Federalism

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Federalism

• How the circle and the squares get along

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Terms you need to know after this presentation

• Federalism
• Federalist 51
• Delegated powers
• Reserved powers
• Concurrent powers
• Prohibited powers
• Elastic clause
• McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
• Commerce clause
• Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

• Dual Federalism
• Cooperative Federalism
• Grants-in-aid
• Categorical grant
• Block grant
• Mandate
• Devolution
• Pros and cons of federalism

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Disaster Relief

• Whos job was it to clean up New Orleans and the
  rest of the coast after Katrina?

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No Child Left Behind

• Should the national govt step in to regulate
  school performance?

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What is Federalism?

• Federalism Two or more governments exercise
  power and authority over the same people in the
  same territory
• OR the relationship between the federal
  government (circle) and the state governments
  (squares)

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Federalist 51

• Defends the Constitution
• Explains why a strong govt is necessary
• If men were angels, no government would be
  necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither
  external nor internal controls on government
  would be necessary.
• Defends separation of powers between state and
  national govt

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Powers

• Delegated Powers (enumerated powers) powers
  given to Fed govt by Constitution
• Reserved Powers state power alone
• Concurrent Powers shared
• Prohibited Powers denied from both
• Ex. Neither govt can tax exports

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Elastic Clause

• Aka Necessary and Proper Clause
• Art. I, Sec. 8, Cl. 18 - "The Congress shall have
  Power - To make all Laws which shall be necessary
  and proper for carrying into Execution the
  foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by
  this Constitution in the Government of the United
  States, or in any Department or Officer thereof."
• Impossible to predict all powers Congress will
  need to function, sometimes we might have to
  allow Congress extra powers to fulfill their
  delegated powers

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McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

• Background
• Bank of the US operated in Maryland
• Maryland did not want BoUS to operate in state,
  competition unwanted, unfair
• Maryland taxed the bank to put it out of business
• McCulloch, BoUS employee, refused to pay the
  state tax

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McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

• Is a Bank of the US Constitutional?
• YES. The national govt has certain implied
  powers that go beyond delegated powers. US needs
  a national bank for borrowing, lending, holding
  minted money, etc. All of which are delegated
  powers.

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McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

• Can a state tax the federal govt?
• -NO. The federal govt is supreme. Since the
  BoUS is constitutional, only the feds may tax it.
• -John Marshall reaffirmed Supremacy Clause and
  Elastic Clause
• -National (Federal) Gov gets STRONGER

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Commerce clause

• Art. I, Sec. 8, Cl. 3 The Congress shall have
  power - To regulate commerce with foreign
  nations, and among the several states, and with
  the Indian tribes.
• Congress has used the elastic clause to stretch
  this power
• What is commerce? Buying and selling of goods
  and services.
• Congress given the power to regulate commerce
  between foreign countries and US as well as state
  to state they control business law.

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Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

• 1824 aka The Steamboat Case
• Ogden received a state licensed monopoly to run a
  ferry across the Hudson River
• Gibbons also saw the potential of the traffic
  between NJ and NY and obtained a federal license.
• Ogden sued saying he had the valid state license,
  even though Gibbons had US license

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Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

• Result Gibbons wins
• Expanded national power in all areas of commerce
  law because nation overruled state in interstate
  trade issues
• Fed Govt gets STRONGER
• All trade today is primarily controlled by
  national law

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Commerce Clause

• Who cares? Why is it important?
• Gibbons v. Ogden ruling makes a loop hole giving
  Congress power to take control over any issue
  involving the movement of people, or things
• Fed govt power increased

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United States v. Lopez (1995)

• Commerce clause quiz!!!
• 1995 Gun Free School Zone law banned
  possession of a firearm within 1000 feet of a
  school, 12 year old Lopez carried a gun on to the
  property
• Declared law unconstitutional nothing to do
  with commerce carrying a weapon through a
  school zone is too much of a stretch for
  commerce
• LIMITED National government power

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Gonzalez v. Raich (2005)

• Commerce clause quiz!!! Medicinal Marijuana
• Controlled Substance Act (1970) US gov
  regulates the manufacture, importation,
  possession, and distribution of certain drugs
• Medicinal marijuana was legalized in California,
  but illegal to US government. Raich argued
  commerce clause should not take effect because 1)
  there was no business transactions and 2) there
  were no state border issues.
• Supreme Court ruled 6-3 against Raich saying that
  the federal government could trump state laws
  that permitted medicinal marijuana

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2 Federalisms?

• OLD SCHOOL Dual Federalism
• Federal and state governments remain dominant in
  their separate spheres of influence
• Gibbons v. Ogden proved life is not that simple
• NEW SCHOOL Cooperative Federalism
• State and Federal governments work together to
  solve complex problems

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2 Federalisms

• TWO METAPHORS
• Dual Federalism Layer Cake

Federal
State

• Cooperative Federalism Marble Cake

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Fiscal Federalism

• Fiscal means
• Q How do you get the states to do things they
  normally wouldnt do?
• A Money
• Q What is the answer to any question ever
  asked?
• A Money

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Grants-in-Aid

• Money paid from one level of government to
  another to be spent for a specific purpose
• Categorical Grants - target specific purposes and
  strings attached. (States receive funds if
  state raised age to 21 and lowered BAC to .08)
• Block Grants given for broad, general purposes
  and allow more discretion on how the money is
  spent (ex. Welfare reform)

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Mandates

• A requirement that a state undertake an activity
  or provide a service
• Most apply to Civil Rights and the Environment
• Often times the states or local govts have to
  pay the bill of the mandate set by Congress

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Mandates

• 1986 Asbestos Emergency Response Act,
  Handicapped Childrens Protection Act
• 1988 Drug-free Workplace Acts, Ocean Dumping
  Ban Act
• 1990 Clean Air Act
• EX Columbus, OH spends 23 of the city budget
  trying to meet environmental mandates (including
  testing for pesticides used on rice and
  pineapple)
• EX Public schools have to use Internet
  filtering or schools lose e-rate subsidies

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Change in Spending

• Shift towards Federal Govt Spending

Federal State Local (City)
1929 17 23 60
1939 47 23 30
1960 64 17 19
1997 66 19 15
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Devolution

• Devolution is the return of power to the state
  gov
• Idea is fueled by distrust of the federal gov and
  the desire to save money by reducing the size of
  the bloated federal government

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Devolution Example

• Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
  Reconciliation Act of 1996
• Eliminated welfare and transferred the money to
  states as block grants
• States received wide latitude on how to
  administer workfare but with the knowledge that
  Congress was counting on anti-poverty spending
• Strings attached head of family must work or
  lose benefit lifetime benefits limited to 5
  years unmarried mother lt 18 only receive if
  stay in school and live with adult immigrants
  ineligible for 5 years

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Federalism is good

• Living under 2 governments is great
• Built on compromise, promotes unity
• Govt duties can be split up
• Brings govt closer to people
• Allows for state govt to address issues in
  unique regions of the country
• Allows states to experiment with policy before
  enacting it at the federal level Ex. Vermonts
  free health care for children

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Federalism is bad

• Living under 2 governments is bad
• States can impede progress of Nation
• States are unequal
• States have different policy
• Easier for states to be dominated by interest
  groups