Final Government Ca And Us

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Amicus curiae

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Friend of the court briefs. a written brief in support of one of the parties in a legal dispute that attempts to influence the decision of the court (pg 135 Volkomer)

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Factor Promoting Interest Group Activism

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1) Growing Diversity of American Population, more heterogenious society than has ever been. 2) Individualism, an attitude in American that anyone can make a change-a sense of a political efficacy example: MADD. 3) Dispersion of Powers-Separation of Powers, more of a sharing, thatn a checks and balance, gives many access points. "If you can't get the government to do it, get the legislature to." 4) Autonomy-because political parties are weak, there is greater autonomy for people to go to candidates.

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Elements of Policy Implementation

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Implementation of Policies refers to a set of operational activities that are carried out because they are believed to lead to the realization of obtaining the policy aims-and-a process for moving from decisions to operations. Four Activities for Implementation: 1) Interpretation-(what) a. Signing Statement-a technical legal document which the president files on the day of signature. contains the presidents interpretation of what the law means. 2) Organization-(where) create a new agency (Congress is only authority for creating anew agency). President can place a new legislation into "Siberia" under incompetent people and say it wasn't therefore good legislation. 3) Operations- (How) SOP Standard Operating Procedure 4) Monitoring-(To Whom) (not program evaluation which asks, "Is this effective or not." But is Watching the implementation.

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Council of Economic Advisors

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p242-243 in Volkomer--Created in 1946. appointed by the president, has a chair and two other economists and about 20 permament staff economists. Provide technical support. The counceil's job is to review the state of the economy and advise the preisident on ways of dealing with such problems as unemployment, inflation, or slow economic growth. Recommends adjustments in government spending and taxation

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Adversary Rule

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p262--(did not find Adversary Rule, but found Adversary System, maybe this is a question that one of the not correct answers is adversary rule?) Adversary System--the American legal system is often referred to an adversary system because it is based on the assumption that truth will emerge rom the clash of opposing interests. Also, unlike the executive and legislative branches of government, the judiciary is largely passive. The courts must wait for cases to be brought to them before they can settle disputes.When a case comes to court, each side attempts to present a view of the facts that is favorable to its case.

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Staff Agency Role in Bureaucracy

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p238-244--Staff agency do not carry out policy but are concerncd with gathering information and providing advice. Individual cabinet members serve as "the contact points between the President and bureaucracy."

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Pocket Veto

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p217--If the president does not act on a bill sent to him within ten days of the adjournment of Congress, the proposal dies. By figuratively "pytting the bill in his pocket", the president vetoes the measue without giving Congress an opportunity to override the veto.

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Line ItemVeto

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p217-218--In addition to the veto power, almost all state governors have the right to use a line item veto. Allows a chief executive to veto specific provisions of an appropriations or tax bill while accepting the remaining provisions of the law. American presidents don't have this authority and must choose between accepting or rejecting the entire proposal.

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Agency Administering Civil Service

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p238--Office of Personnel Management. Civil Service are civilian employees of the federal government.

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Assembly Speaker-

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pg 63. Person that is clearly in charge of the assembly. Has control of the flow of legislation, committee chairs and assignments and vast campaign funds. May hold favor with the governor. The tradition is that the party of the Majority in the assembly hold a secret meeting to choose the person and then the whole house votes for that person that they chose.

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Iron Triangle

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Relationship between the bureau the congressional (sub) committees and interests groups. and the power they exert on each other

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Judicial Activism

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the belief that the judiciary should be willing to exercise its authority to declare unconstitutional actions of the other branches of government and to establish new rules and policy

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legislative veto

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veto exercised by legislature nullifying or reversing an action, decision, etc., of the executive branch. deemed illegal in 1983 with INS v. Chadha

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General veto

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made up????

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Senate President

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The Lieutenant Governor of California is elected to serve a four year term and can serve a maximum of two terms. Acts as the governor in his absence and is the president of the senate. In the federal level, the senate president is the vice president and votes to break ties (pg 188 of volkomer)

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Senate president pro-tem

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pg 64 Most powerful member of the assembly that is chosen by the majority party. Also the head of the Rules committee. Much like the Assembly speaker

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Proposition 140

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pg 62. Initiative that limited elected executive branch officers and state senators to two 4 year terms and assembly members to three 2 year terms, while clearly reducing the legislature’s operating budget by 38%

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Legislative superintendent--??

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made up?? Legislative analyst-Assistant to the legistature who studies the annual budget and proposed programs. Legislative Committees-Small groups of senators or assembly members who consider and make legislation in specialized areas such as agriculture or education. Legislative Counsel-Assists the legislature in preparing bills and assessing their impact on existing legislation. Legislative Initiatives- Propositions placed on the ballot by the legislature rather than by citizen petition

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Process for the passage of constitutional amendment

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37 in Volkomer! not C&G--Twostep process: proposal and ratification. Amendments can be proposed using either of two methods: by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress or by a national convention called by Bongress at the request of the legislatures of two-thirds of the states. Only the first method has been used to date. There are also two procedures for ratifying: approval by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states or by specially elected ratifying conventions in three-fourths of the states. The latter has been use for only one of the amendments ratified thus far-the Twenty-first which repealed the Eighteenth (Prohibition) Amendment. Congress can determine which process to use

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Role of the courts in challenging initiatives

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pgs 81-83. The Courts have often interpreted certain laws to be in violation of the constitution and have many times overruled many laws that were passed in the elections.

