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Civics and Economics EOC Study Guide
Goal 3: State and Local Government
I. NC State Government
A. NC State Constitution
1. Sets up North Carolina’s government
2. Guarantees all children in NC the right to an education
B. Legislature—General Assembly
1. 2 houses—Senate and House of Representatives
C. Executive Branch—Governor
1. Main responsibility—carry out/enforce laws on the state level
2. Powers:
*In charge of the National Guard
*Can veto legislation from the General Assembly
-NC’s Governor received veto power in 1996 (strengthened the executive branch)
*Prepares state budget
D. Judicial Branch
1. 4 Levels
-NC Supreme Court (highest)—deals with appeals and hears all death penalty appeals (capital punishment)
-NC Court of Appeals—deals with appeals from district and superior courts
-NC Superior Court—felonies
-NC District Court—misdemeanors
2. Important NC Supreme Court Cases:
-State v. Mann (1830)—NC Supreme Court asserts its power to overturn decisions made by lower NC courts
-Leandro v. NC (1997/2002)—all children in North Carolina have the right to a “sound, basic” education, but not necessarily an equal one
E. State Government Finances
1. Expenditures
-Education
-Health/Human services
2. Revenues
-Income tax—largest form of revenue
-Sales tax
-Intergovernmental revenue (money one level of government gives to another)
-Gasoline tax
F. 14th Amendment
1. Requires states to protect everyone in their populations equally
2. Requires states to provide all protections listed in the Bill of Rights to everyone
3. Original purpose—to protect newly freed slaves from discrimination by state and local governments
II. Local Government
A. Charters
1. In order to officially become a county or town, they have to apply to the NC General Assembly for a charter (kind of like a constitution) to become incorporated
B. County Level
1. Important County Officials
-District Attorney—also called prosecutor, represents the state in criminal trials
-Sheriff—chief law enforcement official on the county level; maintains the county jail and issues civil summons
-Board of Commissioners—legislative branch for the county government
*Creates/passes ordinances (laws)
-State Highway Patrol—patrols state roads, investigates traffic accidents
2. Services Provided by the County Government
-Funds public schools
-EMS (emergency medical services), fire protection
-Law enforcement
-Sewage and waste disposal
-Parks and recreation
3. County Finances
-Expenditures: Education—public school systems, public safety (sheriff’s dept, ambulance, fire), health and human services
-Revenues: Property taxes (tax on property--collected by the tax assessor, largest form of revenue), intergovernmental revenue
4. School Systems
-Each county has a board of education for its school system that makes laws and policies for the county school system
C. City Level (Municipal Government)
1. City Planning
-Zoning laws—control where certain activities can take place and where certain buildings can be built in a city (where houses, businesses, factories can be built within a city)
*Zoning board—creates zoning laws
*If someone wanted to stop the construction of a building in their area, he/she would go to the zoning board
-Cities will sometimes give tax breaks and incentives to businesses that invest in their communities by providing jobs, more tax dollars, and more money for people to spend
*Building plants and factories in communities helps them to increase their earning power
-Annexation: process by which cities can make themselves larger
2. Important City Officials
-Mayor—chief executive of the city
-City manager—runs the city day-to-day
-Town Council-town legislative branch
*Creates/passes city ordinances (laws)
-Police—law enforcement for the city (has jurisdiction only within the city limits)
3. City Finances
-Expenditures: emergency services (fire, police, ambulance), utilities
-Revenues: intergovernmental revenue, property tax, utility user fees, municipal bonds (government borrows money from citizens by selling them bonds)
4. City Government
-Oldest and most common form of city government—council-manager form
III. Public Policy
A. The course of action the government takes in response to an issue or problem
B. Citizens can participate in making public policy by voting
C. Keeping Citizens Informed
1. What happens when citizens disagree over public policy decisions?
- Hold public hearings (the public can give their opinion to town leaders)
-Town Meetings
*Still held in the New England area
*Example of direct democracy—the citizens govern themselves
*At these town meetings, citizens usually propose and vote on laws for their communities
D. Education
1. Charter Schools
*Pros: -Smaller class sizes
-Fewer restrictions for instructional techniques
-Creates competition for traditional public schools (makes them try harder to get better scores since some funding depends on scores and # of students)
*Cons: -Can serve only a very small population of students
-Diverts resources away from more needy, larger traditional schools
-Takes away from the diversity of public schools