Exam #2 Study Guide Chapter 7

Bicameral: 2 chambers (House & Senate) All but Nebraska is bicameral. House vs. Senate o Districts drawn by population (larger districts = less populated areas) o House: 2 year terms o Senate: 4 year terms Unicameral: only 1 chamber like Nebraska (Senate only) Citizen legislature: lawmaking is a part-time job expected to have careers/interests other than the state legislature used in smaller, more rural, & more homogeneous states; meet infrequently (30-90 days a year) modest salary (<$20,000/yr) little staff Incumbent: The person currently holding a position. Redistricting: redrawing of political districts required after each census to keep them equal in population Supreme court requirements: o Must be geographically Contiguous (areas of land that touch) o Must be substantially equal Race/ethnicity cannot be primary consideration in drawing district Incumbent-protection districts: districts with lopsided partisan balances incorporating as much of an incumbents previous district as possible. Reform: non-partisan citizen commission o Redistricting responsibility disconnected from legislature Malapportionment: unequal representation of people living in different districts Gerrymandering: process of drawing governmental district boundaries for political advantage. Occurs when one party controls redistricting process (unified got or control of redistricting commission) Cracking: Dispersing a partys voters among many districts so it will win fewer district races Packing: Concentrating one partys voters into a few districts so as to waste those votes over 50 percent Divided government: When two of the three legs of the legislative process (governor, house, and senate) are controlled by different parties. Single-member district (SMD): Legislative district in which only one legislator from the same chamber serves. Most states use this Multi-member district (MMD) Legislative district in which more than one legislator from the same chamber serves. Once used to dilute minority voters power, but was banned by Voting Rights Act of 1965 Party caucus: members of a party in a chamber Each party has own caucus in House and Senate Voting cue: to avoid bad votes due to lack of information legislatures vote with their colleagues who are similarly positioned (same party &/or similar districts) Jobs of the Legislature: Legislation Budget (imp. Power) Oversight Representation of constituents

o o o o

Delegate- serve constituents Trustee- use your own judgment Partisan- behaving in a way that fits goals of own particular party Politico- given certain political situations what is the most import Choose which role to serve depending on situation

State Legislatures Make new laws Amend current laws Authorize all government action Bill: formal proposals to change state law Must be approved by both chambers by at least a majority vote in exactly the same form and then be signed by the governor How a bill becomes a Law Idea Introduction by legislator Referred to a standing committee Floor debate and vote (roll-call vote) Other chamber Conference committee Governor Roll call: legislators are required to cast a recorded vote on a bill or motion, whether in a committee or on the chamber floor. Collective action problem: The problem of coordinating a group of people to achieve a common goal. Solve this problem by dividing themselves on two dimensions along which state policy varies o Policy type o Policy preference Then, divide into subgroups o Committees o Party caucuses o Leaders Standing committee: An at least semi-permanent legislative committee that evaluates legislation in a particular area of policy. Conference committee: temporary legislative committee made up of equal members of the senate and house who meet to craft a bill that can pass both chambers If agreement reached reports it out to each chamber floor No agreement reached bill dies Chamber floor: Where and when the members of one chamber (the house or senate) meet as a group to debate and vote on legislation. Legislative leadership: selected members in whom legislatures invest special powers and the responsibility to see that the groups collective tasks are accomplished. Committee chairs: o Call committee meetings o Decide which legislation is to be heard and voted on o Significant procedural powers to organize and structure committee hearings and votes o Speaker of the house

Party leaders: goal is to make sure party has a plan and are united when they vote o More important than in Congress o Majority leader = Presiding officers Most powerful person in a chamber Speaker of the House

