FEDERALISM 1 Federalism. Defining Federalism: A system of organizing governments The United States...

1 Federalism

FEDERALISM

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Defining Federalism:A system of organizing governments

The United States has a federal system of government, in which power is constitutionally shared by a national government and fifty state governments.

Federalism: the division of power between a central government and regional governments (in which the central is supreme).way of organizing a nation so that two or more

levels of government have formal authority over the same area and people.

In the United States, government power is divided between the national government and the states.

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Defining Federalism:A system of organizing governments

Only 11 (out of approximately 190 nations of the world) have federal systems.

Most governments in the world today have unitary governments, in which all power resides in the central government.

In a confederation, the national government is weak and most or all of the power is in the hands of its components.

The workings of the American system are sometimes called intergovernmental relations, which refers to interactions among national, state, and local governments.

Defining Federalism

Understanding Federalism

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The Constitutional Basis of Federalism:The division of power

The word federalism is not mentioned in the Constitution.

The writers of the Constitution carefully defined the powers of state and national governments.

Although favoring a stronger national government, states were retained as vital components of government.

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The supremacy clause deals with the question of which government should prevail in disputes between the states and the national government; Article VI states that three items are the supreme law of the land:The ConstitutionLaws of the national government (when

consistent with the Constitution)Treaties (which can only be made by the

national government)Judges in every state were specifically bound

by the Constitution.

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Questions remain concerning the boundaries of the national government’s powers.The national government can only operate

within its appropriate sphere and cannot usurp the states’ powers.

The Tenth Amendment states that “powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.”

There have been variations in the Court’s interpretation of the Tenth Amendment.

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The Constitutional Basis of Federalism:Establishing National Supremacy

Four key events have largely settled the issue of how national and state powers are related: the McCulloch v. Maryland case, the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the

Commerce Clause, the Civil War, and the civil rights movement.

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McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) - the case that first brought the issue of state versus national power before the Supreme Court.In this case, the Supreme Court ruled

that national policies take precedence over state policies:

Chief Justice John Marshall wrote that “the government of the United States, though limited in its power, is supreme within its sphere of action.”

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The Court also ruled that the Constitution gives Congress certain implied powers that go beyond the enumerated powers that are specifically listed in Article I, Section 8. Implied powers based on the provision

granting Congress the power to “make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers”.

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National powers also expanded after the Supreme Court defined commerce very broadly, encompassing virtually every form of commercial activity (Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824). Gibbons delt with steamship navigation

on the Hudson River and whether New York could grant a monopoly concession on such navigation.

The main constitutional question in Gibbons was about the scope of Congress' authority under the Commerce Clause.

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The commerce clause: the third clause of Article I, §8 of the Constitution, which gives Congress the power to regulate commerce among the states.

In Gibbons, the Court ruled that interstate commerce includes more than simply direct dealings in products.

It also includes other commercial activities. Gibbons v. Ogden further expanded Congress’ power to regulate interstate and international commerce

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The Civil War (1861–65) - settled militarily the issue that McCulloch had enunciated constitutionally. The Civil War was a struggle over

slavery, but it was also a struggle between states and the national government.

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The civil rights movement - a century after the Civil War, the policy issue was equality.In 1954, the Supreme Court held that

school segregation was unconstitutional (Brown v. Board of Education).

The conflict between states and the national government over equality issues was decided in favor of the national government:

throughout the 1960s, the federal government enacted laws and policies to end segregation in schools, housing, public accommodations, voting, and jobs.

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Federalism involves more than the relationships between the national government and state and local governments: Article IV of the Constitution outlines certain obligations that each state has to every other state.Full faith and credit - States are required to

give full faith and credit to the public acts, records, and civil judicial proceedings of every other state.

Extradition - States are required to return a person charged with a crime in another state to that state for trial or imprisonment.

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Privileges and immunities of citizens - Citizens of each state receive all the privileges and immunities of any other state in which they happen to be.

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The Distribution of Federal and State Powers

The distribution of powers in the federal system consists of several parts:exclusive powers, shared powers,

denied powers, enumerated powers, and implied powers.

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The Distribution of Federal and State Powers:National Powers

Enumerated PowersThese are 17 specific powers granted to

Congress in Article 1, section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. Including:TaxationCoinage of moneyRegulation of commerceNational defense

Those that are bolded are examples of exclusive powers (held only by one level of government—in this case the national government).

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The Distribution of Federal and State Powers:National Powers

In addition article I, Section 8 includes the “Necessary and Proper Clause.”Establishes the basis for Implied Powers.

powers beyond Congress’ enumerated powers which ensure that it can carry out its duties.

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The Distribution of Federal and State Powers:State Powers

Article IAllows states to determine time, place, and

manner of elections for House Representatives and Senators

Article IIRequires that each state appoint electors to

vote for president

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The Distribution of Federal and State Powers:State Powers

Article IVPrivileges and immunities clause

the Constitution prohibits states from discriminating against citizens of other states.

Also guarantees Republican form of government

Protection against foreign attacks and domestic rebellion

Tenth Amendmentspecifies that powers not delegated to the

national government are reserved for the state government or the people.

