3-2: The Constitutional Division of Powers

Powers of the States

Tenth Amendment to the Constitution states that powers that are not delegated to the national government by the Constitution nor prohibited to the states "are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." regulate commerce within their borders and the power to maintain a state militia.

Supremacy Clause

Article VI, Clause 2, of the Constitution, which makes the Constitution and federal laws superior to all conflicting state and local laws. states that the U.S. Constitution and the laws of the federal government "shall be the supreme Law of the Land." states cannot use their reserved or concurrent powers to counter national policies. Whenever state or local officers, such as judges or sheriffs, take office, they become bound by an oath to support the U.S. Constitution. National government power always takes precedence over any conflicting state action.

Divison of Powers

A basic principles of federalism established by the U.S. Constitution, by which powers are divided between the national and state governments dividing sovereign powers into powers that could be exercised by the national government and powers that were reserved to the states. The original constitution and its amendments provides statements on what the national and state governments can (and cannot) do.

Powers Prohibited to the National Government

Article 1, Section 9 imposing taxes on exports, and from passing laws restraining certain liberties, such as the freedom of speech or religion the national government is implicitly prohibited from exercising certain power Ex. most authorities believe that the federal government does not have the power to create a national public school system, because such power is not included among those that are expressed and implied.

Powers Prohibited to the States

Article I, Section 10, denies certain powers to state governments Ex. power to tax goods that are transported across state lines, states are also prohibited from entering into treaties with other countries, the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Nineteenth, Twenty-fourth, and Twenty-sixth Amendments

Expressed Powers

Constitutional or statutory powers that are expressly provided for by the U.S. constitution; also called enumerated powers Article I, Section 8 enumerates twenty-seven powers that Congress may exercise. Two of these powers: power to coin money and the power to regulate interstate commerce. Constitutional amendments have provided for other expressed powers. Ex. the Sixteenth Amendment, added in 1913, gives Congress the power to impose a federal income tax. regulate commerce not only among the states, but also "with the Indian Tribes." relations between Native American tribal governments and the rest of the country have always been a national responsibility. A consequence is that state governments face significant limits on their authority over Indian reservations within their borders.

Federal Lands

Power to own land Northwest Territory, which included the modern states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota, joined United States' lands together with lands given up by New York and Virginia. Northwest Territory was organized during the ratification of the Constitution establishing the territory as the collective property of the entire Union was necessary to secure support for ratification in several states, including Maryland. United States then sold land to new settlers—land sales were a major source of national government income throughout much of the 1800s.

Concurrent Powers

Powers held by both the federal and the state governments in a federal system Concurrent powers can be exercised by both the state governments and the federal government a state's concurrent powers apply only within the geographic area of the state and do not include functions that the Constitution delegates exclusively to the national government Ex. Power to tax Both the states and the national government have the power to impose income taxes—and a variety of other taxes. States, however, are prohibited from imposing tariffs (taxes on imported goods), and, as noted, the federal government may not tax articles exported by any state.

Police Powers

The powers of a government body that enable it to credit laws for the protection of the health, safety, welfare, and morals of the people. In the United States, most police powers are reserved to the states. In principle, each state has the ability to regulate its internal affairs and to enact whatever laws are necessary to protect the health, safety, welfare, and morals of its people establishment of public schools and the regulation of marriage and divorce have traditionally been considered to be entirely within the purview of state and local governments. Tenth Amendment does not specify what powers are reserved to the states, these powers have been defined differently at different times in our history: periods of widespread support for increased regulation by the national government, = recede into the background. When the tide of support turns, resurrected to justify arguments supporting increased states' rights the outcome of disputes over the extent of state powers often rests with the Court.

Implied Powers

The powers of the federal govern,ent that are implied by the expressed powers in the Constitution, particularly in Article 1, Section 8 Clause 18: Necessary and Proper Clause - states that Congress has the power to make "all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing [expressed] Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof." Elastic clause - gives elasticity to our constitutional system Gives congress the power to make laws "necessary and proper" for the federal government to carry out its responsibilities

Inherent Powers

The powers of the national government that, although not always expressly granted by the Constitution, are necessary to ensure the nation's integrity and survival as a political unit powers that governments must have simply to ensure the nation's integrity and survival as a political unit Ex. any national government must have the inherent ability to make treaties, regulate immigration, acquire territory, wage war, and make peace. While some inherent powers are also enumerated in the Constitution, such as the powers to wage war and make treaties, others are not. Ex. the Constitution does not speak of regulating immigration or acquiring new territory

Horizontal Federalism

The relationships among the states in our federal system of government Includes: interstate commerce, full faith and credit clause

National Powers Granted by the Constitution

To coin money To conduct foreign relations To regulate interstate commerce To declare war To raise and support the military To establish post offices To admit new states To exercise powers implied by the necessary and proper clause

Concurrent Powers Denied by the Constitution

To grant titles of nobility To permit slavery To deny citizens the right to vote

Concurrent Powers Granted by the Constitution

To levy and collect taxes To borrow money To make and enforce laws To establish courts To provide for the general welfare To charter banks and corporations

State Powers Granted by the Constitution

To regulate intrastate commerce To conduct elections To provide for public health, safety, welfare, and morals To establish local government To ratify amendments to the federal Constitution To establish a state militia

National Powers Denied by the Constitution

To tax articles exported from any state To violate the Bill of Rights To change state boundaries without consent of the states on question

State Powers Denied by the Constitution

To tax imports or exports To coin money To enter into treaties To impair obligations of contracts To abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens or deny due process and equal protection of the laws

Interstate Compacts

among two or more states to regulate the use or protection of certain resources, Ex. Water, oil, gas Ex. California and Nevada formed an interstate compact to regulate the use and protection of Lake Tahoe, which lies on the border between those states.

Powers Delegated to the National Government

expressed powers, implied powers, and inherent powers.

Full Faith and Credit Clause

requires each state to honor every other state's public acts, records, and judicial proceedings. Gay Marriage: couple moves to a state where gay marriage is banned = Defense of Marriage Act - no state is required to treat a relationship between persons of the same sex as a marriage, even if the relationship is considered a marriage in another state. A second part of the law barred the national government from recognizing same-sex marriages in states that legalize them. 2010-2012: U.S. district and appellate courts ruled repeatedly that this part of DOMA was unconstitutional. The federal government was required to provide marriage-based benefits to couples who have been married in states where such unions are legal. 2013: the United States Supreme Court, in United States v. Windsor, backed the lower courts on this issue. mid-2014: judges had ruled that same-sex marriage should be permitted in fourteen of the thirty-one states where it was currently illegal. All of the rulings cited Windsor. These rulings were initially stayed (suspended) pending action by higher courts. October 2014: the Supreme Court refused to take up these rulings, and the stays were lifted. late October: thirty states permitted same-sex marriage. Lawsuits were pending in all other states.