Governing States and Localities

Map of the United States
Tables, Figures, and Maps
Preface
About the Authors
Chapter 1 Introduction to State and Local Government: They Tax Dogs
in West Virginia, Don’t They?
The Impact of State and Local Politics on Daily Life
The Comparative Method in Practice: Yes, They Really Do Tax
Dogs in West Virginia
Sociodemographics
Culture and History
• A Difference That Makes a Difference: Is It Better to Be a
Woman in Minnesota or a Gal in Alabama?
Economy
Geography and Topography
Recognizing the Stakes
Laboratories of Democracy: Devolution and the Limits of
Government
• Local Focus: The Federal City
Conclusion
• The Latest Research
Top Ten Takeaways
Key Concepts
Suggested Websites
Chapter 2 Federalism: The Power Plan
Systems of Power
Why Federalism? The Origins of the Federal System in the United
States
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Federalism
• Policy in Practice: Squeezing Lemons
The Constitutional Basis of Federalism
The Development of Federalism
Dual Federalism (1789–1933)Cooperative Federalism (1933–1964)
Centralized Federalism (1964–1980)
New Federalism (1980–2002)
Ad Hoc Federalism (2002–Present)
The Supreme Court: The Umpire of Federalism
The Rise of Nation-Centered Federalism on the Court
• States Under Stress: Two-Speed Federalism
A Tenth Amendment Renaissance or Ad Hoc Federalism?
Conclusion
• The Latest Research
Top Ten Takeaways
Key Concepts
Suggested Websites
Chapter 3 Constitutions: Operating Instructions
What State Constitutions Do: It’s Probably Different From What
You Think
The Evolution of State Constitutions
The First Generation of State Constitutions
Formal Constitutional Changes
• A Difference That Makes a Difference: The Peculiar
Constitution of Early Pennsylvania
Legislative Proposals
Ballot Initiatives and Referendums
Constitutional Conventions
Constitutional Revision Commissions
Ratification
Informal Methods for Changing Constitutions
Why State Constitutions Vary
How State Constitutions Differ
Operating Rules and Selection for Office
• A Difference That Makes a Difference: Know Your (Education)
Rights
Distribution of Power
Rights Granted
Representative Government Versus Direct Democracy
Constitutions for Local Government?
Conclusion• The Latest Research
Top Ten Takeaways
Key Concepts
Suggested Websites
Chapter 4 Finance: Filling the Till and Paying the Bills
Show Me the Money: Where State Tax Revenues Come From
Sales Taxes
Property Taxes
Income Taxes
Other Tax Revenue Sources: Cars, Oil, and Death
Show Me the Money: Income From Fees, Charges, and Uncle Sam
Insurance Trust Funds
Intergovernmental Transfers
Taxing Variations Among State and Local Governments
• Local Focus: The Windy City’s Financial Woes
Explaining Tax Variations
Debt
• States Under Stress: Broken Bonds and Bankruptcy
The Budget Process
Expenditures, or Where the Money Goes
Restraints on State and Local Budgeteers
Conclusion
• The Latest Research
Top Ten Takeaways
Key Concepts
Suggested Websites
Chapter 5 Political Attitudes and Participation: Venting and Voting
Voting Rights Disputes
• Policy in Practice: Voter ID Laws Losing Some Legal Battles
Elections
A Voice for the Public
• A Difference That Makes a Difference: The Elections No One
Cares About
State Supervision of Elections
• A Difference That Makes a Difference: Does Ideological
Polarization Depress Voter Turnout?