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The Distribution of Federal and State Powers:Concurrent Powers

Concurrent powersAuthority possessed by both state and

national governments and exercised concurrently (at the same time) as long as that power is not exclusively within the scope of national power or in conflict with national lawPower to tax (states already had this one)Right to borrow moneyEstablish courtsMake and enforce laws to carry out these

powers

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The Distribution of Federal and State Powers:Denied Powers

States cannotEnter into treatiesCoin moneyCannot enter into

compacts with other states without congressional approval

Denied the authority to take arbitrary actions affecting constitutional rights and liberties

Cannot pass a bill of attainder

No ex post facto laws

Congress cannotFavor one state

over another in regulating commerce

Cannot lay duties on items exported from any state

Cannot pass a bill of attainder

No ex post facto laws

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Intergovernmental Relations in Theory and Practice: Dual Federalism

Dual federalism (“layer cake federalism”) - a form of federalism in which states and the national government each remain supreme within their own spheres.holds that the Constitution is a compact

among sovereign states, so that the powers of the national government and the states are clearly differentiated represented by the layer-cake

metaphor

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Intergovernmental Relations in Theory and Practice: Dual Federalism

Four essential partsNational government rules by enumerated

powers only.National government has a limited set of

constitutional purposes.Each government unit (nation and state) is

sovereign within its sphere.The relationship between nation and states is

best characterized by tension rather than cooperation.

States are, in some ways, equal to the federal government.

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Intergovernmental Relations in Theory and Practice: Dual FederalismStates’ rights: the idea that all rights not

specifically conferred on the national government by the U.S. Constitution are reserved to the states.The national government rules by

enumerated powers only (supported by the Tenth Amendment).

In debates, people favoring national action point to the implied powers: those powers that Congress needs to execute its enumerated powers.

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Intergovernmental Relations in Theory and Practice: Cooperative federalismCooperative federalism (“marble cake

federalism”) - a form of federalism with mingled responsibilities and blurred distinctions between the levels of government.holds that the Constitution is an

agreement among people who are citizens of both state and nation, there is much overlap between state

powers and national powers represented by the marble-cake

metaphor

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Intergovernmental Relations in Theory and Practice: Cooperative federalismNational and state governments undertake

functions jointly.Nations and states routinely share power.Power is not concentrated at any level of

government or in any agency; fragmentation of responsibilities gives people and groups access to many venues of influence.

Stresses the role of the national government, supported by an expansive view of the supremacy clause (Article VI)

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Intergovernmental Relations in Theory and Practice: Fiscal federalism

Fiscal federalism - the pattern of spending, taxing, and providing grants in the federal system.Fiscal federalism is the cornerstone of

the national government’s relations with state and local governments.

Grants-in-aid (federal funds) are the main instrument the national government uses for both aiding and influencing states and localities.

Federal aid to states and localities amounted to approximately $306 billion in 2001, despite cutbacks during the Reagan administration.

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There are two major types of federal aid for states and localities: categorical grants and block grants.Categorical grants (the main source of

federal aid) - grants that can be used only for specific purposes, or categories.State and local agencies can obtain

categorical grants only by applying for them and by meeting certain qualifications.

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Federal Mandates: Categorical grants usually come with numerous “strings” (rules and requirements) attached. Enforced with:cross-over sanctions: using federal

dollars in one program to influence state and local policy in anotherEx: withholding funds for highway

construction unless states raise drinking age to 21

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Mandates also enforced with: cross-cutting requirements: a condition on one federal grant is extended to all activities supported by federal funds.Ex: if a university discriminates illegally

in one program—such as athletics—it may lose the federal aid it receives for all its programs.

There are two types of categorical grants:Project GrantsFormula Grants

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Project grants - the most common type of categorical grant; awarded on the basis of competitive applications (such as grants to university professors from the National Science Foundation).

Formula grants - distributed according to a formula; states and local governments automatically receive funds based on a formula developed from factors such as population, per capita income, or percentage of rural population Ex: Medicare, Aid for Families with

Dependent Children, and public housing).

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Intergovernmental Relations in Theory and Practice: Fiscal federalismBlock grants - used to support broad

programs in areas like community development and social services.In response to complaints about the

cumbersome paperwork and restrictive federal requirements attached to categorical grants, Congress established block grants to support broad programs.

States have discretion in deciding how to spend the money.

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There are some occasions when states would prefer not to receive some federal aid

Underfunded mandate: Congress extends a program that is administered by the states and only partly funded by the national governmentThis means that the states have to

budget more funds for the project in order to receive federal grant money.

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Of even greater concern to states are unfunded mandates. These require state and local governments to

spend money to comply with laws such as the Clean Air Act of 1970 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 with no financial help from the federal government that enacted the laws.

In addition, federal courts create unfunded mandates for states regarding school desegregation, prison construction, and other policies.

In 1995, Congress passed a law that will make it more difficult for Congress to impose new unfunded mandates.

Understanding Federalism

FEDERALISM 1 Federalism. Defining Federalism: A system of organizing governments The United States...

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