State and Local Gov't 2
Terms
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- estate taxes
- taxes levied on a person's estate or total holdings after that person's death
- rural flight
- the movement of rural youth and middle classes to more urban areas.
- common school
- in a democratic society, a school in which children of all income levels attend at taxpayer expense.
- independent expenditures
- Ad campaigns or other political activities that are run by a party or an outside group without the direct knowledge or approval of a particular candidate for office.
- fiscal federalism
- the system by which federal grants are used to fund programs and services provided by state and local governments
- revenues
- the money governments bring in, mainly from taxes
- revenue bonds
- investments secured by the revenue generated by a state or municipal project
- Primary elections
- elections that determine a party's nominees for offices in general elections against other parties' nominees. Participation in primary elections in sometimes limited to voters registered as members of that particular party.
- General Elections
- The decisive elections in which all registered voters cast ballots for their preferred candidates for a political office.
- leapfrog development
- developments that jump over established developments , leaving undeveloped or underdeveloped land between developments
- public choice model
- a model of politics that views governments and public dervices in market terms; governments are seen as producers of public services and citizens are seen as consumers.
- car dependent living
- an outcome of low-density development, when owing a car for transportation becomes a necessity
- intergovernmental transfers
- funds provided by the federal government to state governments to local governments,
- standardized testing
- testing of elementary and secondary students in which poor results can mean either that the student fails to get promoted or that the school loses its accreditation.
- school boards
- elected or appointed bodies that determine major policies and budgets for each of the nation's school districts
- departments of education
- state-level agencies responsible for overseeing public education
- Indirect Lobbying
- A form of lobbying in which lobbyists build support for their cause through media, rallies and other ways of influencing public opinion with the ultimate goal of swaying legislators to support their cause.
- megalopolis
- urban area made up of several large cities and their surrounding urban areas
- street level bureaucrats
- lower-level public agency employees who actually take the actions that represent law or policy.
- professionalization
- bureaucratic employees earn their jobs based on qualifications and merit.
- bureaucrats
- employees of public agencies
- balanced budget
- a budget in which current expenditures are equal to or less than income
- Political Machines
- Political Organizations controlled by a small number of people and run for partisan ends; controlled party nominations for public office and rewarded supporters with gov't jobs and contracts
- Contract Lobbyist
- A person who works for different causes for different clients in the same way that a lawyer will represent more than one client.
- exurbs
- municipalities n rural areas that ring suburbs. They typically serve as bedroom communities for the prosperous, providing rural homes with easy access to urban areas,
- successful schools model
- education model that uses observed spending levels in the highest performing schools as models from which to calculate necessary spending in other, low performing schools.
- rulemaking
- the process of translating laws into written instructions on what public agencies will or will not do.
- tax capacity
- measurement of the ability to pay taxes
- collective bargaining
- a process in which representatives of labor and management meet to negotiate pay and benefits, job responsibilities. and working conditions.
- capital investments
- investments in infrastructure, such as roads
- sprawl
- rapid growth of a metropolitan area, typically as a result of specific zoning and development
- annexation
- the legal incorporation of one jurisdiction or territory into another.
- open primaries
- election races that are open to all registered voters regardless of their party affiliation
- Direct Lobbying
- A form ogf lobbying in which lobbyists deal directly with legislators to gain their support
- representative bureauracy
- the idea that public agencies reflecting the diversity of the communities they serve wil be more effective
- standards
- fixed criteria for learning that students are expected to reach in specific subjects by specific grades,.
- site-based management
- movement to increase freedom for building administrators such as school principals to determine how district funds are spent at a given school.
- school districts
- local administrative jurisdictions that hire staff and report to school boards on management of area public schools
- user fees
- charges levied by governments in exchange for services; a type of hidden tax.
- Responsible Party Model
- The theory that political parties offer clear policy choices to voters, try to deliver on those policies when they take office, and are held accountable by voters for the success or failure of those policies
- redistricting
- the drawing of new boundaries for congressional and state legislative districts, usually following a decennial census.
- ticket splitting
- When voters or districts vote for different parties' nominees for different offices-for instance, supporting a Republican for president, while supporting a Democrat for Congress.
- severance taxes
- taxes on natural resources
- teachers' union
- Primarily the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, both headquartered in Washington D.C.
- dividend
- a payment made to stockholders, or in Alaska's case, residents from the interest generated off an investment
- reform perspective
- an approach to filling gaps in service and reducing redundancies in local gov't that calls for regional-level solutions.