Senate President pro tempore Minority leaders

Override: When the legislature passes a law despite a gubernatorial veto, usually by a supermajority vote in each chamber. Legislative intent: What the legislature meant for a piece of legislation to do when it passed it. Implementation: carrying out of laws passed by the legislators. Oversight: oversee implementation by executive branch Ex post oversight: occasionally checking to be sure agency is following legislative intent o fire alarm: occurs in response to problems that are brought to lawmakers attention, usually through casework. Casework: The activities of a legislator and staff in helping constituents with specific problems, usually with state government o police patrol: more systematic and ongoing o Ex: a legislator may help a constituent solve a problem with getting a driver's license or adjusting a state tax bill Pork barrel: A derogatory and subjective term referring to government spending that is focused on a single geographic area, such as a bridge or a park, suggesting that such spending is wasteful and politically motivated. Legislative elections: Paradox of competition: Incumbents win easily have track record advantage (win 93% of the time) Competitive elections: o Strong institutional motivation for good representation o Produce energetic campaigns which raise voter interest/participation

Swing seat: legislative seats that are closely contested by the parties. Term limits: specific and relatively low ceilings on the number of times an officeholder can be reelected o Consecutive term limits o Life term limits o Pros: more competitive elections o Cons: creates rookie league

Chapter 8
Gubernatorial elections: 2 or 4 year term limits Bureaucracy: managing state agencies and govt Chief Executive Officer Gubernatorial powers: power to persuade Formal & informal powers enhance persuasiveness Formal Gubernatorial Powers Control of the Budget o More power than for normal bills o Governor initiates budget process o Unified executive budget o Playing politics use to cut old programs Veto powers: formal rejection of the bill Governors have more veto power than presidents

Presidents only have full or package veto o Can only reject or accept entire bill o Line-item = unconstitutional for presidents to use

Full/package veto (50 states) All or nothing Power president has Line-item veto (44 states) Can veto certain parts of the bill Usually expenditure parts but not always o Some states only allow expenditure veto Pass bill but rejects a line they dont agree with Amendatory veto (6 states) Governors essentially act as legislatures Can veto bill with recommendations on how to change it to have it passed

Appointment powers Civil service system: A system of hiring, promoting, and firing government workers based on jobrelated criteria rather than on political connections or other biases. Patronage job: A government job obtained at least in part through political connections rather than entirely by personal merit; used by elected officials to reward their political supporters and secure loyalty from the bureaucracy. Bureaucracy: The administrative structure of any large, complex organization, like a government, that is characterized by hierarchical control and fixed rules of procedure. Tenure potential Term length/limits o No limits = legislatures tend to compromise with governor more b/c they have to deal with them longer Agenda-setting powers : Have some influence over what are the policy points that are going to drive the legislative session State of the state address o say what the problems are and what they think should be done about them Policy recommendations o Cannot formally propose a bill themselves o Can go over legislatures head by going directly to public Special sessions o Can reconvene legislature after dismissal to address crisis/emergency Executive orders: proclamations by governor that have the effect of law but are limited Informal Gubernatorial Powers Head of state o main public representative of a government Political capital o Intangible resources that grant governor unofficial power Ex: win election with huge majority and can use it to their advantage to pass bills by saying obviously the public is behind me so pass it! Public opinion Media attention o Good media image = more power to forward own agenda Gubernatorial staff o Good staff = helps governor gain more unofficial power by helping image Roles of the Governor: 1. The State Bureaucracy Executive branch departments and agencies Implement policy

 2. 3.

Write administrative rules Street-level bureaucrats set policy, too o Street-level bureaucrats: govt workers who have direct contact with the public, such as police officers, teachers, and drivers license examiners. Policy Implementation Legislature grants authority to department o Give responsibility of setting policies to the experts in each department Department establishes rules Bureaucrats carry out rules Intergovernmental Relations Manager

Progressive Era: the more control the voters had over their leaders, the better. Partisan Balance: Unified government: partisan legislation Divided government: veto or compromise