Regulating the Parties• Policy in Practice: Polling Problems Make Public Opinion
Harder to Gauge
Restricting Voters
Voter Turnout
What Elections Are Used For
Direct Democracy
Public Opinion
• Policy in Practice: Ballot Measures Can Be a Motivating Force
Responding to Opinion
• States Under Stress: Protest Movements Achieve Different
Levels of Success
Conclusion
• The Latest Research
Top Ten Takeaways
Key Concepts
Suggested Websites
Chapter 6 Parties and Interest Groups: Elephants, Donkeys, and Cash
Cows
A Primer on Political Parties
• States Under Stress: Waning Power of State Parties Contributes
to Polarized Politics
What Parties Were Like
Parties in the 20th Century
How State Parties Recovered: Campaign Reform in the Late
20th Century
Party Competition: Why Some States Are More Competitive Than
Others
• Policy in Practice: The Enormous Clout of Individual Donors
Party Factions and Activists
The Rise of Super PACs
Third Parties and Independents
• A Difference That Makes a Difference: In Some States, Parties
Are Barely Challenged
Difficulties of Building Support
Interest Groups and Lobbies
• Policy in Practice: Why Companies Avoid Overt Partisanship
Conclusion• The Latest Research
Top Ten Takeaways
Key Concepts
Suggested Websites
Chapter 7 Legislatures: The Art of Herding Cats
The Job of Legislatures
What Legislatures Do
Lawmaking
Representation
• Local Focus: States Debate What They Officially Hold Most
Dear
Constituent Service
Oversight
Organization and Operation of Legislatures
Bicameralism
• States Under Stress: Help Wanted: Must Enjoy High Stress,
Low Pay, and Limited Autonomy
Legislative Leadership
• A Difference That Makes a Difference: Nearly Half of All
Legislative Elections Go Uncontested
Committees
Rank-and-File Members
Apportionment
State Legislators
Professional Background
Demographic Diversity
Professional Versus Citizen Legislators
• A Difference That Makes a Difference: Women Are Still Less
Likely to Run—and to Lead
The Citizens’ Whipping Boy: Legislators and Public Opinion
• States Under Stress: Five Reasons Why State House Speakers
May Be Prone to Corruption
Conclusion
• The Latest Research
Top Ten Takeaways
Key Concepts
Suggested WebsitesChapter 8 Governors and Executives: There Is No Such Thing as
Absolute Power
The Job of Governor
Chief Legislator
• Policy in Practice: What Happens When a Governor Won’t Sign
Any Bills at All
Head of State Agencies
Chief Spokesperson for the State
Party Chief
Commander in Chief of the National Guard
The Powers of Governors
Formal Powers
• A Difference That Makes a Difference: Contemporary
Governors Are Becoming More Partisan
Informal Powers
Becoming Governor and Staying Governor
Factors Driving Gubernatorial Elections
• A Difference That Makes a Difference: The Rise of the Rich
Governor
Keeping and Leaving Office
• A Difference That Makes a Difference: From State House to
White House: Translating a Governorship Into a Presidency
Other Executive Offices
Lieutenant Governor
Attorney General
Other Offices
• A Difference That Makes a Difference: Election Officers
Themselves Become Partisan Targets
Conclusion
• The Latest Research
Top Ten Takeaways
Key Concepts
Suggested Websites
Chapter 9 Courts: Turning Law Into Politics
The Role and Structure of State Courts
Trial Courts
Appeals Courts: Intermediate Appeals and Courts of LastResort
• A Difference That Makes a Difference: The New Judicial
Federalism
Selecting Judges
Popular Elections
Appointment
Terms of Office
Impeachment
Prosecution and Defense of Cases in State Courts
The Prosecutor
Defense Attorneys
Juries
Defendants’ Rights Versus Victims’ Rights
Sentencing
• Local Focus: Where a Parking Ticket Can Ruin Your Life
How Courts Are Changing
A Move to a Self-Funding Model During an Era of Tight
Budgets
The Problem of Increasing Caseloads and Crowded Courts
• States Under Stress: This Court Will Not Come to Order
Conclusion
• The Latest Research
Top Ten Takeaways
Key Concepts
Suggested Websites
Chapter 10 Bureaucracy: What Nobody Wants but Everybody Needs
What Is Bureaucracy?
What Does Bureaucracy Do?
Bureaucracy as Policy Implementer
Bureaucracy as Policymaker
What Is “Enough” Bureaucracy?
Measuring Bureaucratic Effectiveness: It Does a Better Job Than
You Think
Is There a Better Way to Run Public Programs and Services?
State Bureaucracy: From Patronage to Professionalism
Politics and the Merit System
Public Labor Unions•
Policy in Practice: The Incredible Shrinking Union
Affirmative Action
If Not Merit . . . Then What?
• States Under Stress: The End of the Cushy Government Job
Conclusion
• The Latest Research
Top Ten Takeaways
Key Concepts
Suggested Websites
Chapter 11 Local Government: Function Follows Form
The Many Faces of Local Government
The Organization and Responsibilities of Local Governments
Between the County Lines
The Structure of County Government
Municipalities
Mayor-Council Systems
Council-Manager Systems
Commission Systems
Town Meetings
Special Districts
Working Within Limits: The Powers and Constraints of Local
Government
• Local Focus: The Secret Tax Explosion
Dillon’s Rule
Home Rule
Participation in Local Government
• Local Focus: Participation, or the Lack Thereof, in Local
Politics
Conclusion
• The Latest Research
Top Ten Takeaways
Key Concepts
Suggested Websites
Chapter 12 Metropolitics: The Hole Problem of Government
The Missing Level of Government
Sprawl: How Metropolitan Regions Grow
The Cons of Metropolitan Growth• Local Focus: The End of Sprawl?
