1. AP United States Government and Politics
Chapter 3: Federalism
AP United States Government and Politics

2. Story of Sussette Kelo Property condemned by city officials
Desire to redevelop area with pricey townhouses, malls and a large hotel
Supreme Court upheld the city’s decision-making
Property can be seized for public use
Property can be seized for economic development in distressed communities

3. Why “Federalism” Matters
Reaction to the Kelo decision and other examples of tension and variation in policy-making
Grass roots lobbying campaigns
Thirty-four states tighten laws to make seizures more difficult
Half of the states have a minimum wage standard that is higher than the federal standard
Sometimes, but not always, the national government leads in making, administrating, and funding expensive public policies

4. Federalism Definition: system in which the national government
shares power with local governments
States have a specially protected existence and authority (not merely junior partners)
The implementation and funding of federal decisions depends upon state and local government
The impact of federalism is widespread
(roads, crime, civil liberties, civil rights)

5. Federalism
The degree and manner in which federalism has mattered has changed over time
Recent highly visible attempts to scale back the national government
Devolution
Block grants
Long-standing tension between national and state governments
Slavery
Regulation of business and social welfare programs
States rights
Mandates

6. Governmental Structure
Definition: political system with local governmental units, in addition to national ones, that can make final decisions
Examples of federal governments: Canada, India, and Germany
Examples of unitary governments: France, Great Britain, and Italy
Special protection of subnational governments in federal system is the result of
Constitution of country
Habits, preferences, and dispositions of citizens
Distribution of political power in society
National government largely does not govern individuals directly but gets states to do so in keeping with national policy

7. Structure Good or Bad?
Confusion about responsibility for particular functions can have dire consequences
Hurricane Katrina and Rita led to fighting between federal, state, and local officials
First-responders and disaster relief workers are nongovernmental, volunteers
Some governmental agencies made delivery of aid harder

8. Structure Good or Bad?
Negative views: block progress and protect powerful local interests
Laski: states “poisonous and parasitic”
Riker: perpetuation of racism
Positive view:
Elazar: strength, flexibility, and liberty

9. Structure Good or Bad? Federalism makes good and bad effects possible
Different political groups with different political purposes come to power in different places
Federalist No. 10: small political units dominated by single political faction
Increased political activity
Most obvious effect of federalism: facilitates mobilization of political activity
Federalism lowers the cost of political organization at the local level

10. The Founding A bold, new plan to protect personal liberty
Founders believed that neither national nor state government would have authority over the other because power derives from the people, who shift their support
New plan had now historical precedent
Tenth Amendment was added as an afterthought, to define the power of states

11. The Founding Elastic language in Article I: necessary and proper
Precise definitions of powers politically impossible because of competing interests, such as commerce
Hence vague language –
“necessary and proper”
Hamilton’s view: national supremacy because Constitution supreme law
Jefferson’s view: states’ rights with people ultimate sovereign

12. Debate on Meaning of Federalism
The Supreme Court speaks
Hamiltonian position espoused by Marshall
McCulloch v. Maryland settled two questions
Could Congress charter a national bank?
(yes, because “necessary and proper”)
Could states tax such a bank?
(no, because national powers supreme)
Later battles
Federal government cannot tax state bank
Nullification doctrine let to Civil War: states void federal laws they deem in conflict with Constitution

13. Dual Federalism
Both national and state governments supreme in their own spheres
Hence interstate versus intrastate commerce
Early product-based distinction difficult
“Original package” also unsatisfactory

14. State Sovereignty Mistake today to think dual federalism entirely dead
Supreme Court has limited the use of the commerce clause
New life has been given to the Eleventh Amendment
Although not all recent Supreme Court decisions support greater state sovereignty
Constitutional basis of state and local government
New debates have resurrected notion of state police powers
State constitutions tend to be more detailed and expansive
Many state constitutions open door to direct democracy: ) initiative 2) referendum 3) recall
Existence of states guaranteed while local governments exist at pleasure of states

15. Federal-State Relations: Grants-in-Aid
Grants show how political realities modify legal authority
Began before the Constitution with “land grant colleges,” various cash grants to states
Dramatically increased in scope in the twentieth century
Were attractive for various reasons
Huge surpluses in the 1880s
Federal income tax was created
Federal management of money and the power to print more at will
“Free” money for state officials
Required broad congressional coalitions
Examples: federal funds for increased public safety post-September 11
Example: Homeland Security grants and fair share formulas

