Government - Unit 5 Lesson 2

Select TWO reasons state constitutions are less stable than the U.S. Constitution.

- State constitutions are more easily changed. - State constitutions deal with details regarding the day-to-day relationships between government and its people.

Which parts of the Constitution provide for state governments?

- The Tenth Amendment - Article VI

concurrent powers (of state and national government)

- build roads - collect taxes - establish courts - spend money for general welfare

Select THREE ways to amend state constitutions.

- by constitutional conventions - by referendum - by a voter-instigated initiative

executive branch

- commute the sentences of, or parole, criminals - propose the state budget - executive authority is delegated among elected officers - oversee the state police and the National Guard - line-item veto power - shapes public opinion to support favored policy agenda - powers of appointment and removal - responsibility to faithfully execute the laws - call a special session of the legislature

powers exclusive to national government

- establish and army and navy - make treaties and conduct foreign policy

powers exclusive to state government

- establish local governments - issue licenses - regulate intrastate trade

judicial branch

- includes justice of the peace, magistrates, judges, and supreme court justices - may be appointed by the governor, chosen by the legislature, or elected by the voters - consider civil cases, misdemeanors, small claims, and probate problems; refers cases with federal questions to the U.S. Supreme Court

legislative branch

- police power to protect and promote the public's health, safety, morals, and welfare - remove executive officers or judges through the impeachment process - confirms appointments for office and appoints some executive officeholders - branch whose members represent equal segments of the population

Place the state courts in their hierarchical order, beginning with the highest court.

1) Supreme Court 2) appellate courts 3) trial court 4) municipal court 5) magistrate courts OR 6) justice courts

What did the 1964 Reynolds v. Sims ruling decide?

Representation in legislatures should be based on equal population.

a nonbinding question that is put on the ballot to see what voters think of it

advisory referendum

hierarchically located between the trial court and the state supreme court

appellate court

shared powers

concurrent powers

granted solely either to the national government or the states

exclusive powers

a process whereby voters may petition for a law or amendment to be placed on the ballot

initiative

Much of a state's actual business is conducted by ____.

joint committees

power of the governor to reject portions of a bill while retaining the other portions

line-item veto

power to protect and promote the public health, safety, and welfare

police power

a political device by which voters may remove a public official from office

recall

not given to the national government, but kept by the states

reserved powers