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Federalism & State Government

Federalism & State Government. Kelly Krinn & Marissa Peterson. Core question.

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Federalism & State Government

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  1. Federalism & State Government Kelly Krinn & Marissa Peterson

  2. Core question • Do states have sufficient capabilities in policymaking to assume a greater role in the federal system of government? Or is the present balance of power between the national government and the states about right? Why?

  3. Agenda • Federalism in the U.S. • Advantages v. Disadvantages • Limitations of State Lawmakers • Individual Rights & Federalism • Finance& Federalism • Conclusion & Discussion

  4. U.S. federalism • Constitutional Division of Powers: • Powers enumerated to the federal government • Powers denied to the states • 10th Amendment- “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.”

  5. Pros & Cons • Advantages: • Decentralizes Power • Citizen Involvement • Local Innovation • Local Discretion in Taxation& Regulation

  6. Pros & Cons • Disadvantages • Inefficient for modern problems • Overlapping regulation • Regulatory “race to the bottom” • Threatens rights of minorities • Instability

  7. Limitations of State Lawmakers • Federal Authority • Fiscal Restrictions • Instruments of Direct Democracy

  8. Federalism & individual rights • “Selective Incorporation”- Process of applying the Bill of Rights to the states (14th Amendment) • “State’s Rights!” - Used as an argument involving federalism & protection of individual rights • Recently, some state supreme courts have become more aggressive than the U.S. Supreme Court in protecting individual rights.

  9. Federalism & Individual Rights • DOMA- Federal law that defines marriage between one man & one women for federal and interstate recognition purposes. • States have traditionallyhad the right to determine marriage eligibility • State’s recognizing civil rights of gay couples- but federal gov’t still denying marital benefits.

  10. Federalism & Individual Rights • Gun Control- President Obama recently unveiled a new policy plan for federal gun control (plus 23 executive orders) • Federal gov’t has assumed primary role in shaping gun policy (Protection of LawfulCommerce in Arms Act of2005). • Recent gun control debate is changing NRA’s position from defender of federal law to advocate of state’s rights.

  11. Finance and Federalism • Local funding and local authority • Federal funding and federal authority • Unfunded Mandates • Block Grants

  12. Finance and federalism PPACA: • Original Medicaid expansion legislation ruled overly coercive toward states • Exchanges grants for states to establish their own or federally developed and run • Examples of federal power over states

  13. Finance and federalism Public schools: Multiple levels of devolution • Local and state funding stream • Educational disparities across the states (and within states) • Federal policy making (i.e. No Child Left Behind), attempts at addressing disparities

  14. Conclusion • There are many arguments to be made for and against giving state more power. • Evaluation • Efficiency: • Flexibility • Redundancy • Equity: • Outcomes • Resources

  15. Discussion Questions • Does the federal government have too much authority over issues which are not Constitutionally defined to be within their purview? • What specific issues or programs would be in the hands of which level of government and why? • Ex: Education, social insurance, civil rights?

  16. Sources • Rosenn, "Federalism in the Americas in Comparative Perspective" (1994) • Squire and Moncrief, State Legislatures Today: Politics Under the Domes (2010), Chapter 6 • Neuman, Shula, “State’s Rights and DOMA Clash on a Shifting Battlefield,” (2012) NPR.org. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/09/09/160840674/states-rights-and-doma-clash-on-a-shifting-battlefield • Kleiner, Sam, “In Reversal, the NRA embraces States’ Rights,” (2013) The Nation. http://www.thenation.com/article/172834/reversal-nra-embraces-states-rights • NCSL “Full Time and Part Time Legislatures” (2009) • National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, 567 U.S. (2012) • Janson, Richard Harlan, “Federalism And The No Child Left Behind Act : An Analysis Using Constitutional Systems And Adaptive Work Frameworks” (2011)

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