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UNIT 5
Participating in State and Local Government
IMPORTANT TERMS

Popular Sovereignty: Basic principle of the American system of government which asserts that the
people are the source of any and all governmental power, and government can exit only with the
consent of the governed.

Limited Government: Basic Principle of American Government which states that government is
restricted in what it may do, and each individual has rights that government cannot take away.

Fundamental Law: Laws of such basic and lasting importance, they cannot be changed as ordinary
law is changed.

Initiative: A process in which a certain number of qualified voters sign petitions in favor of a
proposal.

Statutory Law: Laws passed by the legislature.

Police Power: The extraordinarily important power to protect and promote the public health, public
safety, public morals, and the general welfare.

Constituent Power: Refers to constitution making and the constitutional amendment process.

Referendum: Process by which a legislative measure is referred to the State’s voters for final
approval or rejection.

Recall: Petition procedure by which voters may remove an elected official from office before
completion of his or her regular term.

Item Veto: The governor may veto one or more items in a bill without rejecting the entire measure.

Clemency: Powers of mercy that may be shown toward those convicted of a crime.

Pardon: A governor may release a person from the legal consequences of a crime.
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Commutation: A governor may reduce the sentence imposed by a court.
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Reprieve: Postpones the execution of a sentence.

Parole: Allows the release of a prisoner short of the complete term of the original sentence.

Common Law: Unwritten, judge made law that has developed over centuries from those generally
accepted ideas of right and wrong that have gained judicial recognition.

Precedent: Court decision that stands as an example to be followed in future similar cases.

Criminal Law: The portion of the law that defines public wrongs and provides for their punishment.

Felony: Greater crime and may be punished by a heavy fine and/or imprisonment or even death.

Misdemeanor: Lesser offence, punishable by a small fine and/or a short jail term.

Civil Law: The portion of the law relating to human conduct, to disputes between private parties,
and to disputes between private parties and government not covered by criminal law.

Jury: Body of persons selected according to law who hear evidence and decide questions of fact in
a court case.

Information: Formal charge filed by the prosecutor, without the action of a grand jury.

Bench Trial: Misdemeanor cases and civil proceedings in which only minor sums are involved are
often heard without a jury.

Justice of the Peace: Stand on the lowest rung of the State judicial ladder and preside over what
are commonly called justice courts

Warrant: Court order authorizing, or making legal, some official action.

Preliminary Hearing: The first step in a major criminal prosecution in which the judge decides if the
evidence is enough to hold that person for action by the grand jury or the prosecutor.

Magistrate: City cousins of Justice of Peace; handles minor civil complaints and misdemeanor
cases that arise in an urban setting.

Appellate Jurisdiction: The authority of a court to review decisions of inferior courts.

County: Major unit of local government in most States.

Township: A subdivision of a county.

Special District: An independent unit created to perform one or more related governmental
functions at the local level.

Incorporation: Process by which a State establishes a city as a legal body.

Charter: The city’s basic law, its constitution.

Mayor-Council Government: Oldest and widely used type of city government; features an elected
mayor as the chief executive and an elected council as its legislative body.

Strong-Mayor Government: The mayor heads the city’s administration and usually has the veto
power, can hire and fire employees, and prepares the budget.

Weak-Mayor Government: The mayor has much less formal power; executive duties are shared
with other officials.

Commission Government: A government formed by commissioners, heads of different
departments of city government, who are popularly elected to form the city council and thus center
both legislative and executive powers in one body.

Council-Manager Government: Features a strong council of usually five or seven members
elected at large on a nonpartisan ballot; a weak mayor chosen by the voters; and a manager, the
city’s chief administrative officer, named by the council.

Zoning: The practice of dividing a city into a number of districts, or zones, and regulating the uses to
which property in each of them may be put.

Metropolitan Area: Cities and areas around them.

Medicaid: Provides medical insurance to low-income families.

Welfare: Cash assistance to the poor.

Entitlement: A benefit that federal law says must be paid to all those who meet the eligibility
requirements.

Urbanization: Percentage of the population of a State living in cities of more than 250,000 people in
suburbs of cities with more than 50,000.

Sales tax: Tax placed on the sale of various commodities, paid by the purchaser.

Regressive Tax: A tax levied at a flat rate, without regard to the level of a taxpayer’s income or
ability to pay them.

Income Tax: Tax levied on the income of individuals and/or corporations; yields almost one third of
State tax revenues today.

Progressive Tax: The higher your income, the more tax you pay.

Property Tax: Tax levied on real property, and personal property.

Assessment: The process of determining the value of the property to be taxed.
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Inheritance Tax: Tax levied on the heir’s share of an estate.
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Estate Tax: Tax levied directly on the full estate itself.

Budget: Financial plan for the use of public money, personnel, and property.