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Electoral College and Strategy for winning presidential elections—

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Democrats stress party unity and high number of registered voters, republicans on voting for the president and high numbers of people voting. Pg 155. Electoral college can result in the candidates only spending their time where there is money or they are likely to win a specific state, neglecting the other states. 159.

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Proposals for reforming the Electoral College

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possibly the faithless voter can be eliminated, the single-member district plan allows for the election of to electors on a statewide basis: the remaining electors would be chosen individually from the districts used for the election of members of the house of representatives are options on pg 161. Other options are constitutional amendments designed to throw out the system altogether.

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Dual nature of the congress

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each party must approve a bill before it becomes law. Senate is larger and is supposed to be more stable for long term (they can concentrate on legislation that doesn’t directly affect their voter support (pg185)), they serve 6 years (in notes) and has 100 senators. The house has 435 representatives and serve for 2 years each.

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Legislation originating in the House

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Any representative can introduce legislation

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Legislation to control and regulate the American economy

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The ways and means committee deals ith taxation, tariffs, social security programs and trade agreements- this can be introduced directly on the floor and skip the rules committee. (p193)

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Ratification of treaties

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Treaties can only be ratified by the Senate. the treaty power is a coordinated effort between the Executive branch and the Senate. The President may form and negotiate a treaty, but the treaty must be advised and consented to by a two-thirds vote in the Senate. (found at wiki)

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Unanimous consent agreements

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A unanimous consent request setting terms for the consideration of a specified bill or other measure. These agreements are usually proposed by the Majority Leader or floor manager of the measure, and reflect negotiations among Senators interested in the measure. Many are "time agreements," which limit the time available for debate and specify who will control that time. Many also permit only a list of specified amendments, or require amendments to be to the measure. Many also contain other provisions, such as empowering the Majority Leader to call up the measure at will or specifying when consideration will begin or end. (can also be found 198 of volkomer)

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Naturalization v. Chadha

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1983 USSC ruling- one-house legislative veto violated the constitutional separation of powers. The Supreme Court held that the resolution of the House of Representatives vetoing the Attorney General's determination is constitutionally invalid, unenforceable, and not binding

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Marbury v. Madison

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1803 First case in which the Supreme Court Held something to be unconstitutional. Helped define judicial review which is essential to the idea of a checks and balance system.

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Consequences of growing trend to rely on out-of-state funding

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this can result in divided loyalties of the elected constituent.

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California voters and their Turnout

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n 2008 77 % of the states registered voters participated, a rate lower than the national average. The gubernatorial election of 2006 turned out 56.2% of registered voters. (Turnout is usually higher in presidential elections).

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Women in CA Politics

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n 2009, the assembly included 16 women. This was due to reapportionment policies. The Senate included 14 women.

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Minorities in CA Politics

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In 2009, the assembly included 15 Latinos, 5 African Americans, 2 Asians, and 2 gays. The Senate included 8 Latinos, 2 African Americans 2 Asians, and 2 gays. Although these numbers sound promising for a more diverse Ca political scene, there is still a disproportionate amount of Caucasian male politicians compared to other races, sexes, and sexual preferences.

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Media Campaign in CA Politics

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basically 3 key factors; paper politics, television politics, and “new media.”
-Paper Politics- less successful. Not a strong factor as only 95 newspapers survive in Ca. today. Only 15 % of Californians get their news through the papers.
-Television Politics- 47% of of Californians get their news and info from the television. Candidate ads take up more time than news coverage of campaigns. They have proved to be big revenue sources for television stations.
- “New Media”- 12% of Californians get their news from radio, and 17 % from the Internet. 50% of Californians say they listen to Talk radio “sometimes,” or “regularly.”

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Political Parties top national authority

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he national chair. They are the top officials in the national organization of a major political party that act as the party’s national spokesperson.

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Minority parties in the U.S

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political parties that lack the power or resources to get their candidates elected but exist to oppose present policies and advance their own ideas

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Interest groups, federalism, and separation of powers

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ypes of interest groups: economic (agribusiness), non-economic (pro-choice, religious groups), and PACS (trade union groups created to raise money for political candidates). The primary method these groups use to persuade legislators and politicians to to pass their agendas--lobbying.
3 options to getting your legislation passed:
1) Lobbying Congress: directed at legislators and their staffs, or standing committee that deals w/ the issue of concern.
2) Lobbying Executive: different methods. Direct lobbying to agency in written statements. Pressure members of congress to hold a hearing on a their specific issue. Try to elect sympathetic executives to positions in policy making. Letter writing campaigns.
3) Lobbying the courts- ACLU and NAACP using their lawyers to help pass legislation on specific issues. Can file Amicus Curiae (“friend of the court”) briefs. These are written briefs in support of the groups stance on an issue. They are used to influence decisions of the court.

