GEORGIA’S CONSTITUTION AND GOVERNMENT

GEORGIA'S CONSTITUTION AND GOVERNMENT 6th edition

Arnold Fleischmann University of Georgia

and Carol Pierannunzi Kennesaw State University

Introduction

Colleges and universities across the United States offer numerous courses on American government and politics. Many of them cover only the national government despite the ways that state and local governments affect the daily lives of most U.S. citizens. These activities range from basic local services such as streets, water, and fire protection to state support for public schools and universities. State and local governments spent $1.5 trillion in 2003, less than the federal government's $2.1 trillion, but still a significant amount. Moreover, while the federal government had 2.7 million civilian employees in 2002, state governments employed 5 million workers; local governments such as cities, counties, and school districts had another 13.3 million employees.i

Georgia is among the states requiring students to know something about state and local government. Specifically, the legislature has passed a law requiring graduates of public colleges and universities to demonstrate proficiency with both the United States and Georgia constitutions. This monograph is intended to assist students in satisfying that requirement.

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1. The U.S. Constitution and Federalism

Constitutions are important because they establish the basic "rules of the game" for any political system. They specify the authority of government, distribute power among institutions and participants in the political system, and establish fundamental procedures for conducting public business and protecting rights. Just as drawing up or changing the rules can affect the outcome of a game, individuals and groups battle over constitutions, which can help determine who wins or loses politically.

When it was ratified in 1789, the United States Constitution included federalism as one of its most important elements. Federalism is a type of political system that gives certain powers to the national government, others to the states, and some to both levels of government. This differs from a unitary system such as in Great Britain or France, where all authority rests with the national government, which can distribute it to local or regional governments. Federalism also stands in contrast to a confederation, where all power is in the hands of the individual states, and the national government has only as much power as the states give to it. The United States used such a system during 1781-1788 under the Articles of Confederation, as did the Confederate States of America. More recently, confederations were tried following the break-up of the former national governments in the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia.

The American federal system is not static; in fact, it has changed significantly over the years. Below, we will discuss four key features that have had a major influence on the way federalism has developed. Three of these are found in the U.S. Constitution: the principle of national supremacy, the 10th Amendment, and the 14th Amendment. The last feature, state constitutions, is covered in Part 2.

National Supremacy

The U.S. Constitution's stability is due in large part to its broad grants of power and its reinterpretation in response to changing conditions. Article 1, section 8 grants Congress a series of "enumerated powers" such as taxing, spending, declaring war, and regulating interstate commerce. It also permits Congress to do whatever is "necessary and proper" to exercise the enumerated powers. This language is referred to as the "elastic clause" because of its flexible grant of authority. Article 6 reinforces the power of the national government by declaring that the Constitution and federal law are "the supreme law of the land." This so-called supremacy clause thus identifies the U.S. Constitution as the ultimate authority whenever there is a need to resolve a dispute between the national government and the states.

In an 1819 case, McCulloch v. Maryland, the U.S. Supreme Court adopted a broad view of the national government's powers when it decided that the elastic clause allowed Congress to exercise "implied powers" not mentioned explicitly in the U.S. Constitution but that could be inferred from the enumerated powers. The supremacy clause and implied powers have been cornerstones for the expansion of the national government's powers. Congress occasionally has turned programs over to states, as with changes in welfare laws during the 1990s, and has imposed new requirements and costs on them, as under the No Child Left Behind Act adopted in 2002.

The 10th Amendment

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The constitutions, laws, and policies of the states cannot contradict the U.S. Constitution. Thus, federalism allows states many opportunities to develop in their own way, but it always holds out the possibility that the national government may act to promote uniformity for the country. Much of the debate over ratification of the U.S. Constitution focused on claims that the national government would be too powerful. This concern was reflected in proposals to add twelve amendments in 1789. Ten of the proposed changes were ratified by the states in 1791 and are commonly referred to as the Bill of Rights.

The 10th Amendment reads:

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. The amendment grants the states "reserved powers," but it does not define them. As one might expect, this has produced conflicts between the national and state governments, many of which have had to be resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court. For much of the period from the 1890s through the mid-1930s, for instance, the Court restricted efforts by Congress to enhance the power of the federal government. Since then, the power of the national government has grown, although some recent court cases have favored the states.

The 14th Amendment

The national government's power over the states was strengthened by the 1868 addition of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. One of three amendments designed to end slavery and grant rights to blacks after the Civil War, the 14th states in part:

No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

This language essentially restates the fundamental principle of dual citizenship: Americans are citizens of both the nation and their state, and they are governed by the constitutions of both governments. The U.S. Constitution guarantees minimum rights to citizens that may not be violated by the states. The states, however, may grant broader rights to their citizens than are guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

The 14th Amendment has had an interesting and controversial history. The U.S. Supreme Court generally has defined the amendment's somewhat vague guarantees in terms of other provisions found in the U.S. Constitution. Since 1925, the Court has employed a process known as "selective incorporation" through which it incorporates into the meaning of the 14th Amendment the protections offered by the Bill of Rights. It does this selectively, that is, by applying these guarantees to the states on a case-by-case basis. Congress, too, has used the 14th Amendment in support of laws that restrict the power of state and local governments.

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2. State Constitutions

States adopt their constitutions within the context of national supremacy; enumerated, implied, and reserved powers; dual citizenship; and the provisions of the 10th and 14th Amendments. Many state constitutions are modeled after the U.S. Constitution. Because state constitutions generally do not include implied powers, they tend to be more detailed and restrictive in defining the powers of government. State constitutions often include policies that seemingly could be decided by passing laws, as with Georgia's lottery. Putting such decisions in constitutions makes it harder for opponents to change them.

States also possess "police power," namely, the ability to promote public health, safety, morals, or general welfare. The police power is among the "reserved powers" in the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Police powers are often delegated by states to local governments, which are covered in great detail in state constitutions, but are not mentioned at all in the U.S. Constitution.

Basic Differences in State Constitutions

Unlike the U.S. Constitution, which has been amended only 27 times, state constitutions are amended frequently, often to make narrow policy changes. Numerous amendments, provisions about local governments, and the lack of implied powers are major reasons that many state constitutions are so long, in contrast to the 8,700 words in the U.S. Constitution.

Table 1 indicates the number, length, and amendments for each state constitution. Georgia is noteworthy in two ways. First, it has had ten constitutions, second only to Louisiana. Second, Georgia's current constitution took effect in 1983, making it among the second youngest. Only Rhode Island can be considered to have a newer constitution, following the 1986 adoption of a revised version of its 1842 constitution.

State

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii

Table 1 State Constitutions as of January 1, 2005

Number of Constitutions

Estimated Number of Words

6

340,136

1

15,988

1

28,876

5

59,500

2

54,645

1

74,522

4

17,256

4

19,000

6

51,456

10

39,526

1

20,774

Number of Amendments

766 29 136 91 513 145 29 138a 104 63 104

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