Civics_Ch7_homework-1

=**Civics Chapter 7 Homework #1**= Answer the following questions on notebook paper.

1. Education is expensive. Every day in school, you use many resources: computers, lab equipment, and sports gear. Your school also employs many people, such as teachers, the school nurse, administrators, assistants, secretaries, and maintenance staff. Where does the money to pay for everything come from? Education is funded at many levels: the local, state, and federal levels. Most of the money used for school funding comes from taxes. Some states, though, have looked for other ways to raise money. One way used by many states is a lottery. People buy lottery tickets that give them a very small chance to win lots of money. People who support lottery funding say that everyone has to pay taxes, but playing the lottery is a choice. Other people think lotteries are not fair because people who earn less money are more likely to play the lottery. Some states raise money through the use of slot machines at casinos. Pennsylvania thought about that when legalizing slot machines in the 2000s. **Do you think using money from gambling to help fund public schools is good or should school taxes continue to fund schools? Explain.**

2. When the framers first wrote the Constitution, their intentions were to give the new federal government only the powers over issues that the states were incompetent to handle on their own. The states kept control over most of their concerns. The 10th amendment says any power not delegated (or given) to the federal government belongs to the states. These powers are the reserved powers. Some areas that are state matters include education, transportation and traffic laws, marriages, and running elections. There are some powers that are known as concurrent powers, or powers that both the state and federal levels use such as taxing and enforcing laws. Each state has a constitution just like the federal government has a constitution. State constitutions all have a preamble that states the basic principles on which the state was founded, a bill of rights that lists guaranteed rights in the state, an outline of the organization of the state's government, provisions for elections, managing state affairs, and methods for amending, or changing it. **Based on the original intentions of the framers, what areas were the states suppose to have power over versus the federal government's powers?**

3. Across the nation, state budgets are tougher and tougher to balance. One of the major problems is federal mandates. What are federal mandates? These are federal laws requiring the states to abide by certain rules and regulations made by the federal level - the U.S. Congress and president. Why is this a problem? The federal government develops new rules for the states to follow, but doesn't often give the money to the states to do so - these are called unfunded mandates. Therefore, the states have to find the money. All of this could be avoided by sticking to the original intentions of the Constitution. Remember, the states were to have the bulk of the power and the federal government was ONLY to have the powers over areas where the states were not competent, such as national defense. The states are competent enough to handle education, transportation, welfare, health care, environmental issues, energy, and numerous other areas in which the federal government has gotten involved. **How has the federal government grown in power by not abiding by the original intentions of the Constitution in terms of federal government power?**

4. States often work together with the federal government as the federal government has grown in powers over the states. Federal money often goes to aid areas like transportation and education, which again increases some of the federal governments power in areas where states are already competent. State and national levels often cooperate in times of crisis. After natural disasters, such as earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes, federal and state governments often work together to provide aid to disaster victims. This was the case in 2012 when Super Storm Sandy destroyed the New Jersey shore and part of New York. This was also the case after the terrorist attacks on 9/11. **How do the states and federal government often cooperate with each other?**

5. State legislatures, the state lawmaking bodies, are organized much like the U.S. Congress. All states except one (Nebraska) have a bicameral, or two-house, legislative body - a state house and state senate. The state is divided into districts for the state house and other districts for the state senate. There are age requirements just like the U.S. Congress, except most states have age 21 as the requirement for the state house and 25 for the state senate. There are majority and minority leaders and whips like the federal level as well. In addition, the process of how a bill becomes a law is similar with committees. **How are state legislatures organized?**

