POLS 207 1st Edition Lecture 2 Outline of Last Lecture I Population a Affect of policy b Changing nature of the US c Texas Government Outline of Current Lecture II Texas Government cont A Ranking tables available on lecture slides III Federal Government IV National vs State vs Local Laws V Federal System Current Lecture Texas State Government cont State and local taxes are fuel tax income tax sales tax etc Crime rate is high in Texas ranked number 6 so within the top ten Incarceration rate is also high ranked number 2 but Texas is also the second most populous state Prison number is number 1 You can see a truer statistic by looking at how many people per 1000 are in prison Incarceration rate is so high because of drug related offences Poverty rate is high Texas is the 5th poorest state Government Federalism The Federal System unique system that was created by the Founding Fathers 50 state 1 federal 90 000 local governments Most laws that affect us are local people pay less attention to local government though because so much focus is put on the federal government Texas 254 counties 1 196 cities 1 090 school districts they are local governments because citizens choose their superintendent school board members etc 2 245 special districts they provide services to people who live in those districts sewage system airport etc people pay for it via property tax National vs State vs Local laws Some local laws are stricter than others such as Bryan College Station which do not allow smoking in bars Supremacy clause the federal laws are the supreme law of the land If there is a conflict between state and local laws and the federal laws then the federal laws win out This has created conflicts between the state and federal governments Texas is very prostate rights and therefore does not like the federal government interfering The Supreme Court has the power of judicial review and therefore they can overturn any law that is made by Congress if they declare it unconstitutional Such as the law that Congress passed on gun control which the Supreme Court threw out they decided that it is the States right to choose those laws Clinton managed to pass line item veto but the Supreme Court declared this unconstitutional Federal System Congress and the President they create the laws President signs the bill into law or vetoes it State legislatures and executives They create the laws for the states If they are in contradiction with federal laws they will not be passed U S Supreme Court Many see judicial activism as a problem since Justices are not elected and therefore not accountable to the public Love hate relationship Created the social change in this country Congress and President are too weak and unwilling to do this this is probably because they are the only branch that do not rely on re election They can make tough decisions and not face repercussions
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