7.07 Quiz: State and Local Levels Part 3

Why are the states sometimes called the "laboratories of democracy"? States are not bound by constitutions to a particular way of doing things, so they experiment. Most policy experiments take place on the state level first. The federal government experiments with policies by making individual states try things out. The term comes from the nineteenth century, when state politics were more scientific than the machine politics of cities.

Most policy experiments take place on the state level first.

Why do people have a strong incentive to write policy decisions into state constitutions? Policies are the actions taken by the government on behalf of the people. It is easier to amend a state constitution than it is to change the Constitution of the United States. State constitutions are the fundamental law of the states, just as the U.S. Constitution is the fundamental law of the United States. Once policies are written into state constitutions they become harder to change, requiring a new constitutional amendment.

Once policies are written into state constitutions they become harder to change, requiring a new constitutional amendment.

How should state governments treat the laws and court decisions of other states? Conflicts among the states are handled by the federal judicial system. The states have sovereign power and can ignore the decisions made by other states. The full faith and credit clause of the U.S. Constitution requires every state to honor the laws and court decisions of every other state. The Tenth Amendment states that powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution are reserved to the states.

The full faith and credit clause of the U.S. Constitution requires every state to honor the laws and court decisions of every other state.

Which term refers to the level of local government directly below the state government? township municipality county special district

county

What form of municipal government closely matches the structure of state and national government, with a distinct executive and legislative branch? mayor-council federal plan council-manager commission plan

mayor-council

What type of government has jurisdiction over a single population center? municipal township county special district

municipal

Which of the following are powers that the Constitution limits to the state governments and forbids the federal government from exercising? delegated powers reserved powers divided powers concurrent powers

reserved powers

What level of government has primary responsibility for setting the qualifications for voting? county federal municipal state

state

Which of the following form the fundamental law of state governments? state constitutions the Bills of Rights the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights rewritten colonial charters

state constitutions

Which term is used for a level of local government that includes several population centers or a mixture of urban and rural districts and is common in New England? special district county municipality township

township