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Three similarities between the structure and outcome of government in the state of California and at the federal level
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Forms of Local Government
The basis for county, city and special district governing and authority are laid out in the State Constitution and Government Code. Counties in California are responsible for providing limited services to unincorporated areas. The state Legislature created the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) in 1963 to control local government fragmentation. The Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) gives counties the power to tax, create special districts and annex unincorporated land to cities in the county (League of Women Voters, 1992).
There are three classes of county government. The main differences are in the organization and selection of governing bodies and officers. General Law counties elect supervisors by district and Charter counties can elect at large or by district. Charter counties have more freedom drafting their charters determining the powers and duties of their officers and if they will be elected or appointed. The third class is Consolidated city and county. San Francisco is the only city-county (League of Women Voters, 1992).
Counties provide services mandated by law but can also provide services specific to their communities needs. Counties assess property value and collect property taxes. Counties are governed by an elected Board. These Supervisors appoint executives to manage functions of the county. Counties receive revenue from state and federal programs.
There are two kinds of municipalities (city/town). General- Law powers are defined by the states Government code. City government establishes municipal policy and enacts and implements local ordinances. City governments are responsible for providing services which directly affect the lives of their residents like police ...
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California Special Districts Association, Retrieved from: http://csda.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=6&Itemid=41
Guide to California Government, Chapter 15, League of Women Voters of California, 14th Edition 1992. Retrieved from: http://www.smartvoter.org/gtg/ca/state/overview/county.html
League of California Cities. Retrieved from: http://www.cacities.org/index.jsp
Lin, Joanna, Brown sends mixed message on First 5 funds (May 2011). Stateline: State Policy and Politics. Retrieved from: http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/ brown-sends-mixed-message-first-5-funds-10366
Public Policy Institute of California, www.ppic.org
US Law, 2009 California Government Code - Section 6500-6536: Article 1. Joint Powers
Agreements. Justia.com. Retrieved from: http://law.justia.com/codes/california/2009
/gov/6500-6536.html
The Mayor represents the Executive branch of the government, which enforces the law. The Mayor is the chief executive officer of the city. He executes on behalf of the City all contracts and is the official and ceremonial head of the City. Mayor Alai also serves as Safety Director.
The municipal system experienced a steady growth for several decades following the establishment of responsible municipal government in Ontario with the Baldwin Act of 1849 (Frisken 30). International interest was generated in 1954 with the creation of Metropolitan Toronto, the first major structural change in the system. Yet, it was not until’ 1967 that the Ontario Committee on Taxation recommended that the rest of Ontario be restructured in regional governments similar to the structure of Metropolitan Toronto (Frisken 30). As a result of the recommendation was the creation of ten regional...
Almost any place that you live in, you will find that there is some sort of government set up there. A government is basically a form of system of rule, by which state, community, etc. is governed by. Although, most places do have a government set up, the type of government in which they have differ from each place. One of the most popular forms of government that is used often today would be democracy; this means that the government is ruled by the people. Monarchy is another one that you should be aware of because it is one of the oldest forms of government and it is still used today in some places. A monarchy government consists of the rule
An example of this would be that the federal government has control over the military, foreign policy, our postal system and the monetary policies. The state government has the responsibility for the police/law enforcement, road building and the schools.
This helps to ensure that the residents get the services they need in a more effective way since they can make the local leaders accountable. This would be more difficult if the local leaders were handling large counties with many residents. However, in the case of Texas, it has too many branches of local government. This brings about more challenges to service delivery than benefits. One of the ways this happens is through increasing the bureaucratic processes. The addition of an extra layer of government such as through local governments only increases the hurdles the citizens have between them and service delivery. Another problem arises with regards to the ability of the many branches to handle specialized services. Some of the commonly needed services by residents include water provision, garbage collection, sewage management, flood prevention, among others (Flores et al.). These require resources that may not be available to the smaller branches of the local government. Therefore, consolidation of some of these local governments would help to improve efficiency in the service
The government consisted of a central state government and local governments. State governments were made up of a governor and bicameral legislature. Officials were annually elected by white, free men who were also church members. Local government consisted of town meetings, where all white male Church members who owned property gathered regularly to decide matters of local importance.
