CHAPTER 4: FEDERALISMDAILY DILEMMA: BASED ON YOUR READING AND YOUR EXPERIENCES, IS OUR GOVERNMENT MORE SIMILAR TO COOPERATIVE OR DUAL FEDERALISM?

ARIZONA IMMIGRATION LAW

Is immigration a nationalor state issue?

ARIZONA V. UNITED STATES

In June 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the case Arizona v. United States, upholding the provision requiring immigration status checks during law enforcement stops but striking down three other provisions as violations of the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution.http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2012/06/26/exp-eb-immigration-ruling-discussion.cnn

I. THEORIES & METAPHORS

Federalism– Two or more governments exercise power and authority over the same people and the same territory.

DUAL FEDERALISM (LAYER CAKE FEDERALISM)

Dual federalism is a view holding that the Constitution is a compact among sovereign states, so that the powers of the national government and the states are clearly differentiated

4 ESSENTIALS TO THE THEORY

1. The national government rules by enumerated powers only.

2. The national government has a limited set of constitutional purposes.

3. Each government unit— nation and state– is sovereign within its own sphere

4. The relationship between nation and states is best characterized by tension rather than cooperation

A RIGID WALL SEPARATES THE NATION AND THE STATES

COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM (MARBLE CAKE FEDERALISM)

A view holding that the Constitution is an agreement among people who are citizens of both state and nation, so there is much overlap between state powers and national powers

The national and state governments do not act in separate spheres; they are intermingled

3 ESSENTIALS TO THE THEORY

1. National and state agencies typically undertake government functions jointly rather than exclusively

2. The nation and states routinely share power

3. Power is not concentrated at any government level or in any agency; the fragmentation of responsibilities gives people and groups access to many venues of influence

THE TENSION OF INTERPRETATION

Elastic Clause Article I, Section 8: after listing the enumerated powers, gives Congress the power to “make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers” (necessary and proper clause)

Tenth Amendment: reserves for the states or the people powers not assigned to the national government or denied to the states by the Constitution

How would dual and cooperative federalists feel about these two concepts?

Dual federalism believes in an inflexible elastic clause and a extensive Tenth Amendment

Cooperative federalism believes in flexible elastic clause and sees the Tenth Amendment as a self-evident truth

II. FEDERALISM’S DYNAMICS

While the Constitution establishes a kind of federalism, the actual balance of power in the U.S. is more a matter of debate than formal theory because…

1. American federalism is a flexible and dynamic system

2. Because of this flexibility, both elected and appointed officials across levels of government often make policy decisions based on pragmatic considerations without regard to theories of what American federalism should look like

3. There is general agreement that public problems cut across governmental boundaries

NATIONAL CRISES AND DEMANDS

Congress has been able to increase the scope of the national government tremendously during the previous two centuries

THE GREAT DEPRESSION

Great Depression: The problems of the Depression were too extensive for either state governments or private businesses to handle, so the national government assumed responsibility for providing relief and pursuing economic relief. Through regulation it attached to funds and shared responsibilities, the national government extended power and control over the states

9/11

Concerns over terrorist attacks expanded national power following 9/11. Congress quickly passes the PATRIOT Act that expanded surveillance and investigative powers of the Department of Justice. President Bush also got permission to wiretap phones without warrants

JUDICIAL INTERPRETATION

The interpretation of the Constitution by federal courts has also influenced the relationship between the national government and the states

1800s-1900s: The court found in favor of the states

1937-1995: The court almost always sided with the national government

1997 The conservative court has generally favored states’ rights with a few exceptions

ENDS AND MEANS

McCulloch v. Maryland. The court was asked to decide whether Congress had the power to establish a national bank, and, if so, whether states had the power to tax that bank. In a unanimous opinion, the Court decided based on the “necessary and proper” clause that Congress had the power to charter a bank but the states could not tax the bank because the bank represented the interests of the whole nation and the state cannot tax those they do not represent.

Embraced cooperative federalism

COMMERCE CLAUSE

The third clause of Article I, Section 8. Gives Congress the power to regulate commerce among states.

Major factor in increasing the national government’s power from 1930-1990s.

Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) – The Supreme Court decided that the Congress had no power to prohibit slavery in the territories

GRANTS-IN-AID

Since the 1960s, the national government’s use of financial incentives has rivaled its use of legislation and court decisions as a means of influencing its relationship with state governments

Grant-in-aid: money paid by one level of government to another level of government to be spent for a given purpose

DAILY DILEMMA

What concepts do you need to talk more about from Chapters 1-4 to be ready for the test on Friday?

TYPES OF GRANTS-IN-AID

Categorical grants target specific purposes and restrictions on their use typically leave the recipient government relative little formal discretion

Formula grants are distributed according to specific rules that define who is eligible for the grant and how much each eligible applicant will receive

Project grants are awarded through a competitive application process

Block grants are for broad, general purposes and allow governments considerable freedom to decide how to spend the money

BOTTOM LINE…

Grant money comes with strings attached. Some strings are there to make sure the government spends the money the way the law specifies, others are there to achieve some broad national goal

PROFESSIONALIZATION OF STATE GOVERNMENTS

States have become more forceful policy actors since the 1960s.

1. Both governors and state legislators now are more capably trained and experienced with policy

2. Legislatures now meet more days during the year

3. The appeal for higher salaries has attracted better talent

4. The increasing ability for states to raise revenue has given states greater leverage in designing and directing policy

5. Unelected officials in state government have become better educated

IDEOLOGY, POLICYMAKING AND AMERICAN FEDERALISM

In their effort to limit the scope of government, conservatives are often associated with layer-cake federalism

Liberals, believing that one function of the national government is to bring about equality, are more likely to support the marble-cake approach and more activism from Washington

MANDATES AND RESTRAINTS

Mandates require that a state undertakes an activity or provides a service, in keeping with minimum national standards

Restraints forbid state governments from exercising a certain power

Unfunded mandates force alignment with national government’s practices without providing funds to reach alignment

FEDERALISM AND ELECTORAL POLITICS

State capitals often serve as a proving ground for politicians who aspire to national office Mitt Romney– formerGovernor of Massachusetts

CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING

Redistricting refers to the process of redrawing boundaries for electoral jurisdictions

While it is relatively straightforward to determine how many seats a state will have, where the new district lines will be drawn is a big deal. Redistricting carries huge stakes in elections.

FEDERALISM AND THE AMERICAN INTERGOVERNMENTAL SYSTEM

• The U.S. is home to over 89,000 local governments of different sorts.

• Since the state budgets must balance every year (only the national government can print money) states must either cut services, raise taxes or borrow money