POLS 1101 Week 3 Jan 21 25 2013 What Madison said about a government that would rule itself Ambition checks ambition Separation of powers Double security republic will be federalism o There are certain powers only the national government has national security o There are certain powers only the state government has trade commerce within the state Federalism Article IV Section 1 Section 2 o Each state must treat other states as equals o Citizens of each state are entitled to immunities and rights of the state they are in Just because you go to another state does not mean you lose your rights You also keep the rights of the citizens in that state This means that a student should not have to pay more for tuition to a university if they are from another state This is a gray area They must think about what the founders intended in the meaning and how times have changed not just what is written Sometimes the constitution is crystal clear while other times there is a dispute on what it really meant When this happens the US Supreme Court makes the final decision on what the Constitution really means o Every state has a republic form of government o We choose our representatives and they choose for us o There are 49 states that have chosen a bicameral legislature 2 houses Nebraska has a unicameral legislature 1 house Section 4 Article VI The supremacy clause was a critical point between the national state government POLS 1101 Week 3 Jan 21 25 2013 10 th amendment in the Bill of Rights Says that powers that are not delegated to the United States government by the Constitution and that are NOT prohibited to states are reserved either for the states or the individual people A lot of powers belong to the national government but some powers have not been given to them So it will most likely belong to the states or people unless it is prohibited such as entering into a treaty o AKA reserved powers Example of something not very clear in the Constitution In 1997 Brady Handgun Control Bill This did not prohibit the ownership of guns it just said people had to have a background check before they could by one It said the employee selling the gun must run the background check States said it was not constitutional and they said state employees could not be forced to run background checks but if the national government wanted to they could 14 th Amendment 1868 Says that all persons born or naturalized in the United States are U S citizens as well as state citizens Naturalization coming from another country and going through the process to become a citizen They will have the same rights protections and immunities as any other citizen Some Republicans are against this amendment States Federal GA Constitutions Each state has their own government with 3 branches and separation of powers GA has the newest Constitution 1988 In GA we don t just amend the Constitution for structural change such as the Electoral College but we also make policy changes as well people voting on new policies Georgia Constitution POLS 1101 Week 3 Jan 21 25 2013 Legislative Branch bicameral o It is very large o State house has 180 members o Senate has 56 members They serve for a 2 year term o Representation in Senate is by the population o Representation in House is by population Executive Branch o We elect not only the President and Vice President but we also elect governor and Lt Governor sometimes both of these are different parties o At the Federal level the president appoints officers and department heads o GA governor has a power the president does not President can veto or sign a bill but there is no in between In GA and most states governors have the Line Item Veto Governor has the power to veto certain lines in a bill He can eliminate certain programs without vetoing the entire bill o GA governor can serve two 4 year terms Judicial Branch they serve a life term o In Georgia we elect our own judges o At the federal level the president nominates judges who are approved by senate and These are non partisan elections meaning judges do not designate a specific party they are affiliated with o Georgia specifies judicial review power of the courts to overturn cases or review laws State Government They set up a system of government for local places They can write laws of how cities and towns operate and what their powers are The state gives the power to the cities Important issues include police departments fire departments public schools Amendment Process o 2 3 state house and state senate must agree but then it goes directly to the people to be voted on these show up on our ballots Elections o We require our senators governors etc to have a majority vote meaning they must have more than 50 votes o What if there are 3 candidates and the top candidate has 45 o They will not win there must be a runoff election o Unless there is a tie one or the other will get a majority vote POLS 1101 Week 3 Jan 21 25 2013 National Government Requires a balanced budget o Money taken is as taxes and revenues must be equal to the amount spent o Our state government is NOT in debt it is balanced every year Most money is spent on education and health care It says nothing about the local towns their processes duties powers etc Amendment Process o Must have 2 3 house and senate vote but then it goes to the states to vote on Elections o Winner does not need a majority vote National Government is allowed to spend more than they take in o We have spent 17 trillion more than we have taken in Most money is spent on Social Security and defense An important supreme course case McCulloch vs Maryland 1819 In 1816 Congress chartered the 2nd Bank of the U S Several states including Maryland and Georgia passed laws requiring these banks to pay taxes to the states In Maryland an officer went to the bank and said they owed the state a large amount of taxes o The intention was to put the bank out of business because the states didn t want a federal bank Maryland sued McCulloch because they refused to pay basically suing the government Maryland won But the government took them to Supreme Court on appeal Does Congress have the authority to charter a bank Can states tax it Final decision The Constitution gives the Congress power to coin money collect taxes and pay debts so they should be allowed a bank to do all these necessary things o This is where the idea of implied powers comes in They aren t explicitly said Also said they state could not tax a creation of the