Federalism

Federalism

Democracy on the Lurch 1

Democracy on the Lurch 2

Types of Government

Unitary• National

Government controls lower levels– Education,

police, land use, welfare and funding of local government activities

Confederal• States have

control over Central Government which is mostly administrative– European

Union (EU).

Federal• Shared

Authority by Constitution

• Concurrent Powers

• Central & Regional Governments Supreme in their sphere

Green – FederalBlue - Unitarian

Federalism• States of individual

jurisdiction (power)• Strong national

government for common issues– Allows the federal

government to spread responsibility

– Political authority spreads• Political subcultures

develop

– Allows citizens to be more involved

Federal Powers vs. State Powers

Federalism

• States can block progress of the federal government

• State inequality• Tyranny of the

majority

Federalism, Freedom and the Constitution

Constitutional American Federalism

• National Government Powers– 3 Types• National Power• State Power• Prohibited Power

Constitutional American Federalism

• 17 Clauses – Article 1, Section 8– 3 Power Types• Enumerated (listed) powers• Elastic• Inherent

Waging War

Police Power – Authority to legislate for the protection of the health, morals, safety and welfare of the people.

Jennifer Granholm

Article IV–S1Gives full

faith and credit to every other state’s public acts, records, and judicial proceedings.

Article IV–S2Extend to

every other states’ citizens the privileges and immunities of its own citizens.

Article IV–S2Agree to

return persons who are fleeing from justice in another state back to their home state when requested to do so.

Current Insurance & Finance

Early Constitutional Battles

John Marshall’s View of Federalism

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

Government expanded role by increasing spending for war effort. Income taxes were introduced to defray costs associated with war. Pension and widow benefits expanded the national government’s role in social enterprises. There was a freeze on civil liberties.

States’ Rights and the Resort to Civil War

States Rights – Civil War

Expanded the role of national government

Abolished slavery through the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments

Division of Power

Dual Federalism (Layered Cake Federalism)—a model of federalism in which the states and the national government each remain supreme within their own spheres. The doctrine looks on national and state as co-equal sovereign powers. Neither the state government nor the national government should interfere in the other’s sphere.

The Supreme Court

• The Court allowed the national government to intervene in state activities through grants and subsides.

• The Court barred the national government from regulating matters that the Court considered to be purely local issues

Supreme Courting

Supreme Court Obamacare

The New Deal

The New Deal

At the time, the largest expansion of national government, with the passage of National Recovery Act of 1933 (NRA), that included legislation to provide codes for every industry to restrict competition and regulate labor disputes. http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-october-4-2011/indecision-2012---the-great-right-hope---the-manchur

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The New Deal

The Supreme Court challenged Roosevelt’s authority, which promoted dual federalism.• The Court rejected the

NRA on the ground that it regulated intrastate, nor interstate, commerce.

• The Court struck down several key pieces of the “New Deal”.

Division of Power

Cooperative Federalism (Marbled Cake Federalism)—Since 1937 a model of federalism in which the states and the national government cooperate in solving problems.

Picket Fence Federalism

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Formula based grants use a formula based on variables such as the state’s needs, population, or willingness to match funds. Program grants requires states to apply for grants for specific programs.

Federal Grants

$ For FY 2009, the national government gave $538 billion to the states$ Formula based$ Program based

– Categorical Grants−Due to the recent

Great Recession, states have had to rely on the national government for increased funding.−States continue to

turn to the national government for bailouts to ensure survival.

Michigan - 2006US Dept of Ed - $36.5 Billion

Fed Says 1.1 Billion to MI

MI says Fed Gave 1.3 Billion Source: http://www.mackinac.org/8552

Money ALWAYS has strings

Programs like NCLB take a “one size fits all” approach to traditional state and local responsibilities. The results are states must adjust its curriculum and placate to policymakers in order to receive funding. Programs that may be successful at the local and national level oftentimes are not successful at the national level because of lengthy requirements and the lack of funding to implement programs.

The Rise in Fed Funds to States

Federal Mandates

− Congress passes the costs associated with legislation to states and localities. Waivers allow states to experiment innovative approaches in the implementation of mandates

− Examples—environmental; voter registration; education of people with disabilities, transportation, healthcare, homeland security, election laws, etc.

Politics of Federalism

US Slavery after the Civil War

Politics of Federalism

Politics of Federalism

Johnson's Great Society

Politics of Federalism

• The “New Federalism”– Embraced by

Republican Presidents Nixon and Reagan− Conversion to block

grants for state spending flexibility

− Revenue sharing by federal, state and local governments

Politics of Federalism

−Bill Clinton signed legislation that transferred significant control over welfare programs back to the states.

−George W. Bush increased federal control over education and educational funding.

−Devolution—the transfer of powers from a national or central government to a state or local government. New Federalism involved in conversion of categorical grants into block grants, thereby giving states more flexibility in spending.

Federalism vs. Supreme Court

In the 1930s, the Court expanded the role of the national government through the broad interpretation of the commerce clause. In the 1990s, the Court has tended to give greater weight to states’ rights. The Court ruled that Congress’ Gun-Free School Zones Act in 1990 was unconstitutional; it attempted to regulate an area that had “nothing to do with commerce, or any sort of economic enterprise.”

Federalism vs. Supreme Court

– The Court has given weight to states’ rights− United States v.

Lopez (1995)− Invalidated federal

provision requiring states to provide background checks of prospective handgun purchasers

Federalism vs. Supreme Court• The Court Sends Mixed

Messages– The Court has backed

federal government’s position− States are not

protected against discrimination based on gender or disability.

− Federal government triumphs California’s medical marijuana legalization laws.

Federalism vs. Supreme Court

The Court Sends Mixed Messages•Massachusetts v. EPA (2007)—MA, several states, cities, and environmental groups argued that the EPA refuted claims of the lack of authority to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse-gases

•The Court ruled that the EPA could choose not to regulate auto emissions and other heat-trapping gases, but only if it could provide scientific basis for its refusal.

Federalism vs. Supreme Court

The Court Sends Mixed Messages− In 2008, under the Bush

Administration, Massachusetts filed suit for the EPA avoiding the opinion.

− In 2009, the Obama Administration declared the pollutants endangers the public welfare.

− The EPA granted California and thirteen other states, and Washington, D.C. a waiver in June 2009 that allows them to impose tougher tailpipe emissions. The Bush Administration had previously denied the waiver request.