6. A state bill can become a law in a process similar to the federal level. A bill is introduced by a member of the state house or state senate. The bill is then assigned a number and sent to the appropriate committee. Once the bill is in a committee, there are hearings for people to testify on the good points and bad points about the bill. The bill is written in the committee and discussed and debated. If the bill passes the committee, then it goes to the floor in the chamber in which it was introduced. As the bill is debated in the full chamber, lawmakers can offer amendments, or changes to the bill. Once the bill passes the chamber in which it was introduced, it then goes to the other chamber and goes through the same steps. If each chamber passes a different version of the bill, then they have to vote on a compromise version of the bill. Once a bill passes both chambers, it goes to the governor who can sign for veto the bill, just like at the federal level. The state congress can override a veto with a 2/3 vote. **When in the legislative process can legislators amend a bill?**

7. Legislators welcome input and information from citizens they represent. These citizens are the politician's constituents. Communities often help drive local agenda. In terms of the lawmaking process, some states allow the people to make laws themselves. Citizens can initiate, or start, new legislation through a process called the initiative. To begin this process, citizens write a petition describing the law they are proposing. This is called a proposition. A required number of voters - the number varies from state to state - must then sign the petition. If enough signatures are collected, then the proposition appears on the ballot in the next general election. Pennsylvania have initiative, but other states do us it. In many states, the voters must approve certain bills passed by the legislature before the bills can become laws. This method of referring potential laws directly to the people for approval is called referendum. Pennsylvania has the ability to use the referendum. Some states also allow voters to remove elected officials from office in a process called the recall. Pennsylvania doesn't use the recall process. **What are the ways that citizens can directly take part in making laws?**

8. A state's chief executive is the governor. The PA governor has to have been a resident from PA for at least 5 years, must be at least 30 years old, and must be a U.S. citizen. As Chief Executive in a state, the governor has power over the budget by submitting the budget proposal to the legislature. The governor can also appoint executive positions and supervises state employees. The governor is also chief legislator since he/she has the power to sign or veto laws. As leader of his/her political party, the governor looks to advance the party's agenda. The governor is also in charge of the state police and the state national guard. The governor has the power to pardon criminals of state crimes. **What are some of the roles of the governor?**

9. The lieutenant governor is second in charge behind the governor. There are other elected positions within the executive as well. The secretary of state keeps state records and carries out election laws. The state attorney general is in charge of the state's legal business, or matters concerning the law and represents the state in court cases. The state treasurer is in charge of handling all state funds. The state auditor ensures that no public funds from the treasury are used without authorization. **Which official in the executive branches (besides the governor) do you think is most important? Why?**

10. Each state creates its own penal code, which is a set of criminal laws. State attorneys prosecute individuals who violate the penal code by committing a crime. State judges hear cases and if the criminal court finds a person guilty of a crime, it has the authority to punish that person. State courts also hear civil law cases. Civil cases are disputes between individuals or businesses over property or money a.k.a. lawsuits. **How do criminal cases differ from civil cases?**

11. The state court system is structured in levels much like the federal court system. Trial courts start the process. Lower courts generally hear minor cases, including misdemeanor criminal cases and civil cases involving small amounts of money. Judges conduct hearings in these courts without a jury. In many cities and towns, a justice of the peace hears cases and can hand down fines or short jail sentences. These lower courts may be called magistrate's courts or police courts. Magistrates are usually elected. Most states have small-claims courts, which usually handle cases involving less than $5,000. No lawyers are needed. Each person in the dispute explains his or her side of the argument and the judge makes his/her decision. Major criminal and civil cases are heard in general trial courts or courts of common pleas and are ones with a jury to render a verdict. In most states (including PA) the judges are elected. The next level are appeals courts that hear an appeal, or review of the lower court decision. Appeals court judges examine the trail record of the lower court and hear arguments from the lawyers on both sides. The state supreme court is the highest court in a state. The judges hear cases on appeal much like the U.S. Supreme Court. **What roles do judges play in the different levels of state courts?**

12. **How are the following values seen in state governments (opinion)?**
 * Separation of Powers
 * Checks and Balances
 * Rule of law
 * Republic
 * Constitutional government
 * Civic responsibility (role of citizens)

Back to the Chapter 7 main page