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State and Local Government. The Basics Georgia – 159 Counties – – Founded in 1733 by James Oglethorpe – Named for King George II – Debtors and Prisoners.

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Presentation on theme: "State and Local Government. The Basics Georgia – 159 Counties – – Founded in 1733 by James Oglethorpe – Named for King George II – Debtors and Prisoners."— Presentation transcript:

1 State and Local Government

2 The Basics Georgia – 159 Counties – – Founded in 1733 by James Oglethorpe – Named for King George II – Debtors and Prisoners – 13 th colony – Peach State – Recall we have a FEDERAL form of gov’t!

3 Recall Federal Gov’t We have BOTH state gov’t and national gov’t

4 National Government Breakdown National/Central U.S Executive Branch * president, vice president, and federal bureaucracy U.S. Legislative Branch * Congress = U.S. Senate (100) and U.S. House of Reps (435) U.S. Judicial Branch * Hundreds of federal courts, and one U.S. Supreme Court (9)

5 State Government Breakdown State State Executive * Governor, Lt. Governor, and State Agencies/Departments State Legislative * General Assembly = State Senate (56), and State House of Reps (180) State Judicial * State Supreme Court, District courts and local courts

6 For the purpose of this unit we will focus our attention on the STATE GOVERNMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We already learned National

7 Executive Branch of Georgia Head = Governor Current Governor = Nathan Deal Lieutenant Governor = Casey Cagle Both re-elected in 2014 They run separately (unlike Pres & VP)

8 Governor Requirements to become Governor in Ga 30yrs old 6yr resident of Ga 15yr citizen of U.S. Term In Office: 4yrs limited to two terms Duties include – enforce Ga laws, start and convene Congress, help with budget, work with state departments

9 Nathan Deal Republican First elected in 2010 Elected in 2014 to his 2 nd term

10 Powers of the Governor 1.The legislative power – to recommend legislation to the Georgia General Assembly 2.The power to call the GA General Assembly into special sessions 3.Judicial powers – Clemency – leniency toward a convicted criminal – Pardon – legal forgiveness for a crime – Commutation – reducing the length of a person’s sentence – Reprieve – postponing the execution of a person’s sentence – Parole – releasing a prisoner before the sentence is complete

11 Agencies and Departments to know Department of Education (GA) = Dr. Richard Woods– State school superintendent Department of State (GA) = Brian Kemp – monitors elections, corporations, state licensing Attorney General (GA) = Sam Olens – kind of like Ga’s lawyer for gov’t officials

12 Georgia’s Legislative Branch Bicameral = Senate and House of Representatives Georgia calls their Congress – Georgia’s General Assembly Both houses are up for election every 2yrs – vote in district 180 members in the House of Reps – 21 yrs old min age Trey Kelley = Polk Rep 56 members in the Senate – 25 yrs old min age Bill Heath = Polk Senator start the 2 nd Monday in January for 40 days

13 Powers of State Legislatures 1.Police power – the power to protect the safety and well-being of the citizens of a state. 2.Executive powers – the power to approve appointments made by the Governor 3.Judicial powers – the power to remove an elected official from office through impeachment 4.Constituent powers – the power to write and amend state constitutions

14 Georgia Judicial Highest Ga court = Georgia Supreme Court 7 Justices How many justices serve on the US Supreme Court? 9 Current Chief Justice of GA = Carol Hunstein Who is the Chief Justice for US Supreme Court? – John G. Roberts

15 Georgia Judicial Magistrate court – civil matters less than $15k, warrants, county ordinance violations Probate court – wills, estate matters, and traffic violations Municipal court – civil cases over $15k and misdemeanor criminal cases Superior court – dealing with larger criminal cases – typically each county will have a Superior Court

16 Polk County Incorporated (became a county) in 1851 Named for James K. Polk Cities include – Rockmart, Aragon, and Cedartown Rockmart’s name formed from Rock Market Polk Superintendent = Dr. William Hunter Local Congress members: Senator Bill Heath House member Trey Kelley

17 Polk County Government All state and federal laws are enforced Main body of government for Polk = Board of Commissioners - Chairman Marshelle Thaxton Local Ordinances (local laws) include – burning times, community development, sound, civil disobedience, animal control, expansion, zoning, waste management, permits, etc

18 Paying for services In a Federal country, which body of government is responsible for paying for all the services/goods that are provided to the people? – Federal, State, and Local government have specific financial responsibility as far as planning the budget and where the money will be spent. – Ex: Who would fund the U.S. Army? Who would fund the Georgia State Patrol? Who would fund a red light in Rockmart?

19 Civic Duty Once the bodies of government have determined what needs to be spent, where do they get the money? If they want a new school does it magically appear? Goods & services provided by the government are paid through TAXES!!! Taxes = money the government borrows to handle all their expenditures (spending) Each citizen has a Civic Duty (something you do b/c you want to keep your country great) to pay taxes

20 Taxes Income Tax – money withheld from your paycheck – both State & Federal gov’t tax your income. Sales Tax = a tax placed on commodities (items you buy)–– there are additional special taxes for gas, alcohol & tobacco Sales Tax break down: – Georgia State Sales Tax = 4% – Local Sales Tax = allowed by the General Assembly 1-3% – Polk County Sales Tax = 3% - What is the total Sales Tax in Polk County? – 7% b/c you add the state and local together

21 Taxes Con’t Property Tax = a tax placed on personal assets such as land, farms, house, cars Categorizing taxes: Progressive Tax = a tax that increases as wealth increases – tends to hurt higher incomes Ex: Income Tax Regressive Tax = a tax where the percent paid affects higher incomes less – tends to hurt lower income Ex: Sales Tax Education is primarily funded through property taxes


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