Federalism and intergovernmental relations

Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations

THE BETTER OPTION

State and Local Government

Americans interact almost daily with their state and local governments than with the federal government (the White House, 2013). Every state or local government has its own written Constitution, law enforcement, schools and libraries and offices. The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that powers not granted to the federal government are reserved for the states and the people. Like the federal government, state governments consist of the three branches of government. These are the executive, legislative and judicial branches. As mandated by the Constitution, all states take on a republic form of government (the White House).

Federal Police Power in the States

The Constitution does not give the federal government authority over local and ordinary crimes (CATO, 2001). Crime-fighting is the sole responsibility of the state and local government. However, the lack of any constitutional provision or authorization has not stopped federal policymakers from involving themselves in local crime-fighting. The federal control of local crimes exposes the public and constitutional liberty at risk in a number of ways. One, the duplication of federal offense creates double jeopardy and in violation of the Fifth Amendment's clause on double jeopardy. It is unfortunate that federal courts refuse to stop this practice. Two, an overall federal law in all the 51 states eliminates the states' ideal capacity to legislate based on their local conditions. Three, local police departments operate from local taxes and are directly accountable to them as local voters. In contrast, federal law enforcement draws funds from a large and diverse pool of funding sources. And fourth and last, the federalization of policing undesirably leads to the militarization of policing (CATO).

This growing threat can be neutralized by Congress through certain actions (CATO, 2001). One is by rejecting all new proposals to convert state crimes into federal crimes. Another is to repeal all federal laws, which control conduct in only one State. And three, Congress should adopt the proposed five-year sunset review of all new and existing federal criminal laws (CATO).

The Federal Role and Control of Education

Education is mainly a State and local affair and responsibility in the United States (ED.gov, 2012). States and their communities, along with public and private organizations within them, do the works. They set up schools and colleges, develop and create curricula, and decide on requirements for enrollment and graduation. The very structure of education finance demonstrates that it is a predominantly State and local function and role. A majority of the nationwide expenses on education at all levels for every school year comes from the State, local and private sources. Expenses in the elementary and secondary levels, in particular, come from non-federal sources at a large 87.7%. The federal contribution to state elementary and secondary education is confined to roughly 10.8%. This comes from funds not only from the Department of Education but also from other federal agencies. These agencies include the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture (ED.gov).

The Federal Government's Takeover of Public Projects

A series of high-profile accidents in the Washington area metro system resulted in a proposed legislation to move the supervision of the transit rail safety from the state to the federal government (Caruso, 2009). At present, the Federal Transit Administration is not allowed to directly regulate the nation's transit systems but only through the FTA's State Safety Oversight program. This program requires the states to create their own safety standards and to implement their rail safety oversight and audit programs in measuring compliance to that program. But the diversity of legal authorities, budgets and staff levels of oversight agencies would not allow this to happen smoothly (Caruso).

The proposed Public Transportation Safety Program Act of 2009 hoped to authorize the Department of Transportation to establish the minimum safety standards for all rail systems throughout the country (Caruso, 2009). It would also give the department the choice of creating a safety program for public bus systems. The bill would allow federal assistance for the States' oversight personnel in enforcing the new rules. They would also require state safety agencies to be financially independent from the transit systems under their supervision (Caruso).

Is it time that the federal government step in and take over the safety regulation of local rail transit system (Caruso, 2009)? Or is it just that the existing state-based system simply needs improvement and more funding? It must be time to fix the appropriate federal role in the heightening rail transit safety situation (Caruso).

Conclusion: The Better Choice

Like Congress and state legislatures, local governing bodies, such as city councils or town boards, are composed of representatives formally chosen by the people they govern (Gifford, 2013). Working and maintaining for the best interest of a given community is much easier and more appropriate if the decision-making function comes from those who oversee the operations of the locality so that the residents will directly benefit from their services. Operation and oversight by the local government better allow the directly and popularly elected representatives to be more effective. They are also more easily identified and relate with as friends, neighbors or fellow workers. Thus, they are much more approachable and easier to reach than federal officials (Gifford).