t Property Tax = a tax placed on personal assets such as land, farms, house, cars Categorizing taxes: Progressive Tax = a tax that increases as wealth increases – tends to hurt higher incomes Ex: Income Tax Regressive Tax = a tax where the percent paid affects higher incomes less – tends to hurt lower income Ex: Sales Tax Education is primarily funded through property taxes