Government Reform in Metropolitan Areas
Regional Governments
Regional Councils
Government Consolidation
• Policy in Practice: Fighting the Urge to Merge
Annexation
The Case Against Reform: Public Choice and the Tiebout Model
Rural Metropolitics
Conclusion
• The Latest Research
Top Ten Takeaways
Key Concepts
Suggested Websites
Chapter 13 Education: Reading, Writing, and Regulation
Organization and Leadership: Schools Have Many Bosses
Money Matters
The Pressure to Perform
• States Under Stress: If We Spend More, Who Pays?
Measuring School Performance
Many Brands on the School Reform Shelf
Standards and Accountability
• Policy in Practice: Common Core Critics Are Loud but Losing
Recruiting Good Teachers
Choosing Wisely: Alternatives to Public Schools
Charter Schools
Vouchers
Homeschooling
Can’t Tell the Players Without a Program: Groups That Influence
Public Education
Teachers’ Unions
Parent Groups
National Political Parties
Business Groups
Professional and Advocacy Groups
Conclusion
• The Latest ResearchTop Ten Takeaways
Key Concepts
Suggested Websites
Chapter 14 Crime and Punishment
Mass Arrests and Incarceration
Private Wrongs, Public Justice
Liberty and Justice for All? Systemwide Racial Inequalities
Principle Versus Practice in Common Law
Prison Nation
• Local Focus: Chicago’s Homicide Paradox: The Victims and
the Victimizers Are the Same People
• A Difference That Makes a Difference: Jury Power: What the
Courts Don’t Want You to Know
The Crime Explosion and the War on Drugs
Getting Tough on Crime Through Sentencing
Problems of a Prison Nation
The Bipartisan Search for Solutions
• A Difference That Makes a Difference: The Slow Death of
Capital Punishment
• Policy in Practice: How Far to Take Gun Control?
Issues to Watch
The End of the War on Drugs
Legalization of Marijuana
Policing’s Race Problem
The New Criminal Frontier
Conclusion
• The Latest Research
Top Ten Takeaways
Key Concepts
Suggested Websites
Chapter 15 Health and Welfare: State, Heal Thyself!
Government’s Role in Health
Seeking Universal Health
Rising Costs
Retaining State Authority
Beyond Medicaid
• A Difference That Makes a Difference: Some States Fail atSetting Up Health Exchanges
• A Difference That Makes a Difference: In States Without
Medicaid Expansion, Rural Hospitals Are at Risk
How Government Got Into the Health Care Biz
The Idea of a Social Safety Net
The Birth of the American Safety Net
A Multibillion-Dollar Afterthought
Oops! The Unexpected Cost of Health Insurance
The Devolution Revolution
Welfare Reform
The Feds Falter
The Rise of the Health Care State
A Promising Beginning
The Safety Net Widens
Beyond Managed Care
Time for Reform
• A Difference That Makes a Difference: States Try New
Approaches to Limit Abortion
Issues to Watch
Health Information Technology
Long-Term Care
Public Health
What Is Good Health Anyway?
• Local Focus: Slow Response to Zika
Conclusion
• The Latest Research
Top Ten Takeaways
Key Concepts
Suggested Websites
Chapter 16 Environment and Climate Change: Thinking Globally,
Acting Locally
States Get Serious About the Environment
Regulating Vehicles
Challenging the Environmental Protection Agency
Cap and Trade
Clean Power Plan
Growing Partisanship and Skepticism• A Difference That Makes a Difference: Despite Attacks,
Renewable Energy Requirements Retain Support
International Agreements
Issues to Watch
Promoting Renewable Energy
• Local Focus: Coal Industry’s Troubles Are Far From Over
Cutting Back on Coal
Limiting Land Use
Going Green
Green Buildings
Green Jobs
Adaptation
• Local Focus: School Districts Are Finally Testing Their Water
for Lead
Conclusion
• The Latest Research
Top Ten Takeaways
Key Concepts
Suggested Websites
Notes
Glossary
Index