American Democracy Now, 2nd Edition (Harrison)

Chapter 18: State and Local Government

Glossary


open meeting laws  laws requiring legislative bodies and executive agencies of government to conduct policy-making meetings in public
ballot measure  any proposed policy that, as the result of an initiative or a referendum, wins a place on the ballot for voters to approve or reject
legislative referendum  a ballot measure whereby voters approve or reject a law or an amendment proposed by state officials
popular referendum  a measure that allows citizens, by collecting signatures in a petition drive, to put before voters specific legislation that the legislature has previously approved
charter  the constitution of a local government
Dillon's rule  the ruling articulated by Judge John Forrest Dillon in 1872 that local governments are creatures of the state that created them, and they have only the powers expressly mentioned in the charters written and approved by the state and those necessarily implied by the formally expressed powers
home rule  the opportunity provided by state government for citizens to write, adopt, and amend local government charters at the city and county levels
home rule charter  local government constitution written and approved by citizens following state-mandated procedures, including a referendum
traditionalistic political culture  the view that the purpose of government is to maintain the status quo and that participants in government should come from society's elite
individualistic political culture  the view that the decision to take part in government is an individual choice, and those who choose to participate determine the purpose of government and personally benefit from their participation
moralistic political culture  the view that the purpose of government is to serve the public good, including providing for those who are disadvantaged, and that all citizens should participate in government
operating budget  a budget that accounts for all the costs of day-to-day government operations and covers such items as salaries and benefits, utilities, office supplies, and rent
capital budget  a budget that accounts for the costs and revenues for expensive building and purchasing projects from which citizens will benefit for many years and for which governments can borrow money
essential services  public services provided by state and local governments on a daily basis to prevent chaos and hazardous conditions in society
plural executive system  a state and local government structure in which the citizens elect more than two people to top positions in the executive branch of government
nonpartisan election  an election in which candidates are not nominated by political parties and the ballot does not include party affiliations
partisan election  an election in which candidates are nominated by political parties and the ballot lists each candidate's political party affiliation
merit selection process  a process for selecting judges in which a nonpartisan committee nominates candidates, the governor or legislature appoints judges from among those candidates to a short term of service, and then the ap­pointed judges face a retention election at the end of the short term
retention election  a noncompetitive election in which an incumbent judge's name is on the ballot and voters decide whether the judge should be retained
general-purpose government  a government providing services in numerous and diverse policy and functional areas to the residents living within its borders
municipal government  self-governing general-purpose ­government—including city, borough, and town governments—created by states to provide goods and services within a densely populated area
township  a unit of government that serves people living outside municipalities, in rural areas where the population is more dispersed than in areas served by municipal governments
county government  a general-purpose local government created by states to assist them in implementing policy in geographic subdivisions of the state
commission  a form of local government that is more common in county and township governments than in other general-purpose governments and for which voters elect a body of officials who collectively hold legislative and executive powers
council-mayor (council-executive)  a form of general-purpose local government comprising (1) a legislative body elected by voters and (2) an independently elected chief executive
strong mayor  an elected municipal government executive who holds the powers traditionally delegated to elected chief executives (veto power, power to formulate the budget, and power to appoint many executive branch officials)
weak mayor  an elected municipal government executive who holds few, if any, of the powers traditionally delegated to elected chief executives
council-manager (commission-administrator)  a form of general-purpose local government found in many counties and the majority of cities; it is composed of an elected body with legislative and executive powers whose members hire a professional manager to oversee the government's day-to-day operations
Council of Governments (COG)  a regional agency composed of representatives from several local governments who share resources to address one or more mutual problems
single-purpose government  a government providing one service or function for residents living within its borders
Harrison:  American Democracy Now, 2nd Edition
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