Chapter 20 State Government

Section 1The States

Pages 461-465

Objectives

• 1. What is the basis of state governments’ authority?

• 2. In what ways do state governments answer to the people?

• 3. How do state governments promote the public good?

Activity

• The student body wants to suggest that the daily lunch period be lengthened by 10 minutes. Who would you go to with your proposal? How would you go about getting your plan made into a school policy?

• The comparison of school administration and state legislature is similar. State legislatures are responsible for making laws at the state level.

• In this section you’ll learn about the authority that state governments have and the ways that state governments respond to the people and promote the public good.

State Constitutions

• States are very much alike, as the federal government, they all receive their authority to govern from a constitution.

• The states are able to answer to the people more directly than can the federal government. The relationship that a state government is able to have with the citizens is important to promote the public good.

• Every state has its own constitution. The state constitutions cannot conflict with the U.S. Constitution, which is supreme law of the land.

• State constitutions reflect the times and places in which we live and write. [Oklahoma]

• State constitutions are setup like a social contract from the English philosopher John Locke. They list the state’s responsibilities to the people and the people to the state. [original colonies kept state constitutions brief and haven’t been revised very often.]

• Some state constitutions are lengthy and have been revised quite frequently. Missouri operates under the revised constitution of 1945.

• Constitutional Provisions: Most state constitutions have been rewritten at least once and many multiple times. Current state constitutions have been amended many times.

State Government and the People

• Initiatives: ways of adopting or repealing laws through direct vote of citizens rather than by the vote of a legislature.

• Initiative: procedure for proposing and enacting state or local laws. A minimum number of registered voters signs a petition supporting a bill, proposed by an initiative, bill place on a ballot or sent to the state legislature. If the voters approve the initiative, becomes a law.

• Two kinds of Initiatives: • Direct: placed directly on a regular or special

election ballot to be voted on by the people. • Indirect: goes to the legislature first, if it passes

the legislature, it becomes law. If it doesn’t pass the legislature, it goes to the voters.

• Initiatives include such issues as lowering property taxes and denying government benefits to illegal immigrants.

• Referenda: Referendum-popular vote on a proposal that has already been considered by the legislature. Referendums are submitted to the voters for several reasons.

• A. constitutions of all states but Alabama require lawmakers to submit any constitutional amendments to the voters.

• B. in some cases legislatures may choose to submit a controversial proposed law to popular vote rather than deciding the matter itself.

• C. Citizens may petition for a referendum to overturn a law the legislature has adopted.

• Recalls: allows citizens in some states to take direct governmental action. A recall is about a special election to remove an elected official from office before the end of his/her term. A petition must be signed by a certain number of registered voters requesting an election. Recalls are rare. Most elected officials who have committed unethical acts usually resign or censured by their own colleagues. Voters will most likely vote them out of office in the next election.

State Government and the Public Good

• State governments have had their critics who refer to them as bureaucracies. Overall state governments have improved quality of life and lowered the cost of public services.

• State have tried hard to improve and expand services/opportunities. Education is a large part of state budgets and many states have expanded college opportunities. States have standardized tests to track student achievement.