SLG - State and Local Government Module Overview
State and Local Government Module Overview
We have different levels of government systems within the United States. Under the national level, there is a complex layer of state and local officials and institutions. The nation's founding fathers transcribed their separation of powers among the three branches of government. Powers are divided between states and levels of government within the fifty states. Each state has their own legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. On the local level, there are various institutions that organize the structure of government at the county, city, and town level. On the local and state levels, individuals have the ability to vote through a democratic process, and through the use of initiative, referendum, and recall processes. In the State and Local Government module, you will learn about the structure and organization of government as outlined in the Georgia Constitution. You will also learn about the various sources of revenue received by each level of government as well as the different services that are provided by the local and state governments.
Essential Questions
- What are the functions, organization, and powers of state and local government?
Key Terms
- City - an incorporated municipality, usually governed by a mayor and a board of aldermen or councilmen
- Concurrent Powers - powers shared by the federal and state governments
- County - the largest administrative division of a U.S. state
- Direct Democracy - usually refers to citizens making policy and law decisions in person without going through representatives and legislatures
- Extradition - the surrender of an alleged fugitive from justice or criminal by one state, nation, or authority to another
- General Assembly - Georgia's legislative branch of government
- Initiative - a procedure by which a specified number of voters may propose a statute, constitutional amendment, or ordinance, and compel a popular vote on its adoption
- Municipality - a city, town, or other district possessing corporate existence and usually its own local government
- New Federalism - a political philosophy of devolution, or the transfer of certain powers from the United States federal government to the states
- Recall - the removal or the right of removal of a public official from office by a vote of the people taken upon petition of a specified number of the qualified constituents
- Referendum - the principle or practice of referring measures proposed or passed by a legislative body to the vote of the electorate for approval or rejection
- Special Districts - set-up by a county or city; government carries out a particular function, Ex: school district
- Statutory Laws - laws that are written down by the legislature; subordinate to higher constitutional laws
- Town - a thickly populated area, usually smaller than a city and larger than a village, having fixed boundaries and certain local powers of government
- Zoning - any continuous tract or area that differs in some respect, or is distinguished for some purpose, from adjoining tracts or areas, or within which certain distinctive circumstances exist or are established; Ex: residential zoning, commercial zoning, industrial zoning, agricultural zoning
IMAGES CREATED BY GAVS OR OPENSOURCE