Local Governments

2021 ◽  
pp. 303-328
Author(s):  
Jeffrey S. Sutton

The US Constitution never mentions “city,” “county,” or “township,” not even “local” or “municipal” governments. It concerns itself only with sovereign entities. Because local governments “cannot claim to be sovereigns” and because whatever power a local government has tends to flow from its state, that sounds like the end of the matter. But local governments still exercise sovereign powers, including law enforcement, eminent domain, education, taxing, zoning, and other indispensable “attributes of sovereignty.” Even if the US Constitution does not mention cities by name and even if cities cannot claim sovereign status, the federal charter still has ample consequences for municipal governments. This chapter takes vertical separation of powers one step further, to federalism within federalism. It explains the division of powers between state and local governments and chronicles disputes that have arisen between them. If, in modern America, like-minded people increasingly gravitate to similar states, the same is true within states, whether in cities, suburbs, or rural areas. Home rule and other local allocations of power sometimes allow people in these communities to express their distinct political preferences and live under them, too.

Author(s):  
Mark J. Rozell ◽  
Clyde Wilcox

Even as most Americans fix their gaze on the actions of the federal government, states and localities are the cornerstones of the US federal system. “What state and local governments do” explains that states are free to design their own governments so long as their structure does not violate the US Constitution. All states have designed their governments to somewhat resemble the national government, with an elected governor, elected legislatures, and state supreme courts. However, each of these structures can operate in different ways, with different powers from state to state. The governments of the Native American reservations and those of the five permanently inhabited US territories are also discussed.


Author(s):  
Adelia Jenkins ◽  
Dennis Culhane

Background Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy (AISP) is an initiative of the University of Pennsylvania that focuses on the development, use, and innovation of integrated data systems (IDS). We convene a network of IDS across the United States and provide technical assistance to support developing sites as they build the technical and human capacity to integrate and use administrative data across agencies. Main AimIn late 2018 and early 2019, AISP conducted a national survey of integrated data efforts to better understand the landscape and how it’s changed since the last national scan was completed in 2013. The survey also served to document who is leading data sharing efforts, what data they are linking, and how linked data are currently being used. This information was used to create a centralized data matrix and contact list in order to support cross-site learning and facilitate future projects and analyses. Methods/ApproachThe survey was disseminated to AISP Network Sites, Learning Community sites, and others by AISP staff and partner organizations, including the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership Network and Arnold Policy Labs initiative. Survey responses were analyzed by AISP in spring 2019. ResultsThe survey yielded 39 responses from state and local governments and their research partners. The most common uses of integrated data among those surveyed are informing policy, program evaluation, and research. Integrated case management and resource allocation are also increasingly informed by integrated data. The most commonly integrated data sources are early childhood, child welfare, and K-12 education. Medicaid, TANF, SNAP, and UI Wage Records have also been integrated by over 50% of sites surveyed. The most common lingering challenges reported by sites related to sustainability. ConclusionSurvey results document the purposes and sources of data currently integrated by jurisdictions across the US and have major implications for the field both nationally and internationally.


2021 ◽  
pp. 73-112
Author(s):  
Robert Schütze

This chapter examines the internal composition, internal powers, and internal procedures of the European Parliament, the European Council, and the Council of Ministers. It begins by looking at the role of the separation-of-powers principle in the European Union. Unlike the US Constitution, the EU Treaties do not discuss each institution within the context of one governmental function. Instead, each institution has ‘its’ article in the Treaty on European Union, whose first section then describes the combination of governmental functions in which it partakes. The European Treaties have thus ‘set up a system for distributing powers among different [Union] institutions’. And it is this conception of the separation-of-powers principle that informs Article 13(2) TEU. The provision is thus known as the principle of interinstitutional balance.


The ‘New World’ on the North American continent was founded in the 1600s on colonists’ willingness to take substantial risks. The notion of relieving at least some of the burdens of inevitable failure, in order to encourage productive risk-taking, has been part of the fabric of US law almost from the very beginning. After discovering that jailing debtors did very little to encourage fulfilment of debts, and it in fact depressed the economic productivity on which the colonies’ survival depended, several of the colonies experimented with limited insolvency and bankruptcy laws in the mid-1700s. After the Revolution, the issue of providing uniform and nationwide bankruptcy relief was enshrined in the US Constitution as part of the very foundation of the new nation. While the new US Congress was granted only limited rights to regulate general economic matters (the most significant such rights being reserved to the state and local legislative bodies), Article I, section 8, clause 4 of the US Constitution explicitly vested the federal Congress with the power to regulate bankruptcy.


