Federalism

1. Federalism Chapter Three

2. Important Questions • Is there a rationale for having some government services supplied locally, others by the states, and still others by the national government? • Despite the Framers’ efforts to keep the national government out of the states’ business, was it inevitable that so many policies once left to the states are now handled by the federal government?

3. Federalism • When elected officials from the states challenge national authority, what determines who will have the final say over policy? • Scenario: • California’s landmark climate change legislation • How could a state governor trot around the globe to meet with world leaders and promote a state approach to climate change at odds with national policy?

4. American-Style Federalism • Federal system • authority divided between two or more distinct levels of government • United States: consists of federal and state levels • Hybrid of • confederation • unitary system

5. Qualifications of Federal Systems • Three general conditions: • The same people and territory are included in both levels of government. • The nation’s constitution protects units at each level of government from encroachment by the other units. • independence • missing in Articles of Confederation • Each unit is in a position to exert some leverage over the other.

6. Evolving Definitions of Federalism • Two distinct forms of American federalism have been identified. • Dual federalism • Shared federalism

7. Dual Federalism • Nationalization • Authority shifted to the national side and away from state governments. • Today the national government has a hand in almost all policies that “concern the lives” of the citizenry. • Dual federalism no longer describes that nature of federal-state relations.

8. Shared Federalism • Recognizes that the national and state governments jointly supply services to the citizenry. • Outcome of progressive nationalization has moved American federalism from mostly dual to mostly shared. • Why? • Modern policy challenges • Consensus that “the government” should provide more services and solve more problems than the Founders anticipated • Political logic for expansion, but who gets to decide when it is legitimate expansion?

9. Federalism and the Constitution • Transformation of the Senate • Victory for states’ righters: • Senate members were to be selected by the state legislatures • Constitutional provisions governing federalism • supremacy clause • Article 1, Section 8 • Powers of Congress • Elastic clause • the Tenth Amendment

10. Interpreting the Constitution’s Provisions • Court resolved conflict between federal and state governments. • Created powerful precedents • McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) • Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) • Near v. Minnesota (1931) • Palko v. Connecticut (1937) • Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) • Roe v. Wade (1973) • Garcia v. San Antonio Metro Transit Authority (1985)

11. The Logic of Nationalization • Policy nationalization: • Realities of collective action (problem solving) • Purely political considerations • Road-building game example

12. The Paths to Nationalization • Changes in the United States: • growth • industrialization • urbanization • development of national transportation and communication systems • The nation’s desire for public goods that could not be met by local communities and states increased.

13. The Paths to Nationalization • The nationalization of public policy grew out of the requirements of collective action. • Adopt policies that outstripped the resources of the state. • Roosevelt’s New Deal • Johnson’s War on Poverty/Great Society • States have solicited federal intervention. • Sometimes easier for the majority to work through Washington, D.C., than through each of the fifty states.

14. Historic Transfers of Policy to Washington • New Deal (1930s) • Comprehensive set of economic regulations and relief programs intended to fight the Great Depression • Roosevelt invoked the commerce clause • Great Society (1960s) • War on poverty as part of its Great Society agenda • More than a hundred new programs, including Medicaid • Subsidized state programs and implemented national goals

15. Nationalization: The Solution to States’ Collective Dilemmas • Collective action dilemmas may prompt states to ask Washington for help. • Coordination problems • Interstate trucking • Regulation of electrical transmissions • Reneging and shirking • Pollution • Cutthroat competition • Wages • Environmental regulation • Race to the bottom • Policy innovation • Justification for competitive federalism

16. The Political Logic of Nationalization • Difficult to lobby/persuade 50 separate states. • More efficient method—a single federal law can change policy in all 50 states at once. • National government may be more receptive. • Also, opposite can be true. • Social conservatives on issues of abortion and school prayer. • Example: environmental protections • Sometimes the opposite does occur • Stem cell research • Abortion on state ballots • Firearm safety

17. Modern Federalism • National government’s primacy in setting domestic policy is secure. • national government has advantage in the courts • Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority (1985) • recently Supreme Court has been more circumspect of federal authority. • United States v. Lopez (1995) • Preemption legislation • less so than sharing responsibility • Carrots and Sticks • grants-in-aid • block grant versus matching grant

18. The Stick: Unfunded Mandates • States required to administer policies they might object to. • May be asked to pay for the administration of the policies • Controversial example: Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975

19. Methods Used to Prescribe State Policy • The national government uses four basic methods to prescribe state policy and supervise its administration: • cross-cutting requirements • crossover sanctions • direct orders • partial preemption

20. Federalism: A Byproduct of National Policy • Federal-state relations dramatically transformed during the twentieth century. • sudden bursts of national policy-making, and • gradual nationalization • invitation by states to intervene

21. Federalism: A Byproduct of National Policy • Nationalization of public policy is not based on a grand design planned by the Framers • Product of the interplay of political interests: • problem solving • constituency service • Likely to continue in this form