POLS 206 TAMU QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE
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✔✔constitutional truism - ✔✔the states have independent powers of their own, and not
a declaration that state powers are superior to those of the national government
✔✔National League of Cities v. Usery - ✔✔Minimum wages and standard hours set;
Congress cannot regulate commerce by forcing onto states standards of minimum wage
✔✔Garcia v. San Antonio Metro - ✔✔Court held that it was up to the Congress, not the
courts, to decide which actions of the states should be regulated by the national
government
✔✔New York v. United States (1992) - ✔✔The Court upheld the power of the federal
government to force change through acceptance of federal funds; it denied the federal
government from forcing state legislatures to choose between two coercive
unconstitutional alternatives directed by Congress.
✔✔Elastic Clause - ✔✔the part of the Constitution that permits Congress to make any
laws "necessary and proper" to carrying out its powers
✔✔States' Obligations to Each Other - ✔✔-Full faith and credit
-Extradition
-Privileges and Immunities
✔✔Full Faith and Credit Clause - ✔✔Constitution's requirement that each state accept
the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state
✔✔Extradition - ✔✔A legal process whereby an alleged criminal offender is surrendered
by the officials of one state to officials of the state in which the crime is alleged to have
been committed.
, ✔✔Privileges and Immunities Clause - ✔✔prevents a state from treating citizens of
other states in a discriminatory manner.
✔✔Intergovernmental relations reflect two major changes - ✔✔1. gradual shift in the
nature of power-sharing between the national and state governments
2. rise of fiscal federalism
✔✔Fiscal Federalism - ✔✔The pattern of spending, taxing, and providing grants in the
federal system; it is the cornerstone of the national government's relations with state
and local governments.
✔✔Dual Federalism (Layer Cake) - ✔✔A system of government in which both the states
and the national government remain supreme within their own spheres, each
responsible for some policies.
✔✔Cooperative Federalism - ✔✔A system of government in which powers and policy
assignments are shared between states and the national government. They may also
share costs, administration, and even blame for programs that work poorly.
✔✔cooperative federalism involves the following - ✔✔shared costs, federal guidelines,
shared administration
✔✔ceiling preemptions - ✔✔cap the amount of regulation states can enact on a
particular issue
✔✔crosscutting requirements - ✔✔constraints that apply to all federal grants
✔✔The Scramble for Federal Dollars - ✔✔Grant distribution ($600 billion yearly) is
universalism; a little something for everybody.
✔✔Mandate Blues - ✔✔Mandates direct state governments to comply with federal rules
under threat of penalties or as a condition of receipt of a federal grant
✔✔The Downside of Diversity - ✔✔discourage states from providing services that they
might otherwise provide
✔✔Policy Innovation - ✔✔States are considered "laboratories of democracy," able to
experiment with new and creative policy approaches.
✔✔diversity in public opinion reflected - ✔✔different ideas are reflected by different
peoples in different states
A+
✔✔constitutional truism - ✔✔the states have independent powers of their own, and not
a declaration that state powers are superior to those of the national government
✔✔National League of Cities v. Usery - ✔✔Minimum wages and standard hours set;
Congress cannot regulate commerce by forcing onto states standards of minimum wage
✔✔Garcia v. San Antonio Metro - ✔✔Court held that it was up to the Congress, not the
courts, to decide which actions of the states should be regulated by the national
government
✔✔New York v. United States (1992) - ✔✔The Court upheld the power of the federal
government to force change through acceptance of federal funds; it denied the federal
government from forcing state legislatures to choose between two coercive
unconstitutional alternatives directed by Congress.
✔✔Elastic Clause - ✔✔the part of the Constitution that permits Congress to make any
laws "necessary and proper" to carrying out its powers
✔✔States' Obligations to Each Other - ✔✔-Full faith and credit
-Extradition
-Privileges and Immunities
✔✔Full Faith and Credit Clause - ✔✔Constitution's requirement that each state accept
the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state
✔✔Extradition - ✔✔A legal process whereby an alleged criminal offender is surrendered
by the officials of one state to officials of the state in which the crime is alleged to have
been committed.
, ✔✔Privileges and Immunities Clause - ✔✔prevents a state from treating citizens of
other states in a discriminatory manner.
✔✔Intergovernmental relations reflect two major changes - ✔✔1. gradual shift in the
nature of power-sharing between the national and state governments
2. rise of fiscal federalism
✔✔Fiscal Federalism - ✔✔The pattern of spending, taxing, and providing grants in the
federal system; it is the cornerstone of the national government's relations with state
and local governments.
✔✔Dual Federalism (Layer Cake) - ✔✔A system of government in which both the states
and the national government remain supreme within their own spheres, each
responsible for some policies.
✔✔Cooperative Federalism - ✔✔A system of government in which powers and policy
assignments are shared between states and the national government. They may also
share costs, administration, and even blame for programs that work poorly.
✔✔cooperative federalism involves the following - ✔✔shared costs, federal guidelines,
shared administration
✔✔ceiling preemptions - ✔✔cap the amount of regulation states can enact on a
particular issue
✔✔crosscutting requirements - ✔✔constraints that apply to all federal grants
✔✔The Scramble for Federal Dollars - ✔✔Grant distribution ($600 billion yearly) is
universalism; a little something for everybody.
✔✔Mandate Blues - ✔✔Mandates direct state governments to comply with federal rules
under threat of penalties or as a condition of receipt of a federal grant
✔✔The Downside of Diversity - ✔✔discourage states from providing services that they
might otherwise provide
✔✔Policy Innovation - ✔✔States are considered "laboratories of democracy," able to
experiment with new and creative policy approaches.
✔✔diversity in public opinion reflected - ✔✔different ideas are reflected by different
peoples in different states
