The Constitution of the United States of America established three branches of the federal government. These branches are the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches. Each branch has their own set of powers and responsibilities. While the federal government is the supreme authority, the Constitution also grants power and responsibilities to the states and local governments. These rights are granted under the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution. This paper will compare federal, state and local governments in relation to structure, responsibilities, and reform efforts.
Federal Government
Structure
The federal government is made up of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The executive branch is headed by the president of the …show more content…
The Constitution was drafted to provide for a separation of powers to ensure a checks and balance system. This separation of power is done to ensure that no one branch can have complete control. The legislative branch has the responsibility of enacting laws. The judicial branch has the responsibility of interpreting those laws. The executive branch has a responsibility to enforce the laws. The federal government, as a whole, has a set of responsibilities to the public. Among some of those responsibilities are to establish the Army, Navy and Armed Forces, enter into treaties with foreign governments, declare war, establish post offices and issue postage, and print money (Shafritz, …show more content…
All state governments are modeled after the federal government and consists of the same three branches: legislative, judicial, and executive. The executive branch in each state is headed by the governor. The remaining leaders of the executive branch are also elected, including the Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, auditors, commissioners and the Secretary of State. It should be noted that Nebraska is the only state that does not have a bicameral legislator. Nebraska has a unicameral legislature, which consists of only one chamber (Shafritz, 2013, p. 90). Bicameral legislatures are made up of two chambers, the first being the smaller upper house, the second being the larger lower house. These two chambers make state laws and fulfill the responsibilities. The judicial branch of each state are led by the state Supreme Court. These judges are either appointed or elected and are determined by the state constitution or by deflation (Explaining Federal, State and Local Government Responsibilities in Virginia,
Federal Government
Structure
The federal government is made up of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The executive branch is headed by the president of the …show more content…
The Constitution was drafted to provide for a separation of powers to ensure a checks and balance system. This separation of power is done to ensure that no one branch can have complete control. The legislative branch has the responsibility of enacting laws. The judicial branch has the responsibility of interpreting those laws. The executive branch has a responsibility to enforce the laws. The federal government, as a whole, has a set of responsibilities to the public. Among some of those responsibilities are to establish the Army, Navy and Armed Forces, enter into treaties with foreign governments, declare war, establish post offices and issue postage, and print money (Shafritz, …show more content…
All state governments are modeled after the federal government and consists of the same three branches: legislative, judicial, and executive. The executive branch in each state is headed by the governor. The remaining leaders of the executive branch are also elected, including the Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, auditors, commissioners and the Secretary of State. It should be noted that Nebraska is the only state that does not have a bicameral legislator. Nebraska has a unicameral legislature, which consists of only one chamber (Shafritz, 2013, p. 90). Bicameral legislatures are made up of two chambers, the first being the smaller upper house, the second being the larger lower house. These two chambers make state laws and fulfill the responsibilities. The judicial branch of each state are led by the state Supreme Court. These judges are either appointed or elected and are determined by the state constitution or by deflation (Explaining Federal, State and Local Government Responsibilities in Virginia,