POLS 1101Week 3Jan. 21-25, 2013What Madison said about a government that would rule itself- Ambition checks ambition- Separation of powers- Double security republic will be federalismo 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)FederalismArticle IVSection 1o Each state must treat other states as equalsSection 2o 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 meansSection 4o Every state has a republic form of government o We choose our representatives and they choose for uso There are 49 states that have chosen a bicameral legislature (2 houses) Nebraska has a unicameral legislature (1 house)Article VI- The supremacy clause was a critical point between the national/state governmentPOLS 1101Week 3Jan. 21-25, 201310 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 powersExample 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 could14 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 amendmentStates/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 ConstitutionPOLS 1101Week 3Jan. 21-25, 2013- Legislative Branch (bicameral)o It is very largeo State house has 180 memberso Senate has 56 members They serve for a 2 year termo Representation in Senate is by the populationo Representation in House is by population- Executive Brancho 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 headso 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 billo GA governor can serve two 4-year terms- Judicial Brancho At the federal level, the president nominates judges (who are approved by senate) and they serve a life termo In Georgia, we elect our own judges These are non-partisan elections, meaning judges do not designate a specific party they are affiliated witho Georgia specifies judicial review power of the courts to overturn cases or review lawsState 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 Processo 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).- Electionso 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 votePOLS 1101Week 3Jan. 21-25, 2013- Requires a balanced budgeto Money taken is as taxes and revenues must be equal to the amount spento Our state government is NOT in debt; it is balanced every year.- Most money is spent on education and health careNational Government- It says nothing about the local towns, their processes, duties, powers, etc.- Amendment Processo Must have 2/3 house and senate vote but then it goes to the states to vote on- Electionso Winner does not need a majority vote- National Government is allowed to spend more than they take ino We have spent 17 trillion more than we have taken in- Most money is spent on Social Security and defenseAn 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 taxeso 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 paydebts, so they should be allowed a bank to do all these necessary thingso