Analysis of State Government Institutions and Politics
The Council of State Governments web site should prove to be especially useful, as it combines institutions and policy information . The Book of the States, published annually, is also a rich source. It also has a State Data performance feature that allows trend comparisons among up to three states. A link to this site: http://knowledgecenter.csg.org/kc/content/state-data
I have organized the questions/topics by chapter, and you are encouraged to research and write portions of your paper.
Chapter 1. Politics in States and Communities
1. Research the socio-demographic profile of your state. Look at its population, income, education, major economic industries, etc. https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml
2. Find background on the state’s political history, and political culture.
3. You may also want to provide details about its types and numbers of local governments (e.g. counties).
Chapter 2. Democracy and Constitutionalism in the State
1. Does the state constitution contain a Bill of Rights? How does it differ from the US Bill of Rights?
2. Which kinds of state constitution amendment processes are available? What types of processes have been used in your state? What is the state’s amendment history? How many constitutions has the state used?
3. Does the state employ any direct democracy devices?
4. Does your state have term limits? If so, what are the issues with these? If not, are there efforts underway to adopt them?
Chapter 3. States, Communities, and American Federalism
1. Are unfunded mandates an issue in your state? Are states concerned about unfunded federal mandates? Are local governments concerned about unfunded federal AND state mandates on local units?
2. How much of your state’s revenues come from the federal government? Using the Census Bureau’s State and Local Government Finance website (Table 1. State and Local Government Finances by level of Government and by State: 2013-2014), will help you identify the amount of Intergovernmental Revenue from the Federal Government to your state’s State and Local Governments. Be sure to calculate any federal aid as a percentage of total State and Local Government revenue (to make comparisons across states easier).
3. To which interstate compacts does your state belong? Are any of these regional in scope? How does membership in these compacts advance the state’s interests?
Chapter 4. Participation in State Politics
1. What are the trends in voter turnout in presidential and congressional/off year elections? Is voter ID an issue in your state?
2. What interest groups are active in state politics? Which groups have registered lobbyists in your state? Note that dominant interest groups are often connected to key state economic interests. Which groups appear to be dominant in your state?
Chapter 5. Parties and Campaigns in the States
1. What is the political party strength in your state legislature?
2. What is the state’s primary nomination process? Who is allowed to vote?
3. Are third party or independent candidate activities evident in your state’s elections? Are they considered important in the state’s experiences (e.g. won office, or acted as spoilers by splintering the vote for the major party)?
4. What is the role of money in your state’s gubernatorial elections?
5. https://www.followthemoney.org/
Chapter 6. Legislators in State Politics
1. Using the National Council of State Legislatures’ website (www.ncsl.org), gather information on the state legislature’s:
a. Partisan composition in 2017;
b. Change in partisan composition between 2009 and 2017;
c. Chamber sizes
d. Professionalism
e. Staffing
2. Using the same source, examine redistricting in your state. How are district boundaries redrawn? Does it use a redistricting commission? Are there redistricting controversies in your state?
3. Does your state employ term limits? Is this an issue in your state? Are there other proposed reforms of the legislature circulating in your state?
Chapter 7. Governors in State Politics
1. Using the National Governors Association website (www.nga.org), examine the political careers of two or three former governors of your state. Identify the “career ladder” of these governors by examining the appointive/elective offices they held prior to their gubernatorial election.
2. Does the governor share executive powers with other elected constitutional officers (e.g. elected treasurer, secretary of state, etc.)?
3. Using the present governor’s state of the state addresses, what are their policy preferences?
4. Using Governing.com, search for your state’s governor (and/or recent governors), and identify their current (or recent) political situation, popularity, etc. Use other sources (news, polling results, etc.) as needed to identify it.
Chapter 8. Bureaucratic Politics in States and Communities
1. Look at the Governor’s proposed budget. What are the governor’s policy priorities for state government?
2. Is privatization of state services (e.g. corrections) an issue in your state?
3. What is the size of the state bureaucracy in terms of a) number of employees, aka full-time equivalents; and b) personnel spending as proportion of the budget?
