Transcript United States Government

State Government Policy
Key Terms
corporate charter, public utility, workers’
compensation, unemployment compensation,
conservation, mandatory sentencing, victim
compensation, extradition, parole, shock probation,
shock incarceration, house arrest
Find Out
• What are four major objectives of state
economic policy?
• Why does each state have its own criminal laws?
State Government Policy
Understanding Concepts
Public Policy What are the major areas in which
states write and enforce public policy?
Section Objective
Analyze ways in which state governments write and
enforce public policy.
The natural ability of each state to deal
with individual issues that affect it was
foreseen by the Founders. As described by
Justice Louis D. Brandeis in a dissenting
opinion of New State Ice Co. v. Liebmann
(1932): “It is one of the happy incidents of
the federal system that a single,
courageous State may, if its citizens
choose, serve as a laboratory, and try
novel social and economic experiments
without risk to the rest of the country.”
I. State Regulation of Business (pages 648–650)
A. Business corporations must have a charter
issued by a state government.
B. Federal and state governments regulate
giant corporations.
C. States have laws to protect consumers from
unfair practices and to protect the health and
safety of workers.
D. State governments provide workers’
compensation.
E. Workers in all states have the right to belong
to labor unions.
F. State governments try to attract new
business and industry.
I. State Regulation of Business (pages 648–650)
If you were governor of your state, what
kinds of industry would you attempt to
attract to your state? Why?
Answers will vary. Students should support
their suggestions with logical reasons.
II. States and the Environment (pages 650–651)
A. States’ concerns for economic growth
sometimes clash with public concern for
the environment.
B. In 1989 Congress strengthened the states’
power to protect the environment.
C. State governments have begun to monitor
the environmental impact of major projects.
II. States and the Environment (pages 650–651)
How would you alter state regulations to
control pollution?
Answers will vary. See Costs of Pollution
Control on text page 651.
III. Protecting Life and Property (pages 651–653)
A. State and local governments are responsible
for protecting life and property, and for
establishing a criminal code and a system of
punishment.
B. State police forces have investigative powers
in many states, but they have broad
responsibilities in a few states.
C. State courts handle the majority of all criminal
cases in the United States.
D. In strained state justice systems, many states
are giving judges more sentencing options.
III. Protecting Life and Property (pages 651–653)
III. Protecting Life and Property (pages 651–653)
Do you agree or disagree with mandatory
sentencing for drug-related crimes? Explain.
Answers will vary. See State Criminal Laws
on text page 651.
IV. Providing for Education, Health,
and Welfare (pages 653–654)
A. State governments provide about 45 percent
of revenues for local public schools.
B. State spending for education generally
has increased.
C. The state licenses doctors and dentists,
regulates the sale of medicines, and
requires vaccinations for schoolchildren.
D. State agencies provide programs of public
welfare, health and human services.
IV. Providing for Education, Health,
and Welfare (pages 653–654)
E. With federal assistance, states help people
with special needs.
F. With Medicaid assistance, states help lowincome people pay medical bills.
IV. Providing for Education, Health,
and Welfare (pages 653–654)
What services do you think state government
should offer that it does not?
Answers will vary. Have students suggest
sources of revenue to pay for additional services.
Checking for Understanding
1. Main Idea Use chart to show the four major
policy areas in which state governments enact
legislation and an example of each.
business regulation: utilities, consumer
protection; environment: clean air and water;
crime: police and corrections; health,
education and welfare: school funding, AFDC
Checking for Understanding
Match the term with the correct definition.
___
B corporate
charter
___
E conservation
A. program designed to show young
offenders how terrible prison life is
through brief incarceration followed
by supervised release
___
C extradition
B. a document that gives a corporation
legal status
___
A shock
probation
C. the legal procedures through which a
person accused of a crime who has
fled to another state is returned to the
state where the crime took place
___
D house arrest
D. a sentence which requires an
offender to stay at home except for
certain functions the court permits
E. the care and protection of natural
resources
Checking for Understanding
3. Identify industrial development bonds, Medicaid.
Industrial development bonds are bonds
sold by state governments to help finance
industries that have relocated or expanded
within the state.
Medicaid is a federal-state welfare program
that provides money to the states to help
people who cannot afford necessary
medical services.
Checking for Understanding
4. Why is a decentralized system of justice an
advantage in the United States?
Different crime rates and living conditions call
for criminal laws specifically designed for
each state.
Critical Thinking
5. Expressing Problems Clearly What factors
must a state legislature weigh when considering
taxing or regulating large business corporations?
States must consider the effect of taxation and
regulation upon business and the possibility that
the state might not be attractive to business if
business taxes are too heavy or business
regulation too severe.
Public Policy Each state writes and
enforces its own policies in areas such
as education, the environment, housing,
and welfare. Create a poster that
illustrates serious problems related to
one of these areas. Share your chart
and analyze possible policy solutions.