Legislatures
What are the four functions of state legislatures?
Pass legislation, appropriate funds, administrative oversight, and constituency service
How long are governor terms in most states?
4 years
What is the definition of bureaucracies?
The complex structure of offices, tasks, rules, and principles of organization that is employed by all large scaled institutions to coordinate the work of their personnel
What is the difference between a trial court and an appellate court?
Trial courts decide guilty/liable, appellate courts review trial court proceedings for due process.
Define intergovernmental relations.
Process by which the levels of government negotiate and compromise over policy responsibility
What are the three components of measures of state legislature professionalization?
Salary, session length, number of legislative staff
Do governors see their roles as problem solving/conflict resolution or setting/controlling the policy agenda?
More about problem solving/conflict resolution that agenda setting
What are the four responsibilities of bureaucracies?
Implement laws, make rules, enforce laws, innovate
True or False: Most states have court systems larger than the federal government court system.
False. Four states (CA, GA, NY, TX) have court systems larger than the federal court system
Define federalism.
Division of responsibility between national and regional (state) governments
What are formal powers and give one example of a formal power we discussed in class.
Formal powers are powers derived from one's legislative position. Examples include: Appointment and assignment powers, bill referral, control over legislative staff
We discussed 7 roles governor's play. Provide me 3.
Enforce laws
Lead the bureaucracy
Influence legislation, especially budget
State spokesperson/intergovernmental actor
Head of party
Public figure
Chief crisis manager
What are street level bureaucrats?
The bureaucrats on the front line of policy implementation
Are judges that are elected more, less, or equally responsive to public opinion as judges who are appointed?
More responsive.
Who benefits most from fiscal federalism?
Poor and rural areas.
Name three of the six influences on the policy-making process we discussed in class.
Vote threshold, timing, interest groups, direct democracy, governors, public opinion
There are 4 personal powers: Electoral mandate, Position on state political ambition ladder, Personal future of governors as governor, and Gubernatorial performance ratings. Define 2 of the 4.
Electoral mandate- Power derived from winning by large margins
Position on state political ambition ladder- Power derived from experience and relationships gained during previous political positions
Personal future of governors as governor- Power derived from the potential of continuing to serve as governor in the future
Gubernatorial performance ratings- Power derived from receiving ratings as being a well-performing governor
What is one reason state legislatures delegate power to bureaucracies and one reason state legislatures would not delegate power to bureaucracies?
Reasons to delegate: Bureaucracies staffed with policy experts; Updating laws harder than updating rules; Congress can ‘wash their hands’ of the issue.
Reasons not to delegate: Principal-agent problem- A conflict in priorities or responses between an actor and the representative authorized to act on the actor’s behalf
What is jurisdiction?
The power to hear/make decisions about cases
What are expressed, concurrent, and reserved powers?
Expressed powers- Powers specifically granted to the (federal) government
Concurrent powers- Powers shared by the federal and state governments
Reserved powers- Powers not specifically granted to the (federal) government or denied to regional governments
Cracking up areas with many out-group members into multiple, less powerful districts to dilute their influence
Stacking large out-group communities into districts with more in-group members to counterbalance large-outgroup influence
Packing outgroup members into as few as districts as possible, giving them fewer seats then they should have had
There are 6 institutional powers: Separately elected state level officials, The power of appointment, Tenure potential, Control over budget, Veto, Party control. Define 3 of the 6.
Separately elected state level officials- Power derived from the extent to which other state level officials are selected by the governor
The power of appointment- Power derived from the ability to appoint without (much) influence from other branches
Tenure potential- Power derived from the length of a governor’s term
Control over budget- Power derived from the ability of the governor to propose and amend the budget
Veto- Power derived from veto strength and veto override requirement
Party control- Power derived from extent of co-partisanship with legislature
Discuss the tension between the bureaucracy, legislature, and governor in regards to how the bureaucracy operates.
Struggle for power over bureaucracy
Legislature & Governor
The bureaucracy is created, overseen, paid for, and altered by the legislature, but operated (and organized) by governor
Bureaucracy & Governor
The bureaucracy is staffed with civil servants and experts who may have their own preferred policies, but headed by governor appointees
Bureaucracy creates rules, (some) governors can review them
Bureaucracy & Legislature
The heads of bureaucracy are is staffed with expertise and civil servants who may have their own preferred policies, but overseen by legislature
We discussed 5 influences on court decisions. Describe 3.
Institutional interests/public opinion
Stare decisis/Precedent
Political ideology and partisanship
Amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs
Interest groups
Contrast dual and cooperative federalism.
Dual federalism- A form of federalism where power and authority are more starkly divided between the central and regional governments
Cooperative federalism- A form of federalism where power and authority are less starkly divided between the central and regional governments