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Origin of American Party System

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during Washington's second term in office, 2 district parties-the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans became important forces. By 1796, both parties were operating on a national scale. Since then 2 major parties have played a dominant role in U.S. politics.

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Theories Relating to Political Parties

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3 theories related to why we have our current system of government:
1) Institutional Theory- holds that nations election system has created a 2 party system. This is due to single member distiricts in choosing members of Congress. It is also due to the plurality voting system where winner-takes-all.
2) Historical Perspective- ratification of the constitution was a yes/no vote that divided financial groups from agricultural groups.
3) Cultural- different racial, religious, and ethnic groups have been able to find a niche in our society. Thus, there is less reason for multi-party politics.

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Interest groups in the increase in their numbers

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3 factors.
1) Federalism and separation of powers in American government encourages group activity. If a group can’t influence the legislative branch to achieve their goals, they can try the executive branch.
2) Economic specialization. For example, creation of the computer has created lobbyists for special interest groups funded by the computer industry.
3) Success of older generation. Groups like the NRA and the AARP are supported by these folks.

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Percent of independent electorate

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there is no independent electorate. Can’t be completely clarified on this question. Know 270 electorate votes needed to win an election. The electoral college has betrayed small states

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Soft Money

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unlimited money given to political parties during political campaigns. Not subject to financial restrictions

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Hard Money

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money for campaign contributions made by either individuals or groups that are regulated by federal law.

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Electorate votes needed to win the presidency

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270 to win but 435 representatives + 100 senators + 3 District of Columbia = 538 total

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Reform proposals for the Electoral College

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proposals. More extreme to less extreme.
1) Elect president by direct national popular vote.
2) Divide each states electoral votes in proportion to the popular votes received by each candidate.
3) To have elections chosen by congressional districts rather than at large.
4) Retain electoral college but abolish the office of the electoral college and thus the balance of the “faithless electors.”

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Typical number of bills introduced in state legislature in a two-year session

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6,000 bills are introduced which makes legislative committee essential to passing or not passing a law

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The formal process of how a bill becomes legislation (p. 66-69

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Step 1: Assembly member or senator sponsoring a bill gives the clerk of the chamber a
copy, this process is known as moving the bill “across the desk.”
Step 2: Bill is introduced in a first reading then Rules Committee (senate or assembly)
assigns bill to a committee(s).
Step 3: A committee hearing is held and the fate of the bill is decided on three
recommendations, pass, pass as amended, amend and re-refer. The last option
repeat steps 1-2.
Step 4: The bill undergoes a second reading before the legislative house and amendments
are considered.
Step 5: The bill is then printed in its final form.
Step 6: A third reading is held and debates continue and a vote is taken.
Step 7: Once the bill is passed in one house it is taken to the other house where the
process (step 1-6) is repeated.
Step 8: Then the bill taken to the governor for approval. Bill is passed when signed or no
action is taken in 12 day

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Reapportionment

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(Redistricting) The original intent of reapportionment (redistricting) was to keep districts relatively equal in population that represent California’s assembly, senate and US congressional districts. This is done every ten years after the national census. Today redistricting lines are used to gain political power in elections to assure re-elections. This is called maintaining the status quo that Republicans and Democrats approve. Opposing these redistricting techniques, Schwarzenegger supported Prop 77 which would appoint retired judges to redraw district lines, but was votes down. And Prop11 which placed redistricting to 14 member independent commission was approved and takes affect 2010

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. Joint Committee

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A committee that is composed of House and Senate members that deal with issues that require coordination action between the two houses. These committees rarely bring legislation to the floor but are mainly used for investigative and housing keeping issues. An example is the joint committee that was created after hurricane Katrina that was given the task to investigate the government’s readiness and response to Katrina and report findings

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Standing Committee

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The most important type of committee that is permanent in the Senate and House of Representatives. These include Armed Services, Budget, Finance, Education and Labor to name a few (table on p. 190) which propose legislation that is related their specific area. These committees are always headed by the majority party in the houses

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Select committee

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Known as special committees, are created to do a specific job in either house. For example a select committee was created to investigate a specific problem. These committees have equal power to standing committee except they cannot receive bills or report legislation.

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Conference Committee

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A joint committee (member from each house) is formed when different versions of a major bill has passed both houses. The purpose of the committee is to create a new version of the bill that is a compromise of each bill that passed. Once a new version of the bill is approved by the conference committee is sent to the houses for a vote

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Rules Committee

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A major committee in the House of Representatives that controls order in which all major legislation is considered by the house. This gives the committee power because it determines when and under what condition a bill is presented

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Ways and Means Committee

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Another major committee in the House of Representatives that deals with taxation, tariffs, Social Security, and trade agreements with foreign nations. This committee can present a bill directly to the floor without going through the Rules committee

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Barriers to universal suffrage

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1. Economic Restrictions: Late 1700’s some states allowed only white male property
owners to vote. Then the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870 made it unconstitutional for any
state to deny the male citizen the right to vote.

