Select a topic that can be analyzed from an intergovernmental relations perspective. Choose one of the public policy issues that exhibit the characteristics of intergovernmental relations (e.g. minimum wage policy, immigration policy, environmental protection, human rights, marriage rulings, gun policy, economic crisis response, disaster response, and marijuana legalization).
You may focus on a topic discussed during the lecture or in the readings. You may also consider searching local newspapers, news, or policy briefs closely associated with inter-governmental relations.
In this first step assignment, Introduce the topic (or case), provide background information on the topic, and summarize the existing challenges or debates associated with the selected public policy issue.
Your submission should be a maximum 500 words.
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Slide 1 Inter-governmental Relations Constitutions Unit 3 KEAN ONLINE KEAN UNIVERSITY * Public Administration: An Indispensable Part of Society | * Overview of Lecture Local Government Introduction to State and Local Government Legislatures Court Judicial Branch Federalism: The Power Plan Constitutions: Operating Instructions Governors and Executives Finance Metropolitics We are here! * Public Administration: An Indispensable Part of Society | * Lecture objectives After this lecture, you will be able to Describe the role of state constitutions Explain how state constitutions evolved in early American history Discuss the role of bicameral legislatures in the first generation of state constitutions Identify the ways state constitutions can be formally changed Discuss why constitutions vary from state to state Explain how state constitutions differ Relate the ways local governments may be subject to governing documents such as a constitution Public Administration: An Indispensable Part of Society | * State constitutions Lots of variation among state constitutions Reflection of a state’s political culture Reflection of a state’s history Reflection of citizens’ understanding of “good government” Reflection of geography ** The Center for State Constitutional Studies at Rutgers-Camden - an interdisciplinary institute dedicated to promoting public understanding of American state constitutions and of sub-national constitutions in other federal systems http://camlaw.rutgers.edu/statecon/ ** New Jersey Constitution http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/lawsconstitution/constitution.asp Constitution USA http://www.pbs.org/video/2350670917/ *** Constitution Games http://www.pbs.org/tpt/constitution-usa-peter-sagal/constitution-games/ http://www.pbs.org/tpt/constitution-usa-peter-sagal/constitution-games/power-play/ ** Introduction to the United States Constitution https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tw5QPncdkTM ** Constitution of The United States of America - 1789 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWD8sVZRwBI The Bill of Rights https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQNiBQehwp8 * Public Administration: An Indispensable Part of Society | * State constitutions within the federal political system Dual constitutionalism All establish roles and responsibilities of government All define institutional structure All establish operational procedures All spell out rights of citizens Public Administration: An Indispensable Part of Society | * Difference between the U.S. Constitution and state constitutions Powers granted to government Permanence Length Specificity Embrace of Democracy Finances State governments have plenary power, which means their powers are not limited to those laid down in the U.S. Constitution or their own state constitutions (the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution). Embrace of democracy: States give the people the ability to amend their constitutions and pass laws directly through the use of referendums and ballot initiatives. State constitutions champion direct democracy in a way that the U.S. Constitution purposefully does not. Finances: Congress and the White House can run up as much national debt as they persuade bond buyers to swallow; In contrast, 32 states constitutions require the legislative and executive branches to balance their budgets; another 17 states have statutes that mandate balanced budgets. * Public Administration: An Indispensable Part of Society | * Public Administration: An Indispensable Part of Society | * Evolution of state constitutions Colonial charters Legislative power Unicameral vs. bicameral legislature Jim Crow laws and the franchise Jim Crow Laws Legislative measures passed in the last decade of the 19th century that sought to systemically separate blacks and whites. *What were the Jim Crow Laws? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2Iwa9LeuFM ** Jim Crow Laws 1930's Intro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IfLzgaJOMU ** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Crow_laws Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Enacted after the Reconstruction period, these laws continued in force until 1965. They mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities in states of the former Confederate States of America, starting in 1890 with a "separate but equal" status for African Americans. Conditions for African Americans were consistently inferior and underfunded compared to those available to white Americans. This body of law institutionalized a number of economic, educational and social disadvantages. De jure segregation mainly applied to the Southern United States, while Northern segregation was generally de facto — patterns of housing segregation enforced by private covenants, bank lending practices and job discrimination, including discriminatory union practices. Jim Crow laws mandated the segregation of public schools, public places and public transportation, and the segregation of restrooms, restaurants and drinking fountains for whites and blacks. The U.S. military was also segregated, as were federal workplaces, initiated in 1913 under President Woodrow Wilson, the first Southern president elected since 1856. By requiring candidates to submit photos, his administration practiced racial discrimination in hiring. These Jim Crow laws followed the 1800–1866 Black Codes, which had previously restricted the civil rights and civil liberties of African Americans. Segregation of public (state-sponsored) schools was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1954 in Brown v. Board of Education. Generally, the remaining Jim Crow laws were overruled by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 but years of action and court challenges were needed to unravel numerous means of institutional discrimination. w.youtube.com/watch?v=xzL2Brhg9aQ * Public Administration: An Indispensable Part of Society | * Public Administration: An Indispensable Part of Society | * Public Administration: An Indispensable Part of Society | * Amending state constitutions Formal changes Legislative proposals Ballot initiatives and referendums Constitutional conventions Constitutional revision commissions Ratification Public Administration: An Indispensable Part of Society | * Amending state constitutions, cont. Informal changes Judicial review Shifting powers between branches Neglect * Public Administration: An Indispensable Part of Society | * Public Administration: An Indispensable Part of Society | * Public Administration: An Indispensable Part of Society | * Direct democracy Initiatives Referendums Public Administration: An Indispensable Part of Society | * Why state constitutions vary Historical circumstances Political culture Geography Perceptions of good government Model constitution Public Administration: An Indispensable Part of Society | * How state constitutions vary Operating rules and selection for office Distribution of political power Inclusion of specific citizens’ rights Representative v. direct democracy Governor of Oklahoma, must be at least 31 years old Governor of California, 18years old. ** How many statewide elected positions they create. - judiciaries * Distribution of political power - Line-item-veto: the power to reject a portion of a bill while leaving the rest intact bolstered governors’ power ( more than 40 states) - In Wisconsin, the state constitution allows the governor the power to strike out an appropriation entirely and write in a lower figure. ** US Constitution does not explicitly mention a right to privacy - Montana’s constitution states it explicitly. ** Proposition 13 California * Public Administration: An Indispensable Part of Society | * Public Administration: An Indispensable Part of Society | * Local governments Municipal charters Home rule ** Substate governments School districts Counties Municipalities ** Municipal charter is not a constitution, rather, it is a grant of authority derived from a constitution or from state law. http://www.nlc.org/build-skills-and-networks/resources/cities-101/city-structures/municipal-charters ** Home rule - a form of self-governance granted to towns and cities by the state * Public Administration: An Indispensable Part of Society | * Conclusion State constitutions define the possibilities of politics in most states Reflect and reveal variation across states Provide an additional outlet for citizen participation