The legislative branch of America helps create the laws or legislation. Ideally, it works to create a society that is safe for all members. The State of California like the federal government has a bicameral legislature, in other words, composed of two chambers. The upper chamber is called the senate, while the lower is called the assembly. A unique process for the state level is that it allows for the initiative. This process circumvents the state congress and can create laws without their aide. In the state of California, every ten years, following a US census, which collects demographic information, state legislators draw redistricting plans for itself, California seats in the US House of Representatives, and the State Board of Equalization. There have been attempts to create a “non-partisan” redistricting commission, but this has been turned down by voters numerous times. Proposition 14, 39, 118, and 119 were all turned down by voters to create a non-partisan districting commission. Every decade a large portion of the state congress’s energy is spent on redistricting. In fact, two of the last four censuses, Supreme Court has had to step in to break a deadlock. In 1970, Ronald Reagan, a Republican, vetoed all together the Democratic redistricting plan. The Supreme Court had to step in and created its own plans for California to follow. Then in 1981, Democrats proposed redistricting as well as congressional delegation redistricting. The Republicans stopped this by adding referendums to the state ballot. Because it was too close to elections though, Supreme Court overturned these referendums in 1982. In 1984, they officially passed the new redistricting plan which was very similar to the original plans.
Prior to the 1800’s, the city acted without any involvement from the state. However, because the city began to expand its’ powers
In conclusion, the state of Florida is made up into a wide range of state and local government agencies. The state agencies include the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The local agencies include the counties, municipalities, and special purpose districts. The counties and municipalities are general purpose agencies that include county and city government. The special purpose agencies are districts created for functions such as transportation, schools, water, etc.
To start off, agency administration can vary from department to department. The agency’s administration will depend on what kind of department they are. A police department is a law enforcement agency that is governed by the city, whereas a sheriff’s department is governed by the county. A sheriff’s department is higher up than a police department. For example, a sheriff’s department can patrol in city limits, but a police department cannot patrol outside of city limits. That being said, in rural areas, the police department and sheriff’s department have mutual aid, which simply means that if the sheriff’s department needs assistance outside of city limits, the police department will assist them, and vice versa.
Kevin B. Smith, Alan Greenblatt, and John Buntin, Governing states and localities: First Edition (Washington, D.C.: CQ Press), 2005, 95.
Light, Paul C., and Christine L. Nemacheck. "Chapter 7 Congress." Government by the People, Brief 2012 Election Edition, Books a La Carte New Mypoliscilab With Etext Access Card Package. By David B. Magleby. 2012 Election Edition ed. N.p.: Pearson College Div, 2013. N. pag. Print.
On the other hand in a federal system the central authority has broad powers on matters that concern the nation. For example in the USA the central authority controls foreign affairs and defense policy
When the average citizen goes to vote in city elections, they expect the mayor that they elect will be running the city; however, in a city with a council-manager system in place, the daily operations needed to run a city are completed by a city manager, not the mayor. In fact, many times in a council-manager system, the mayor really has no control and is mostly a figurehead whose only power comes from his or her ability to influence the council. While this does allow for the decisions on how to run the city to be less political, it also places an individual that is often unelected into a position of major power and causes the city to end up being operated more as a business than a community.
A government was required to lead the people and aid in organizing a city. City governments were far more powerful than the council of elders and local chiefs of farming villages. At first, Priest probably had the greatest. In time, warrior kings came to power as chief political leaders. They soon set themselves up as the chief hereditary ruler and passed their power from father to son. Governments soon became more complex as rulers issued laws, collected taxes, and organizes systems of defense. To enforce order, rulers relied on royal officials. Over time, government bureaucracies evolved. Almost always rulers claimed their power came from god or divine right. These rulers then gained religious power as well.