2. Race Barriers: Again the Fifteenth Amendment gain male African Americans the right
to vote, however, Southern states found other means of denying African Americans the
right to vote. These means were the Poll Tax, Literacy Test and etc. These were ruled
against in Civil rights cases under the civil right act.

3. Gender Barriers: The Fifteenth Amendment does not mention women. Not until 1920
under the Ninth Amendment women were granted the right to vote.

4. Age: The 26th Amendment in 1971 lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. During the Vietnam War, 18 year olds could be drafted but could not vote.

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“Faithless elector”

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Criticism of the electoral system for electing the president. Faithless electors are electors that have been chosen by the voters to cast a vote for a specific candidate but instead choose the opposite candidate

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Smith v. Allwright

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Supreme Court case that ruled that is unconstitutional to deny blacks in the south to vote in the party’s primary election, known as white primary

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1965 Voting Right Act

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Supreme Court case that ruled that states could not use a literacy test for a requirement for voting

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Theories explaining low voter participation

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The “Participating Paradox” or “Confounding Decline,” as voting barriers are removed the voting turn out declines.

1. Laws and Institutional Theory: Voter registration creates another barrier

2. The Cost/Benefit Model: Anthony Downs, voting takes time and money

3. Socio-Political Theory: Educated and wealthy are protecting own interest

4. Contentment Theory: People want to keep status quo, don’t want change

5. Apathy and Alienation Theory: Lack of interest and energy, see voting as pointless

6. Proxy Representation: Political outlook of those who do vote are the same as those who do not, meaning the voters are voting for the non-voters.

7. Basic similarities of the two parties: why vote when there is no difference in one party over the other

All theories add up to complete picture

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Explanation of Low Voter Turn-Out

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1. Structural and Systemic Factor: A) Diminished Role of parties and B) Growing complexity of government.
2. Socio-Political Factors: powerful correlation between social class/ economic growth to political participation.
3. Individual Factors: People having a stake in the election has higher turnout

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Muskrat v. United States

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The United States Supreme Court refused to allow the case to be heard, maintaining that, though the United States was named as a defendant, the case in question was not an actual controversy: rather, the statute was merely devised to test the constitutionality of a certain type of legislation, and the Court's ruling would be nothing more than an advisory opinion; therefore, it dismissed the suit for failing to present a "case or controversy", as required by Article III of the United States Constitution.

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Stare Decisis

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a legal rule that requires courts to apply existing precedents to cases involving similar facts. It is not an absolute rule, and the courts can change existing precedents when they believe that circumstances require a change

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Original jurisdiction

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belongs to the supreme court. usually the first court to try a case has this.

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equity

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system of law that differs from common law. Allows action to be take before the harm.

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writ of mandamus

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A court order forcing someone to do something that they are already required to do

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writ of habeas corpus

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an order issued by a court requiring that the government bring an arrested or detained person before the court to determine whether that individual is being legally held

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standard operating proceedures

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the set of defined rules that govern how a particular organization will be run

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Political Leaning of California’s newspapers

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In Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, and San Diego, Republican publishers used the power of the press-on editorial and news pages-to promote their favorite candidates and causes. They were instrumental in keeping Republicans in office long after the Democrats gained a majority of registered voters, but change came in 1970s news coverage became more objective, and even editorials endorsed Democrats and Liberal positions.
Voters often follow editorial recommendations on Candidates, and issues for lack of alternative source of advice.
Overall today’s editorial pages are less conservative than once were, but their influence has declined, just as the number of newspapers and their circulation have declined.

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Public Interest Groups in Ca Politics

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Public Interest group is an interest group that seeks no private gain. The following are several examples
Consumer groups campaign for the public interest in the market place and push for insurance reform. The Utility Reform Network (TURN) monitor rate requests by the utilities before the state Public Utilities Commission.
** Exam: Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth: are environmental public interest groups that advocate for water management, offshore oil drilling, air pollution, transportation and pesticide use, and land use(concerned regarding private development in sensitive areas and concern for public land which is half of the state. 1/9 Californians are member of this group
California Public Interest Research group, common cause, League of Women voters focus on government reform campaign finance and voter participation.
Local governments, Cities (League of California Cities), school Districts (The California School Boards Associations CSBA), special districts and counties (California State Association of the Counties)

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Lobbying and control of Lobbying in Ca

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Lobbying refers to activities in the lobbies of legislature.
They are integral to Legislative process.
They focus on the legislature and the Executive Branch i.e. governor, but lately they also target the public.
The lobbyist are known as the “third House”.
Many have served as legislators.
They must be well informed and persuasive. They often write proposed legislation. They assert that they only buy access to the campaign not the votes. Lobbying is a specialized profession and very expensive.
Contract lobbyist work for several clients simultaneously.
The Astroturf Organizations: a well financed group who conceal their real interest and mimic grassroots. (E.g. in 2008, the Porn industry were concerned regarding increase in taxes (from 8% to 25% on such porn products in the AB2914 bill, ) under the group The “Free speech Coalition, FSC, argued that this tax would discriminate against those with different opinions, and successfully defeated the bill

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president of the asembly

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doesn't exist in Ca.

