Module 5: State, Local, and Tribal Governments

The United States utilizes a federal form of government leading to a separation of power between the states and the national government. The 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution dictates, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Therefore, whatever responsibilities not managed by the federal government falls under the jurisdiction of the state and local governments. These responsibilities can include libraries, schools, police, and other local public services and issues. The U.S. constitution also requires that each state employ a republican form of government to operate. All the states therefore opted to mirror the federal government and possess a three branch system. To regulate state governmental operations, each state possesses a state constitution which is usually far more comprehensive than the national constitution. While there are basic organizational similarities, each state varies greatly in terms of their specific governmental structure.

The executive branch of each state government is always headed by a governor directly elected by state constituents. Furthermore, other prominent officials in the executive branch including lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, and so on are also generally directly elected. The legislative branches of all state governments except one (Nebraska) are bicameral and consists of a smaller upper state senate and a larger lower house. Members of both chambers are elected by state constituents. Similar to the federal government, the state senators serve longer terms (~4 years) compared to the members of the lower house (~2 years). Together, these two bodies perform the legislative duties of the state government including but not limited to creating and passing legislation and voting on budgets. The judicial branches of state governments are usually structured similarly to the federal government with a supreme court as the foremost judicial entity. The structure of the state judicial system is laid out by state constitutions or legislation. The state supreme court is responsible for hearing appeals from the lower state courts. The state supreme court rulings are generally final unless an argument can be made that the ruling is inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution in which case the matter may be brought to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Matters not directly regulated by the federal or the state government fall to local governments to manage. Unlike federal and state governments whose power is prescribed by the U.S. Constitution, local governments must be granted power by their state government. The representatives of local governments, including mayors and city councils, are still generally elected by the local constituents. Local government can be divided into many different bodies but generally possess a greater county level (county/boroughs/parishes) and a smaller municipality level (cities/towns/townships). There is an extreme variety in nomenclature and structure used to define these various governments and the specifics depend on the state constitution. Counties and municipalities also contain various districts such as school and fire districts that function with the local government but can operate outside of the typical local boundaries. As municipal governments are usually structured around population centers, they are responsible for most of the regulations and services in the area including police and fire services, municipal courts, public works, parks and recreation.