You just read about the 3 different levels of government in the U.S. – National (also called federal) State Local (county/city) But within each of those levels there are 3 branches too – Legislative Executive Judicial

An easy way to look at the 3 levels and branches is to put them into a table that would look something like this – LegislativeExecutiveJudicial National State Local (county/city)

At the national/federal level the legislative branch is called Congress Congress is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate Members of Congress are called Representatives and Senators Some of their responsibilities include – making laws, approving the national budget, declaring war etc. Legislative Branch

At the state level, the legislative branch is called the Utah State Legislature The Utah State Legislature is also made up of a House of Representatives and Senate The members of the Utah State Legislature are also called Representatives and Senators The responsibilities of the Utah State Legislature include – making laws, raising money through taxes, reviewing the general condition of the state Legislative Branch

In Davis County the legislative branch is made up of a Board of Commissioners There are 3 commissioners that are elected to office and serve 4 year terms Responsibilities of the Board of Commissioners includes – property taxes, libraries, local recreation, emergency services etc. Legislative Branch

At the national level the executive branch is led by the President and his 15 cabinet members The members of the cabinet are called Secretaries and they lead different departments For example, the Secretary of Education (Arne Duncan) runs and leads the federal Department of Education The executive branch is in charge of enforcing laws, commanding the military, vetoing laws etc. Executive Branch

At the state level the executive branch is led by the Governor along with the Attorney General and Secretary of State The current Governor of Utah is Gov. Gary Herbert The executive branch at the state level is in charge of enforcing state laws, running state business and vetoing Utah State Legislature laws Executive Branch

At the local level the executive branch is led by the mayor of the particular city and usually a city council Syracuse City Mayor is Terry Palmer he is a member of the city council along with 5 other elected members The executive branch at the local level is in charge of enforcing local city ordinances, running the different departments of Syracuse city etc. Executive Branch

The judicial branch at the national level is called the Supreme Court The Supreme Court is made up of 9 Supreme Court Justices – 1 Chief Justice and 8 Associate Justices The responsibility of the Supreme Court is to hear cases and determine whether or not they are unconstitutional (agree with the Constitution) Judicial Branch

The judicial branch at the state level is called the Utah Supreme Court The Utah Supreme Court is made up of 5 Justices – 1 Chief Justice and 4 Associate Justices The responsibilities of the judicial branch at the state level is to determine whether laws are unconstitutional and punishments for breakers of the law Judicial Branch

At the local level, the judicial branch are the Justice Courts at both the county and city levels The judges at the county and city levels are appointed by county and city officials for 6 year terms The responsibility of the judicial branch at the local level is to determine punishments for law breakers Judicial Branch