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American Labor Movement

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Under Economic Interest groups
Labor as a whole is represented by the AFL-CIO, a federation of over a hundred unions. The AFL_CIO was created in 1955 by the merging of the American Federation of Labor, which is composed of skilled workers such as carpenters, and the Congress of Industrial Organizations, which consists largely of unskilled workers in mass-production industries such as steel

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different types of primaries

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Primary:
An election in which voters select a political party’s candidates for local, state, and national office and in some states select party officials, such as members of party committees, convention delegates, and other leaders.
Runoff Primary:
A second primary in which the tow candidates receiving the highest number of votes for a party’s nomination for local or state office compete with each other, both having failed to win a majority of votes in the first primary.
Closed Primary
A Primary election in which participation is limited to voters who have registered as members of a particular political party.
Open Primary:
A direct primary in which a voter may choose the party primary in which he or she wishes to vote without having to formally register as a party member.
Presidential primary
A primary election used by a majority of states to select delegates to the presidential nominating conventions of the major political parties.
In 2008, 40 states and the District of Columbia had Presidential primaries.

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Methods of Selecting Candidates for Public Office

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Nominating a Presidential Candidate
Presidential and Vice presidential nominations:
The national convention system created by Jacksonians in the early 19ths century is used or this purpose. But the real decisions regarding the choice of candidates takes place in state primaries, where delegates pledges to support particular candidates are chosen.
Other delegates Nominations: page 145
A large majority of both Democratic and Republican Delegates are chosen in state primaries.
Caucuses or conventions are still used in the other states to select the remaining delegates.

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Limitations on Political Contributions

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Federal laws permit a PAC to give $5000 to a candidate in a primary election and an additional $5000 in the general election. It can also give $15000 annually to a national party committee

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Federal funding for political parties

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The Federal Election Act (FECA) of 1974: a candidate seeking nomination in a presidential primary is eligible to receive federal funds if he or she is able to raise a minimum of $5000in each of twenty states, counting only the first $250 or each contribution. Candidates who meet this standard will receive funds equal to the amount of private money they have obtained. ; Only the first $250 of each contribution is matched, however to receive this money, the candidate must accept a ceiling on overall national spending, as well as on spending for each state campaign.
The FECA imposed restriction on the amount of money that can be spent by individuals to support candidates for federal office. As of 2002, the individual spending is $2000 (factoring inflation $2300) for each senate and house candidate in a primary election and a second $2000 for the general election during a two-year election cycle. Individuals are barred from giving more than $95000 to a candidate, PACs or a Political Parties.
In 2002 Congress adopted a major campaign reform law. One of its central provisions outlawed the use of soft money in elections.
The 527 Committees (tax-exempt group, named after the provision in the Internal Revenue Code) ca not give money to political parties or candidates, but they can engage in voter mobilization and sponsor advertisements that either praise or criticize political candidates so long as they do not coordinate their activities with a party or candidate. This group is exempt from the ban on soft-money

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electoral college

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Thomas Jefferson called it “The most dangerous blot on our Constitution”
Consist of popularly elected representatives “electors” who formally elect the president and vice president. Article II, Section I, clause 2 of the US Constitution specifies how many electors each state in Entitle to (equals to its total number of US senators plus the House representatives, in California 55). Each state decides how its electors are to be chosen. Voters cast ballots for favored presidential and vice presidential by voting for pledge electors who vote directly for President and Vice President. But electors are free to choose any eligible candidate for President and VP. Faithless electors are those who pledge one way and vote differently.
The 12 Amendment states each elector cast one for President and one vote for vice president.
The 23 Amendment gave 3 electoral votes to district of Colombia.
The US territories have no electors.

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Gerrymandering

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Is a form of redistricting in which the boundaries of a electoral district or a constituency are deliberately changed for election purposes, so that the it favors a particular party to achieve the desired electoral votes or used to block a particular groups of constituents, e.g. based on racial, religious, class, political affiliation from reaching their political goals. It often has negative connotation to imply one party is manipulating the map to gain disproportionate power, but also can be used positively to create a minority group within an existing majority group

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Reapportionment

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The redrawing of legislative district lines on the basis of new population information supplied by the US Bureau of the Census.
Is a process by which Federal government allocates congressional seats to the state on the basis of its total populations, determined by National Census every 10 years at the beginning of each decade

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Filibuster

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In the United State Senate a senator or a series of senators can speak for as long as they wish on any topic they choose, unless 3/5(60/100)of the senators vote on Cloture vote (Senate role of XXII, i.e. 22) to bring the debate to a close and to break the Filibuster (pirating debate by irrelevant talks, e.g. reading recipes).
In the modern filibuster, the senators trying to block a vote do not to hold the floor or continue to speak as long as there is a quorum (minimum number of members to conduct business), but the Senate Majority Leader may require actual traditional filibuster is he/she chooses.
Note the Senate rule can only change with Simple Majority which itself can be filibustered.