- state board of education
- Top policymaking body in each of the fifty states, usually consisting of appointees selected by governors.
- norm referenced tests
- standarized tests designed to determine how a student's mastery of a set of materials compares with that of a specifically designed sampling students determined to be the national "norm" for their age group.
- National PTA
- umbrella organization of state-based and school-based parent-teacher asscoiations consists of volunteers who work to improve and support schools.
- sales taxes
- taxes levied by state and local governments on purchases
- party conventions
- meetings of party delegates called to nominate candidates for office and establish party agendas
- e-government
- the delivery of public services and programs via the internet or other digital means.
- soft money
- money that is not subject to federal regulation that can be raised and spent for state parties. A 2002 law banned the use of soft money in federal elections.
- bonds
- certificates that are evidence of a debt on which the issuer promises to pay the holder a specified amount of interest for a specified length of time and to repay the loans on their maturity
- blanket primaries
- elections in which all voters may cast ballots for any candidate for any office regard;less of party
- teacher licensure procedures
- the academic degrees, work experience, and performance on adult standardized tests a state requires before a teacher candidate can be certified to work in a school district
- insurance trust funds
- money collected from contributions, assessments, insurance premiums, or payroll taxes
- plural executive system
- a state government system in which the governor is not the dominant figure in the executive branch, but instead is more of a first among equals, serving alongside numerous other officials who were elected to their offices rather than appointed by the governor,
- charter schools
- public schools, often with unique themes, managed by teachers, principals, social workers or nonprofit groups. launched in early 1990s
- patronage
- the process of giving gov't jobs to partisan loyalists.
- interest groups
- individuals, corporations, or associates who seek to inluence the actions of elected and appointed public officials on behalf of specific companies or causes
- swing voters
- individuals who are not consistently loyal to the candidates of any one party. They are true independents whose allegiance is fought for in every election
- tiebout model
- a model of local government based on market principles wherein a metro area is made up of a series of micropolitical jurisdictions that, on the basis of their services and costs, attract, or repel certain citizens.
- metropolitan area
- a populous region typically comprised of a city and surrounding communities having a high degree of social and economic integration.
- excise / sin taxes
- taxes on alcohol, tobacco, and other similar products that are designed to raise revenues and reduce usage
- seniority
- the length of time spent in a position
- Secret (Australian) Ballot
- Ballots printed by the states that allow voters to pick and choose among different candidates and party preferences in private.
- closed primaries
- nominating elections in which only voters belonging to that party may participate. Only registered Democrats can vote in a closed Democratic primary, for example.
- progressive taxes
- system in which the tax rate paid reflects the ability to pay.
- office group (Massachusetts) ballot
- ballots in which candidates are listed by name under the title of the office they are seeking
- policy implementation
- the process of taking the expressed wishes of gov't and translating them into action.
- Voter turnout
- the percentage of eligible citizens who register to vote and do vote
- tax revolt
- a reaction to high taxes that often results in ballot initiatives to cap growth.
- gentrification
- the physical rehabilitation of urban areas, which attracts investment from developers and drives up property values.
- Straight Ticket
- Originally, ballots that allowed voters to pick all of party's candidates at once; today, straight ticket voting is the practice of voting for all of one party's candidates for various offices - for instance, votng for all Democrats or all Republicans.
- entitlement
- a service that government must provide, regardless of the cost.
- plurality
- the highest number of votes garnered by a candidate for a particular office but short of an outright majority.
- neutral competence
- the idea that public agencies should be impartial implementers of democratic decisions
- tax burden
- a measurement of taxes paid
- urban growth boundary
- the border established around urban areas that is intended to control the density and type of development
- edgeless cities
- office and retail complexes without clear boundaries.
- runoff primary
- an election held if no candidate receives a majority of the vote during the regular primary. The two top finishers face off again in a runoff to determine the nominee for the general election. Such elections are held in some states, primarily in the South.
- expenditures
- money spent by government
- candidate-centered politics
- politics in which candidates promote themselves and their own campaigns rather than relying on party organizations
- impact fees
- fees that municipalities charge builders of new housing or commercial developments to help offset the costs of extending services
- city-county consolidation
- the merger of separate local governments in an effort to reduce bureaucratic redundancy and service inefficiencies.