16. Federal-State Relations: Meeting National Needs – 1960s Shift in Grants-in- Aid
From what states demanded to what federal officials found important as national needs
Impact of the rise of “federal activism”
Increase in federal grants to state and local government
Shift in the purposes
of such money

17. Federal-State Relations: The Intergovernmental Lobby
Hundreds of state, local officials lobby in Washington
Federal agencies have staff members that provide information, technical assistance, and financial support to state and local organizations
Purpose: to get more federal money with fewer strings

18. Federal-State Relations: Categorical Grants vs. Revenue Sharing
Categorical grants for specific purposes often require local matching funds
Block grants devoted to general purposes with few restricts
Revenue sharing requires no matching funds and provides freedom in how to spend
Distributed by statistical formula
Ended in 1986

19. Federal-State Relations: Categorical Grants vs. Revenue Sharing
Neither block grants nor revenue sharing achieved goal of giving states more freedom in spending
Neither grew as fast as the states had hoped – categorical grants continued to grow
The federal government increasingly attached “strings” to what was supposedly unrestricted

20. Federal-State Relations: Categorical Grants vs. Revenue Sharing
Why block grants grow more slowly?
Desire for federal control and distrust of state government
No single interest group has a vital stake in multipurpose block grants, revenue sharing
Categorical grants are a matter of life or death for various agencies

21. Federal-State Relations: Rivalry Among the States
Increased competition a result of increased dependency
Snowbelt (Frostbelt) versus Sunbelt state
Difficulty telling where funds spend
Difficulty connecting funds to growth rates
Focus on formulas and their impact
Census takes monumental importance

22. Federal Aid and Federal Control
Fear of “Washington control” and jeopardy of Tenth Amendment
Failed attempts at reversal in trends
(block grants and revenue sharing)
Traditional and newer forms of federal controls on state governmental actions
Conditions of aid tell a state government what it must do to obtain grant money
Mandates tell state governments what to do, and in some instances even when they do not receive grant money

23. Mandates Most concern civil rights and environmental protection
Administrative and financial problems often result
Federal-state disputes, fueling the friction
Some mandates are not adequately funded
Explaining the variation in funding
Number high in environmental funding, low in education policy and moderate in health care
Lower rates of spending are associated with more mandates
Waivers are more easily obtained in some policy areas than others

24. Mandates Additional costs imposed on states through
Federal tax and regulatory schemes
Federal law exposing states to financial liability
Federal courts have fueled the growth of mandates
Interpretations of the Tenth Amendment have eased flow of mandates
Court orders and prisons,
school desegregation, busing,
hiring practices, police brutality

25. Conditions of Aid Received by states voluntarily, at least in theory
Financial dependence blurs the theory
Civil rights generally the focus of most important conditions in the 1960s, a proliferation has continued since the 1970s
Conditions range from specific to general
The states and federal government disagree about the costs and benefits of rules
Different demands result in complex bargaining among government officials
Bargains originally favored local officials
Emergence of Washington’s needs over local needs

26. A Devolution Revolution?
Efforts of the Reagan Administration
Consolidation of categorical grants into block grants
Less money sent to the states, but with fewer strings
States started spending more of their own money as well
Republican efforts in the 1990s
Attempt to cut government spending, roll back federal regulations and shift important functions back to the states
Reform of AFDC
Devolution
An old idea led from a new direction, Congress
Spending was considered a form of constituency service

27. A Devolution Revolution?
Was the era of big national government over
Annual federal spending per household up
Federal revenues and debts are at an all time high
Spending by state and local government spending has increased as well
Large, costly federal programs remained and were not turned into block grants (Medicaid)
There have been more, not fewer government rules and regulations

28. A Devolution Revolution?
Impact of Devolution – Where did it occur?
Dramatic decrease in welfare rolls
Second order devolution
Third order devolution
Congressional preemption
Express preemption
Implied preemption

29. Congress and Federalism
National far from wholly centralized
Members of Congress still local representatives
Members of Congress represent different constituencies from same localities
Link to local political groups eroded
Differences of opinion over which level of government works best