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cloture vote

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A vote in the Senate to end a Filibuster. Cloture Rule requires a Supermajority of 60 votes(60/100) to end a Filibuster

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discharge petition

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Is a means of bringing a bill out of committee and to the floor of the US House of Representative, without a report from a Committee and usually without cooperation of the leadership. They are used when the chair of a committee refuses to place a bill on the Committee’s agenda (with intention of avoiding the house considering it).
A Discharge petition, “discharges” the committee from further consideration of a bill or a resolution and bring it directly to the floor. It gives more power to the individual members of the house and it takes power from the leadership and committee chairs.
It requires an Absolute majority of the House members (218 votes)

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State auditor

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-periodically reviews ongoing programs in the state legislator
-position established in 1955

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legislative analyst

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-job description: provides fiscal expertise, reviews annual budget, assesses programs that affect the state’s coffers
-position established in 1941
-52 in staff working under the analyst

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legislative counsel

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-around 80 attorneys employed; they draft bills for legislators & try to predict the impact they may have on legislation that has already been enacted
-established in 1913

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appropriation committee

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-one of the major committees in the Senate

-considers expenditures for federal department/agency programs

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Vice president succession to the presidency

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-Article 2 in the Constitutionà if President is impeached, dies, resigns or disabled, the V.P. is permitted to step in and resume presidential duties.

-25th Amendment (1967): V.P. becomes President in the event of impeachment, death or resignation; new President nominates a new V.P., then majority vote in both Houses of Congress approves it.

-Other provisions of 25th: President may temporarily leave duties to V.P. as an ‘acting president’ if disabled by surgery, for instance. Duties can be taken away from a disabled president unwilling to relinquish them. President can reclaim power and duties, but if challenged by V.P. and majority of cabinet, Congress resolved the conflict with 2/3 vote

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Power of the President to terminate treaty

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-President’s power to withdraw from foreign treaties without the consent (2/3 vote) of the Senate

-This power has never been clearly outlined in the Constitution. Presidents have used it based on assumption

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Reasons for the immense growth of the executive powers

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-Great Depressionà development of bureaucratic agencies/departments ???????????????? Wagners law? Usurping of powers?

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State of the Union Message

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-Required of President, Article 3, Section 3

-“general statement of policy” ; delivered publicly in a Congressional session

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Annual Economic Report

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-Required of President, Employment Act of 1946

-discussion of current trends and problems in the economy

-written and delivered to Congress

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Veto

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After Congress passes a bill, the President may choose not to sign it; Article 1, Section 7; must also send a statement of objections. This may be overridden by Congress with 2/3 vote.

-President may also keep the bill for 10 days w/o signing and then it will become a law—passive objection. Works only if Congress is still in session by that time

-Pocket veto—if bill is not signed within 10 days of Congress’ ajournment, the proposal dies.

-Line item veto (state governors only)—certain parts of an appropriations or tax bill can be rejected

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[Unique] Features of U.S. political campaign

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Length of campaign: politicians in office are continually concerned with them. Presidents and House members, for instance, who want to be re-elected spend 2 years in office and then must start worrying about raising funds, tactics, etc.
-Cost: wealthy contributors have leverage; no limit to how much a candidate can raise collectively; more $ = increased likelihood of winning
*Out-of-state funding = unbalanced representation and incumbents having divided loyalties
**Length & Cost create a vicious circle—more time requires more money
-English ballots only
-Re-districting prior to elections will rearrange percentages in demographics/political party members; Politicians can choose their voters
How to Reform the System:
-Promote public funding for campaigns--$3 as apart of taxes paid
-Broaden public finance—extend subsidies
-New term limits: Senate-2 terms (12 yrs), House-4 terms (8 yrs)
-Apply Iowa’s redistricting procedures nationwide
-Free airtime during final weeks of general election for candidates who accept public funding

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Single-member district

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-The most common electoral system in the United States used to elect House members and many state and local officials. Each district votes on one person to represent them in a legislative body (winner-takes-all). As opposed to a plural-member district: 2+ candidates & proportional representation

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Simple majority

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-single ballot

-candidate with most of the votes wins, even if this candidate won less than 50% of the votes

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Absolute majority

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-winning candidate must win more than 50% of the votes



-Extra: run-off election: top 2 candidates with the most votes from the first election run again against each other (even if they each got less than 50% of the vote).



Ex.: First election results à candidate A (30%), candidate B (22%), candidate C (18%), candidate D (15%), candidate E (15%). Second election includes only candidates A & B

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linkage institutions

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Political Parties—Functions in Representative Democracy

1) Representation—keep masses from directly participating

a) Translating public preferences & choices à developing actual policies & programs

b) Coalition formation & policy articulation (What does it MEAN?)