- general obligation bonds
- investments secured by the taxing power of the jurisdiction that issues them
- criterion referenced tests
- standarized tests designed to gauge a student;s level of mastery of a given set of materials
- budget process
- the procedure by which state and local governments assess revenues and set budgets
- budget shortfall
- when the money coming into the government falls below the money being spent
- affirmative action
- policies designed to help recruit and promote disadvantaged groups.
- national assessment of educational progress
- known as the nation's report card" this is only regularly conducted independent survey of what a nationally representative sample of students in grades, 4, 8, 12, know and can do in various subjects.
- municipal bonds
- bonds issued by states, counties, cities, and towns to fund large projects as well as operating budgets. they are exempt from federal taxes and from state and local taxes for the investors who live in the state where they are issued.
- capital outlays
- a category of school funding that focuses on long-term improvements to physical assets
- back to basics
- a movement against modern education "fads" and a return to an emphasis on traditional core subjects such as reading, writing, and arithmetic.
- Cause Lobbyist
- A person who works for an organizational that tracks and promotes an issue, for example, environmental issues for the Sierra Club or gun regulation for the Nat'l Rifle Association.
- white flight
- a demographic trend in which the middle and upper classes leave central cities for predominantly white suburbs
- metropolitan planning organization
- a regional organization that decides how federal transportation funds are allocated within a regional area.
- realignment
- when popular support switches from one party to another
- crossover voting
- when members of one party in another party's primary. This is not allowed in some states.
- regional council
- a planning and advisory organization whose members include multiple local governments. Region councils often are used to administer state and federal programs that are regionally targeted,
- dealignment
- when no ne party can be said to dominate politics in this country
- factional splits, or factions
- groups that struggle to control the message within a party; for example, a party may be split into competing regional factions
- No Child Left Behind Act
- Federal law enacted in January 2002 that introduced new accountability measures for elementary and secondary schools in all states that wish to receive federal aid.
- accreditation
- certification process in which outside experts visit and evaluate a school or college to vouch for minimum quality standards
- GED
- a serious of tests that can be taken to qualify for a high school equivalency certificate or diploma
- political action committees
- groups formed for the purpose of raising money to elect or defeat political candidates , They usually represent business, unions, or idealogical interests.
- recall
- an occasion for citizens to collect signatures and then vote on tte ouster of an incumbent politician prior to the next regularly scheduled election.
- direct democracy
- The means for citizens to make laws themselves, rather than relying on elected representatives,
- smart growth
- environmentally friendly development practices particularly those that emphasize more efficient infrastructure and less dependence on automobiles
- merit system
- systems in which employment and promotion in public agencies are based on qualifications and demonstrated ability, which blends very well with the organizational characteristics of bureaucracy.
- gift taxes
- taxes imposed on money transfers made during an individual's lifetime
- school vouchers
- movement dating to the 1950s to allow taxpayer dollars to be given to families to use at whatever public, private, or parochial schools they choose.
- discretionary spending
- spending controlled in annual appropriations acts,
- tax effort
- a measure of taxes paid relative to the ability to pay taxes
- standards movement
- effort to create benchmarks to adequate learning in each subject for each level so that students and teachers can be evaluated on mastery of this predetermined material
- home schooling
- the education of children in the home; a movement to grant waivers from state truancy laws to permit parents to teach their own children
- low-density development
- development practices that spread (rather than concentrate) populations across the land,
- focused taxes
- taxes that do not alter spending habits or behavior patterns and therefore do not distort the distribution of resources
- zoning laws
- regulations that control how land can be used
- voter identification
- when a voter consistently identifies strongly with one of the parties and can be considered, for example, a Democrat or Republican.
- party column (Indiana) Ballot
- ballots in which the names of the candidates are arranged according to political party
- political parties
- organizations that nominate and support candidates for elected offices
- fiscal year
- the accounting period used by a government
- bureaucracy
- public agencies and the programs and services they implement and manage.
- local education agencies
- school districts, some of which may be cities, or counties, or subsets thereof
- spoils system
- the right of an electoral winner to decide who works for public agencies
- regressive taxes
- taxes levied on all taxpayers, regardless of income or ability to pay, they tend to place proportionally more of a burden on those with lower incomes.
- metropolitan statistical area
- area with a city of 50 thousand or more people, together with adjacent urban communities that have strong ties to the central city.
- nonpartisan election
- elections in which candidates do not have to declare party affiliation or receive a party's nomination; local offices and elections are often nonpartisan.