American Federalism

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"Necessary and proper" clause

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Clause in the constitution that states that "Congress should have the power to make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers." This clause is also known the elastic clause as is a major and significant power of congress, granting congress the ability to interpret its lawmaking ability in a broad manner.

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10th Amendment

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The powers not to delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, and reserved to the states respectively , or to the people". However, the Tenth Amendment has rarely had much practical significance.

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Block Grants

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These are board state grants to states that prescribed activities- welfare, child care, education, social services.preventive health care, and health services- with only a few strings attached. States have greater flexibility in deciding how to spend block grant dollars, but when the federal funds for any fiscal year are gone, there are no more matching federal dollars.

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Categorical-formula grants

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Congress appropriates funds for a specific purpose, such as school lunches or for building airports and highways. These funds are allocated by formula and are subject to detailed federal conditions.

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Centralists

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People who favor national action over state and local action

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Commerce Clause

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The clause in the Constitution that gives Congress the power to regulate all business activities that cross state lines or affect more than one state or other nations

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Competitive Federalism

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Views the national government, all states, local governments competing with each other over ways to put together services and taxes.

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Concurrent Powers

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Powers that the constitution gives to both national and state governments

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Conditions of Aid

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terms set by national government that states must meet if they are to receive certain funds

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Confederation

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Constitutional arrangement in which sovereign nations or states by compact create a central government but carefully limit its power and do not give direct authority over individuals

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Cooperative Federalism

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stresses federalism as a system of intergovernmental relations in delivering governmental goods or services to the people and calls for communication among various levels of governments

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Creative Federalism

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During the Great Society, the marble cake approach of intergovernmental relations

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Decentralists

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People who favor state or local action rather than national action

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Devolution Revolution

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The effort to slow the growth of the federal government by returning many functions to the states

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Dual Federalism( layer cake federalism)

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Views the Constitution as giving a limited list of powers -primarily foreign policy and national defense - to the national government leaving the rest to sovereign states

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Express powers

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Powers the Constitution specifically grants to one of the branches of national governements

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Extradition

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Legal process whereby an alleged criminal offender is surrendered by the officials of ones state to officials of which the alleged crime was committed

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Federal Mandate

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A requirement the federal government imposes as a condition for recieving federal funds

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Federalism

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Constitutional arrangement in which power is distributed between central government and sub-divisional governments

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Fiscal Federalism

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Through different grant programs, slices up the marble cake into many different pieces making it more difficult to differentiate the functions of the level of government

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Full Faith and Credit Clause

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Clause in the constitution requiring each state to recognize the civil judgments rendered by the courts of other states and to accept their public records and acts as valid

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Gibbons v Ogden

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Nullified state grant giving the exclusive right to use navigable waters within the state. Opened the door to vast expansion of national control over commerce through liberal interpretation of the commerce power

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Grants-in-Aid

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Federal funds provided to states and localities

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Implied Powers

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Powers inferred from the express powers that allow Congress to carry out its functions

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Inherent Powers

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The powers of the national government in foreign affairs that the supreme court has declared don't depend on constitutional grants but rather grow out of the very existence of the national government

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Initiative

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a procedure allowing voters to submit a proposed law to popular vote by obtaining required number of signatures

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Interstate Compact

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An agreement among two or more states must be approved by Congress

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Linkage instituions

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The means by which individuals can express preferences regarding the development of public policy.

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Marble cake federalism

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Conceives of federalism as a marble cake in which all levels of government are involved in a variety of issues and programs,rather than it split up between levels of government

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McCulloch v Maryland

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Significance: established "implied powers" and the principle of "national supremacy" which denies the states any right to interfere in the constitutional operations of the national government

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National Supremacy

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constitutional doctrine that whenever a conflict occurs between the constitutionality authorized actions of the national government and those of a state/local government the national government will prevail

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Nullification

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states had the right to nullify (void) federal law that in their opinion violated the constitution. Later determines states could not use

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Permissive Federalism

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implies that although federalism provides "a sharing of power and authority between national and state governments, the states' share rests upon the permission and permissiveness of the national government

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Police Power

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the power of the state to promote health, safety and morals

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Preemption

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The right of the law or a regulation to prelude enforcement of a state or local law or regulation

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Project Grants

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Congress appropriates a certain sum, which is allocated to the state and local units and sometimes to nongovernmental agencies, based application from those who wish to participate

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Recall

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Procedure whereby voters can remove an elected official from office

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Referendum

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the practice of submitting a law to a popular vote at election time. The law may be imposed by voter's initiative or legislature

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Revenue Sharing

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a law providing for the distribution of a fixed amount or share of federal income tax revenues to the states for spending on almost any government purpose

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Sovereignty

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Supreme or ultimate political authority, a sovereign government is one that is legally and politically independent of any government

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State's Right

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powers expressly or implicitly reserved to states

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Unitary system

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Constitutional arrangement that concentrates power in the central government

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United states v Lopez

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Struck down as exceeding congressional authority under the commerce clause, a federal law that made it illegal to carry a gun within a 1000 ft of a school

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Wavier

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a decision by the administrative agency granting some other part permission to violate a law or rule that would otherwise apply to it