I. General Information

1. Course Title:
State and Local Government

2. Course Prefix & Number:
POLS 1439

3. Course Credits and Contact Hours:

Credits: 3

Lecture Hours: 3

Lab Hours: 0

4. Course Description:

This is a general survey course on state and local government.  Topics of study include federalism, state constitutions, political parties, interest groups, elections, state agencies, local government, and policy making.  The course covers state legislatures and law-making with special emphasis on the Minnesota Legislature.  The office of governor is examined as is the Minnesota State Constitution and state government’s relationship to Minnesota's local units of government.

5. Placement Tests Required:

Accuplacer (specify test):

Reading College Level CLC or Reading College Level

Score:

6. Prerequisite Courses:

There are no prerequisites for this course.

9. Co-requisite Courses:

There are no corequisites for this course.

II. Transfer and Articulation

1. Course Equivalency - similar course from other regional institutions:

St. Cloud State University, Pol. Sci. 313 State and Local Government, 3 credits
Minnesota State University Mankato, Pol. Sci. 371 State and Local Government, 3 credits

III. Course Purpose

2. MN Transfer Curriculum (General Education) Courses - This course fulfills the following goal area(s) of the MN Transfer Curriculum:

• Goal 5 – History and the Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Goal 9 – Ethical and Civic Responsibility

IV. Learning Outcomes

1. College-Wide Outcomes

College-Wide Outcomes/Competencies	Students will be able to:
Demonstrate oral communication skills	Ask questions in the classroom to facilitate class discussion/debate on issues/topics.
Demonstrate reading and listening skills	Read articles on the MN State Legislature, the Governor, and the MN Supreme Court and then reiterate those ideas of the functions of these institutions as a part of class discussion.
Analyze and follow a sequence of operations	Study and learn the legislative process. This entails a study of the steps necessary for a bill to become a state law. The process will detail the steps from the introduction of a bill in the Minnesota Legislature to signature by the Governor.

2. Course Specific Outcomes - Students will be able to achieve the following measurable goals upon completion of the course:

• Employ the methods and data that state officials use and publish to investigate problems and propose solutions to them.  MnTC Goal 5
• Examine social, educational, and political institutions across a range of historical periods in Minnesota history.  MnTC Goal 5
• Develop and communicate explanations or solutions for contemporary social issues and problems at the state and local level.  MnTC Goal 5
• Understand and apply core concepts (e.g.  politics, rights and obligations, justice, liberty) to specific issues.  MnTC Goal 9
• Recognize the diversity of political motivations and interests of others.  MnTC Goal 9
• Identify ways to exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.  MnTC Goal 9
• Examine, articulate, and apply their own ethical views to discussions on issues/problems.  MnTC Goal 9
• Analyze and reflect on the ethical dimensions of legal, social, and scientific issues.  MnTC Goal 9
• Use and critique alternative explanatory systems or theories.  MnTC Goal 5

V. Topical Outline

Listed below are major areas of content typically covered in this course.

1. Lecture Sessions

1. Current and future trends/directions for State and Local Governments in the United States.
• State the traditional/current functions of state and local governments with emphasis on the State of Minnesota. 
• Develop a clear understanding of the increased capacity of state governments in U.S. today.
• improved revenue system
• inter-jurisdictional cooperation
• Develop a clear understanding of challenges/problems facing state and local governments in U.S. today. 
• increased national-state conflict
• fiscal stress
• political corruption
2. Federalism and State Constitutions
• Describe the governmental concept of federalism
• Describe/compare the definitions of federal, confederate, and unitary systems of government.
• Describe and identify the advantages/disadvantages of federalism.
• Describe the history of federalism and identify the key events leading to the modern federalism of the late 20th and 21st centuries. 
• Articles of Confederation
• Constitutional Convention of 1787
• U.S. Supreme Court decisions/growth of national power
• 14th and 16th Amendments to U.S. Constitution
• New Federalism
• Describe the history of state constitutions from colonial period to late 20th-21st centuries.
3. Political Parties, Campaigns and Elections, Interest Groups, Citizen Participation
• Develop a clear understanding of political parties, their role and functions in a representative democracy   at the state and local level. 
• Know and understand the methods and strategies employed in the conduct of modern political campaigns for governors and state legislatures.
• Know and understand the role of political party organizations at the state and local level and impact of third parties in the electoral process.  
• Examine the role of political actions committees (PACS), media influence, and campaign finance/public funding in the electoral process among the states with emphasis on Minnesota.
• Interest Groups.  Examine their role and influence in state governments today.
• Describe the direct and indirect strategies and techniques used by lobbyists and interest groups to influence legislative policy at the state level.  
• Identify the range of special interest groups that dominate lobbying in state legislatures in the late 20th and 21st centuries. 
• Elections and Citizen Participation in State and Local Governments
• Know and understand the impact of the U.S. Voting Rights Act of 1965 on the states and citizen participation in elections.
• Identify the types of primary elections among the states; and run-off elections and general elections at the state level.
• Describe the differences between direct and indirect democracy at the state and local level.  Identify the meaning of initiatives, referendum, and recall.
4. State Legislatures, their powers and functions, and their relationships with and between governors.  A study of the legislative process and how a bill becomes a law.
• Know and be able to describe the legislative functions of policymaking, representation and oversight; know the process of legislative decision-making; and the history of legislative redistricting/reapportionment of state legislatures and U.S. House congressional districts.
• Know and understand the legislative process, the legislative committee work and structures, and the steps in how a bill becomes a law. 
5. Governors, their power and functions.  The students study each role performed by governors with emphasis on the office of governor of Minnesota. 
• Know the general constitutional qualifications for governors and for Minnesota's governor.  Be able to describe the history of the office of governor from colonial times to present.
• Examine and describe the powers and duties of the office of governor.
• Governor as chief legislator and leader of his/her political party.
• Identify and describe the formal and informal powers of governors
• Identify and describe the appointive and budgetary responsibilities of governors
• Identify and describe the veto powers/legislative influence of governors
6. The Judiciary.  A study of the structure of state courts at the district, appellate, and supreme court levels and its role as a third branch of state governments. 
• Explain the selection of judges, i.e., popular election, legislative election, gubernatorial appointment and judicial removal. 
• Be able to describe and explain judicial decision-making and the concepts of trial by jury, plea bargaining, and judicial performance. 
7. The structure of Local Government.  Students will study and be able to describe the types of local government, i.e., county and municipal (city) governments, town and township government, and school districts/special districts. 
• Identify and know the responsibilities and roles of mayors, city managers, and city councils.  Know the role and responsibilities of county commissioners/county managers.
• Be able to describe the interaction between state and local government and to identify the source of power of local governments/relationship to states.