4. What are some current issues with state administrative services?
Chapter 9. Courts, Crime, and Correctional Policy
1. How are judges selected in your state? Are their issues with these selection processes?
2. How busy is the court system within your state?
3. Is the death penalty in use? Are there issues with the state’s use of the death penalty?
4. What are some current issues in the state’s law enforcement community?
https://www.bjs.gov/
Look under courts – State courts, and state court caseload statistics
http://www.courtstatistics.org/
http://www.courtstatistics.org/Other-Pages/State_Court_Structure_Charts.aspx
Search: the council of state governments justice center
State crime statistics FBI Uniform Crime Report
https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2015/crime-in-the-u.s.-2015/tables/table-5
Search: Judicial Selection in the States
http://www.judicialselection.us/
Sample Solution
The state of South Carolina does not have an explicit Bill of Rights in its constitution. However, the rights and freedoms that are enumerated in the US Constitution are also applicable to South Carolina residents through the 14th Amendment which guarantees equal protection under the law. The state's amendment process is outlined in Article XVIII of its constitution, requiring a two-thirds majority vote by both houses of legislature for amendments to be approved or rejected. Amendments can originate from either legislative action or citizen petition, with constitutional conventions convened every 20 years if requested by either house of legislature or a majority vote by citizens.
Only one convention has taken place since 1895 when it was used to revise voting requirements and thus expand suffrage rights for all citizens regardless of race or gender.
South Carolina does employ several direct democracy devices such as initiatives, referendums and recall elections. Initiatives allow citizens to propose laws directly without passing through legislation while referendums refer to voters approving or rejecting proposed laws that were passed through legislation. Lastly, recall elections allow voters to remove elected officials from office before their terms end due to malfeasance or mismanagement of public funds provided certain thresholds are met like collecting signatures on petitions from qualified electors within specific time frames laid out by law. Currently there is no term limits imposed on any elected official in South Carolina but there is a bill being considered that would impose 8 year term limits for members Senators and House Representatives in Congress as well as statewide officers such as Attorney General and Secretary of State among others should it pass into law.
Unfunded mandates are an issue in South Carolina, both at the state and local government level. States are particularly concerned about federal unfunded mandates, as they often come with extra strings attached to the funding and can leave them feeling powerless when crafting their own policies. Local governments have also expressed worry over both federal and state unfunded mandates, citing the difficulty of dealing with limited resources while trying to meet all mandated requirements in some cases.
In 2013-2014, intergovernmental revenue from the Federal Government comprised 13.6% of South Carolina’s State and Local Governments’ total revenues ($8 billion out of a total $58 billion). This is slightly higher than other states’ average percentage of 11%.
South Carolina belongs to multiple interstate compacts that are regional in scope such as the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), which promotes economic development through educational initiatives; the Southeastern Forest Fire Protection Compact (SEFFP), which coordinates management of forest fires between states; and the Southeast Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Compact (SIWLWRMC), which governs disposal procedures for radioactive waste generated by nuclear power plants.
By participating in these compacts, South Carolina has access to services it would not be able to provide on its own due to lack of resources or technical knowledge. These compacts also allow for closer cooperation among member states, allowing them to develop greater trust toward one another which could lead to closer coordination on issues ranging from environmental protection measures to disaster relief operations.
Redistricting decisions have had some impact on representation over recent years with 4th Congressional district seeing significant changes during 2012 redistricting while Senate districts 33 & 34 saw slight modifications due to population shifts after 2010 census data was released resulting in different populations affecting local politics differently based on newly drawn boundaries which led some communities feeling disenfranchised despite having similar political opinions prior to these changes taking effect which has caused tension between different sections within these areas at times ever since then though overall representation still remains fairly balanced throughout most parts of the state depending on who is elected during each election cycle throughout various regions today however some reforms still may be necessary going forward more than likely depending how things go moving ahead into future cycles especially if additional redistricting takes place again sometime soon possibly sooner than expected at this point.
Additionally campaign finance reform efforts have been underway recently with new restrictions placed on corporate donations from companies contributing large sums towards campaigns currently allowing only small contributions made directly towards candidates running for office with caps set no higher than $500 per candidate limiting amount donors can spend overall meaning less influence special interest groups will have over politicians coming up in future elections making way for more equitable outcomes provided these regulations remain fully enforced properly over time promoting fairer fights amongst contenders vying for seats ultimately leading towards greater voter turnout eventually hopefully reaching desired goals down road potentially paving path beneficial change lasting longterm across entire state going forward optimistically speaking ideally anyways looking ahead near far futures accordingly all things considered here now given current circumstances regarding situation described herein factually speaking leastwise so far anyways..