Author(s):  
Abdul Razak Mohamed

The fast growing information and communication technology (ICT) sector brought in the use of computers, internet and mobile phones not only by the technocrats but also by the general public to receive and send communication faster, cheaper and easier. This situation brought out visible changes in people life, government function and cities spatial form and structure. Globally, the e-Governance system approach attempts to change the government-centered planning and delivery of civic services to people-centered planning and execution of development. It is also evident that the transformation is prominent not only in the planning and production of services but also in terms of urban local government system. This is to state that there are two noticeable visible changes in the government system such as (a) Government to Governance, and (b) Governance to e-Governance. These changes make the central, state and local governments more responsible, transparent, and participatory in terms of planning, development and management of towns and cities. But due to the urgency and cope with the World order the central, state and local governments in India introduce e-Governance without looking into the concept of e-Readiness. This chapter attempts to explore the basic question such as how the application of e-Governance system to be considered as an important means towards improvement in the service delivery systems of urban local governments within the perspective of e-Readiness.


2002 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel V. Rainey ◽  
Kevin T. McNamara

As national and local economies become more globalized, many rural areas are going to find it more difficult to compete for private capital investments. A traditional tool, modifications to tax policy, of state and local governments will not be as effective (for many communities it has never been effective) in the future. These communities will need to seek other avenues of growth. However, for many rural communities even alternative avenues will not lead to enhanced economic opportunity.


2014 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanghee Park

AbstractThis research explores the impact of gender representation at the state and local levels on redistributive choices. This research also examines whether female officeholders moderate the impact of the local economy and institution on welfare spending. Hypotheses are tested across 58 counties in California over ten years, between 2001 and 2010. According to the fixed effect models, women in state legislature had a positive effect on local welfare spending, while women on county boards had no significant effect. However, a positive moderating effect of women on county boards during economic hardship was found. Three categories of control variables include institutional factors, such as the introduction of Proposition 1A and county home rule; political factors, such as the political preference of each county’s residents and strength of non-profit organisations; and socio-economic factors, such as intergovernmental revenue, unemployment rate and demographics. Counties with more intergovernmental revenue and supporters of Democratic presidential candidates are likely to spend more on welfare services.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xue Zhang ◽  
Mildred E. Warner ◽  
Stephanie Firestone

The rapid pace of population aging in cities around the world demands that planners design communities that are livable for people of all ages and abilities. In 2017, to assess progress toward this end, AARP and the International Division of the American Planning Association conducted a global survey of planners on their efforts to incorporate a livable-communityfor-all-ages approach into their work. The survey of 559 planners measured motivators, barriers, strategies for engagement and practices facilitating planners’ work on livable communities for all ages (LCA). Using the international survey, we analyze factors driving local governments’ actions to advance LCA, and factors driving outcomes incorporating a livablecommunity-for-all-ages approach in planning practices. We show how these differ between the US and non-US respondents, including how US suburbs and rural areas lag in actions toward LCA. Regression results show that local motivations such as awareness of substantial growth in older populations is a primary factor motivating local governments to take more actions. While physical design is a critical part of the solution, we find that facilitating practices and community engagement in the process are key to advancing planning for age-friendly communities. Additionally, communities that practice more traditional approaches to planning and have limited resources actually exhibit a higher level of LCA outcomes. This suggests that focusing on community engagement and facilitating practices could be a promising approach to incorporating an all age lens in planning practices.


1999 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
F.J. Fraikor ◽  
S.K. Purcell ◽  
R.J. Taylor

In June 1993, the US Department of Energy announced the decision to shut down production of nuclear weapon components at its Rocky Flats plant located near Denver, Colorado, and begin a long-term clean-up of the facility. Faced with very severe economic impacts from downsizing the facility (approximately 8,000 employees at its peak), federal, state, and local governments formed a Community Reuse Organization to develop and implement strategies to mitigate the effects of displaced workers and lost income. This paper describes an innovative partnership concept, specifically aimed at providing technology-based start-up companies with world-class university expertise that they otherwise could not afford.


1988 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 289-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
J H Johnson ◽  
D J Zeigler

This paper contains an assessment of the impact of the Chernobyl disaster on US civilian and military nuclear programs. Specific attention is devoted to the major policy changes sought by federal nuclear regulatory agencies, the US Congress, state and local governments hosting nuclear installations, and the nuclear industry in the twelve-month period following the April 1986 accident in the Soviet Ukraine.


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