2) Popular Control—so that the masses can hold representatives in check

a) To ensure gov’t responsiveness & accountability

b) To organize policy choices so that masses can easily discern and choose them

3) Integration—cooperation of Exec. & Legis. Branches; minimize potential damage from having separation of powers

**This can backfire if one party controls one branch and the second party controls the other branch

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general veto

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allows the governor to reject any other bill passed by the legislature. General Item veto can be overturned only by an absolute 2/3 vote of each house. The governor has 12 days to act after legislature passes a bill. However, On the 100’s of bills enacted by the legislature at the session’s end, the governor has 30 days to act. Only a veto can keep a bill from becoming a law. After governors time limit has passed, any unsigned bill becomes a law the following January, UNLESS the bill has an urgency measure, in which it takes effect immediately upon signature.

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Item Veto

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Gubernatorial power to delete or reduce the budget within a bill without rejecting the entire bill or budget; an absolute 2/3 vote of both houses of the state legislature is required to over ride. (pg145)
• The governor had the power to reduce or eliminate expenditures through use of the item veto when approving the state budget into law. (pg88)
• An absolute 2/3 vote from the house of the legislature, near impossible, is necessary to overturn item vetoes. (pg88)

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Pocket Veto

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A form of veto power. Bills that are sent to the president during the ten-day period before the adjournment of a session of Congress automatically die unless the president signs the legislation. Pocket vetoes occur fairly frequently because many bills are passed in the days just before Congress adjourns. Found in Article I section 7 of the Constitution.

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Writ of Certiorari

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“to be made certain”, A discretionary writ granted by the Supreme Court to send up a case for review. An order directing a lower court to send the record of a case to the Supreme Court for review.
• It is a discretionary writ; it enables the court to decide which cases are important enough for consideration.
• Procedure begins when the losing party in the federal court of appeals, to the highest state court with jurisdiction over the case, petitions the Supreme Court for the writ of certiorari.
• If at least 4 of the justices agree that, “there are special and important reasons”, for the Court to hear the case, the writ will be issued; this is known as “the rule of four”
• Congress has expanded the Court’s discretionary power to choose its cases so that today, with very few exceptions, almost all appeals come to the Courts writs of certiorari.
• Supreme Courts Work load has grown in recent years.

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New developments in Interest group

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• Chief method used by Interest groups to influence public policy is through lobbying, attempting to influence government policy by pressuring legislators to vote for or against a particular proposal.
• Also lobby staffers of public officials
• by convincing members of the executive branch of government that a particular program is or is not desirable.
• Lobbying is the primary method used by interest groups to affect public decision.
• They also lobby standing committees that deal with specific issues of concern
• Lobbyist for interest groups can testify before congressional committees and submit prepared statements that present the organization’s views on proposed legislation.
• Lobbyists also prepare drafts of proposed legislation and submit them to individual members of congress.
Executive Lobbying: not directly through president or his staff but through executive departments.
Four basic methods:
1.) Traditional method of direct lobbying. They present their ideas about proposed policies to the agency in written statements and, most important at the hearings that most agencies hold before making final policy decisions.
2.) Lobbyists pressure individual members of congress to hold a committee hearing about agency policy, to threaten a reduction in funding for the agency in the next budget, or postpone legislation that will deprive an agency of some aspect of its authority.
3.) Lobbyist seek to have sympathetic executives appointed to policy making positions within the bureaucracy.
4.) Lobbyists can make personal visits to an agency head and initiate letter-writing campaigns directed at an agency by the interest group’s supporters. This is very effective way to influence agency decisions.
Interest Groups in Court system:
• Courts are protected by LAW from all direct lobbying activities
• Indirectly Interest groups can bring law suits such as the Brown v. Board of Education by the NAACP in 1954
• I.G. groups can file amicus curiae “friend of the court” briefs; a written brief in support of one of the parties in a legal dispute that attempts to influence the decision of the court.

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PAC

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A group created by labor Unions, business corporations, or private individuals and groups to engage in political activities and campaign spending. Successful in raising and spending large sums of money obtained through contributions by union members and corporate officers, and they have taken positions on a variety of national issues.

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Employment act of 1946

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Since the Act was passed, the president had been formally responsible for managing the economy, but even before that time, he was expected to keep it running smoothly and prevent economic downturns.