Chapter 9

Civil law: noncriminal legal conflicts between people, corporations, or even governments Make cases based on Common law: a traditional legal system about disputes over contacts and injuries that has evolved case by case over the last 500 years. Plaintiff: The party that starts a lawsuit in a court of law. Defendant: The person or institution against whom an action is brought in a court of law; the person being sued or accused of a crime. Criminal law: involve govt prosecuting a person for violating a criminal statute Tort: Damage, injury, or a wrongful act to person or propertywhether done willfully or negligently for which a civil suit can be brought. Docket: A calendar of the cases awaiting action in a court. Trial court: establish the facts of a case and apply the law Original jurisdiction: The right of a court to be the first to hear a case; where a case must begin its path through the judicial system. o General jurisdiction: deal with any type of case o Limited jurisdiction: courts that handle cases on only certain topics, such as traffic courts or probate courts. Only court that uses juries o Jury: A randomly selected group of citizens who are sworn by a court to hear and render a verdict and/or set a penalty in a trial Adjudication: To settle a dispute by judicial procedure. Adversarial argument: when two parties to a dispute make their best arguments to a neutral third party, who then decides the dispute o This is as opposed to a negotiated settlement where the parties work back and forth between themselves to resolve the dispute. Evidence and testimony Bench trial: Trial with no jury; judge decides Out-of-court settlement: An agreement made privately between the parties to a civil suit before a trial court decision. Plea bargain: A deal in which the defendant in a criminal case agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge if the prosecutor agrees to drop a more serious charge. Intermediate courts of appeal: Courts that hear appeals of trial decisions and are concerned with whether the trial was fair and conducted with proper procedures. Focuses on due process, not case facts No juries, panel of judges Lawyers submit legal briefs

Judges can: o Uphold lower court ruling o Order lower court to correct sentence/judgment o Overturn lower court decision and order new trial Appellate jurisdiction: power of a court to review decisions and change outcomes of decisions of lower courts

Supreme court: decides whether a law or legal procedure is allowable under the constititution Jurisdiction, caseload depend on presence of ICAs Hear cases about state govt, certain criminal appeals Set precedent o Precedent: A judicial decision that may be used as a standard in subsequent similar cases. Affect policy Procedures: o No trials o Legal briefs and hearing o Panel of 5 to 9 o Issue opinions: Majority: official report giving the rationale behind the majority decision on a case. Concurring Dissenting Director of state courts: each Supreme Court employs a director to do most of this day-to-day administrative work.

Judicial review: The power of a supreme court to judge whether a law is in violation of the state constitution, and if so, to nullify that law. Judicial election: Partisan/nonpartisan Earn nomination through primary election Judicial appointment: gubernatorial/legislative Least used Merit Plan: most widely used 1) panel of experts recommends a few candidates for opening to the governor 2) governor appoints 1person to position for trial period 3) retention election to see whether he or she will earn a full term. o Retention election: issue on the ballot is whether an incumbent should be kept in office (yes or no)

Chapter 11
Dillon's Rule: concept that state governments decide how different local governments are going to operate and can also
treat them differently.

Model City Charter: Recommendations for how city political institutions should be arranged. Municipal charters: The set of rules that define how cities are structured, what the powers of local officials are, and how local elections shall be conducted. home rule charter: Allow people of a community to decide how their charter will operate Straight-ticket voting: A type of ballot that allows (or requires) voters to cast their votes for candidates of a single political party.

Progressives: recognized the concentration of political and economic power could be dangerous Society could be improved through: o scientific study & better administrative practices o limiting the power that wealthy corporations had in politics Urban Reforms Commission system Voters select people instead of a city council to run departments At-large elections Everyone in the city votes for each position on the city council. Smaller councils Nonpartisan elections Eliminated party labels which allows the machines an easy way to inform supports who to vote for. Australian ballot Lists candidates from all parties and requires voter to privately choose without assistance Off-year elections Voter registration Civil service merit system Corrupt practices acts Contract rules Restricts officials ability to use public money for their own benefit Local direct democracy Ward: (district). Districts and wards elect their own representatives to a city council Precinct: local neighborhood divided into precincts a the bottom of the hierarchy Mayor-council government: Citizens vote separately for mayor and council members Strong mayor-council system: elected mayor holds many executive functions o Influences: budgeting, appointment of department heads, and veto powers.

Weak mayor-council systems: mayor has limited formal power. Council-manager system: Citizens vote for council members who hire a professional administrator Some cities use mayors and managers Manager acts as chief executive Council = legislative branch

Iron triangle: three-sided relationship between Congress, a Federal department or agency, and a particular industry or interest group.