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Statutes

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A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law and the regulations issued by government agencies. Statutes are sometimes referred to as legislation or "black letter law". As a source of law, statutes are considered primary authority (as opposed to secondary authority).
Ideally all Statutes must be in Harmony with the fundamental law of the land (Constitutional)

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jurisdiction

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The legal authority of a court to hear a particular kind of case. (pg263)The concept of jurisdiction is the basic understanding the American Court system. This right is granted either by a constitution or by a legislative statute. Without jurisdiction, a court has no authority to decide a dispute. Jurisdiction of state court is very broad; that of the federal court is much more limited.
• In a few cases both state and federal court have shared jurisdiction and the plaintiff can choose to sue in either court system.
• Article III Section 2 of the Constitution sets forth the jurisdiction of the federal courts.
• Court’s Jurisdiction may be original or appellate.
• Jurisdiction may be based on subject matter consists of all cases arising under the US constitution, federal law, and treaties, admiralty, and maritime cases.
o Cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and counsel.
o Cases in which the United states is the party
o Disputes between citizens of different states must be over $75,000 to be heard in fed court
o Disputes between two or more states

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declaratory statement

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a judgment of a court in a civil case which declares the rights, duties, or obligations of one or more parties in a dispute. A declaratory judgment is legally binding, but it does not order any action by a party. In this way the declaratory judgment is like an action to quiet title, a paternity petition, or any other form of preventive adjudication.[1] The declaratory judgment is generally distinguished from an advisory opinion because the latter does not resolve an actual case or controversy. A court may issue a declaratory judgment by itself or along with some other relief (such as an award of damages or an injunction). A declaratory judgment is sometimes called a declaratory ruling, a term which also includes decisions of regulatory agencies. sometimes called equitable relief

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criteria for evalutating the bureaucracy

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Three Criteria for a visible Bureaucracy: Bureau is a basic unit of government responsible for administering policies.
1.) Bureaucracy Recruitment
a. Descriptive: Family and Friends get jobs
i. Spoiled system
b. Achievement: Competence and performance knowledge
i. Merit system
2.) Bureaucratic functional Rationality: does the bureaucracy have the functionality structure to mobilize and deal with a crisis?
a. i.e. BP oil spill or Katrina; were not properly organized for these
3.) Ability for Administrative Innovation
a. Challenges at federal level.
i. i.e. nuclear bomb advancement technology- unreasonable due to the fact that Nuclear bombs is used as a defense/ bargaining tactic and will never be used so funding is somewhat questionable.

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study of franking priveleges

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study on the impact of free mailing to constituents by Congress during election times. Tax payers pay for mass mailing. This system was seen as an advantage to the incumbent.
Have gotten mail Opposite Party to Incumbents Independent Same Party
Have Gotten mail 54.6% 79.3% 94.6%
Have not gotten mail 42.5% 61.8% 90%

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joint resolution

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Congress up with something to substitute for a veto for legislation. Must be presented to President for veto or acceptance signature. However, was deemed unconstitutional in 1983. Two types of Joint Resolutions:
1) Executive proposal to Congress, if Congress does not act within 90 days of the resolution, then the Act becomes law.
2) Congress can pass resolution of disapproval; President can either sign it or can Veto it, but Congress can re-pass it with a 2/3 vote.

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interest groups techniques of exercising influece

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lobbying, amicus curiea, bribery

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key points of 2002 campaign finance reform legilslation

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• Also referred to as the McCain-Feingold ACT 2002. Soft money- to Political parties organize Party agenda platform. Limits donation at state and federal $10,000 and still intact.
Hard Money: Sen. Phil Graham Texas, “most reliable friend is hard money” This Act doubled the amount of hard Money allowed to $2,000 and an inflation built in clause max $2,300 for primary and general election.

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impact of the 2002 campaign finance reform legislation

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• Gave rise to bundlers- collect individual money from corporations.
• 40 collected donations at companies who are given bonuses just to contribute to the bundler (individually contribution)
• Nov. 2004 Citizen United vs. Federal C Commission: eliminates PACS freedom of speech and prohibits Interest groups from doing negative ads 60 days or name a specific candidate in the campaign.
• If a candidate is wealthy, their opponent has access to additional funding to level campaign.
• Senators prohibited from accepting gifts from Interest groups.
• Hard Money becomes more than 80%
• Bundlers must disclose if raise 15,000 in 6 months.

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NEUSTAD'S PRESIDENTIAL CONSTITUENCIES

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1) General public: " MODEL AMERICAN"
2) Presidents Own Political Party
3)Congress
4)Bureaucracy
5)Foreign Policy Community

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removal of judges in ca

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California judges may be removed in one of three ways:
•Judges may be impeached by the assembly and convicted by two thirds of the senate.

•Judges are subject to recall election.

•The commission on judicial performance investigates complaints of judicial misconduct and incapacity and may privately admonish, suspend, censure, retire, or remove a judge. The commission's decisions are subject to review by the supreme court.

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california commission on judicial appointments

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responsible for confirming appointments that the Governor of California makes to the California Supreme Court and the California Courts of Appeal.
Three members sit on the Commission. They are the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court (currently Ronald George), the Attorney General of California (currently Jerry Brown) and the senior presiding justice of the Court of Appeal of the appellate district to which a judge is being appointed. When a Supreme Court appointee is being considered, the third member of the commission is the state's senior presiding justice of the Courts of Appeal.

The commission convenes once the Governor has nominated or appointed a person to fill a vacancy on either the Supreme Court or one of the Courts of Appeal. The commission holds one or more public hearings to review the appointee's qualifications and may confirm or veto the appointment. No appellate appointment is final until the commission has filed its approval with the Secretary of State.[1]