Deck 12: State Local Relations

Question 1

From a state government perspective, which of the following is not considered a benefit of state mandates?

A)They ensure that vital activities are performed and desirable goals are achieved.
B)They promote uniformity of policy from one jurisdiction to another.
C)All municipalities and counties have the same resources to fund these mandates.
D)Promote coordination and efficiency among adjacent jurisdictions that provide services jointly.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Dillon's Rule established in 1868 that local governments may exercise only those powers

A)expressly granted to them by the state.
B)clearly implied by the explicit powers.
C)absolutely essential to the declared objectives and purposes of the local government.
D)All of these choices.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

A homeowner's association that functions like a government by making rules for the speed limit on a community road or dictating the exterior color of a condo is known as a(n)

A)urban government.
B)local enforcement entity.
C)Dillon's government.
D)shadow government.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Among the fifty states, the degree of authority granted to local governments

A)is specified in the U.S. Constitution.
B)has been standardized based on model legislation written by the U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (ACIR).
C)is guided by Dillon's rule.
D)varies widely.

Question 5

Second-order devolution refers to

A)a wave of devolution transferring some powers and a variety of responsibilities from local governments to subterranean governments.
B)cities devolving power and responsibilities to shadow governments.
C)a second wave of devolution that started in the late 1990s, where additional powers and responsibilities are being shifted from the federal government to state governments.
D)a shift in power from state government to local government.

Question 6

Smart growth refers to

A)the development of more suburban office space to keep up with the creation of suburban malls.
B)the movement to revitalize the inner city using enterprise zones.
C)the resurgence of mass transportation in the cities.
D)government efforts to limit urban sprawl by managing its growth and impact.

Question 7

State mandates is a process where

A)local governments have significant flexibility to solve problems and are provided sufficient funding to address those problems.
B)the state directs local government on how to solve a problem and, at the same time, ensures uniformity of policy among its local governments.
C)the state only repeats the guidance it has received from the federal government.
D)the state provides guidance but then defers to local government preferences.

Question 8

The striking growth of shadow governments raises important questions about

A)the control of information, restricting influence to those who can belong or pay, and having little accountability.
B)coastal development and beachfront land management.
C)the future of town meetings.
D)gated communities and the segmentation of society.

Question 9

The term that refers to development beyond the central city that is characterized by low population density, rapid land consumption, and dependence on the automobile is

A)edge cities.
B)edge sprawl.
C)inelastic cities.
D)urban sprawl.

Question 10

Impact fees are best described as

A)simply taxes that are imposed on everyone.
B)fees that encourage new development to create urban sprawl.
C)charges levied on new development to offset some of the costs of providing services.
D)charges imposed existing retail developments to encourage smart growth.

Question 11

Measures that require states either to pay local governments for the costs of state mandates or to give local governments adequate revenue-raising capacity to pay for them are known as

A)unfunded mandates.
B)mandate-reimbursement requirements.
C)pay-to-play requirements.
D)regional-coordinated government revenue sharing.

Question 12

As a result of the transformation of American metropolitan areas,

A)central cities have lost their prominence as the social, economic, and political focal points of their areas.
B)people have moved to surrounding suburbs and beyond; businesses and firms have sprung up in the hinterlands; and communities have formed their own service and taxing districts.
C)the outward flow of people and activities has fundamentally altered metropolitan areas.
D)All of these choices.

Question 13

If a state expressly grants a local government authority to pursue specific public policies, it can also take away that authority. This is an example of

A)intergovernmental transfer.
B)Dillon's rule.
C)Compton's rule.
D)second-order devolution.

Question 14

Maryland's policy to reward local governments that target new growth in areas that already have infrastructure, and denying state funding for infrastructure projects that encourage sprawl is an example of which type of policy?

A)Urban sprawl
B)Shadow government
C)Smart growth
D)Second-order devolution

Question 15

Building codes illustrate the variability of state-local authority. Which of the following options are true?

A)Twelve states have a mandatory statewide building code run by local governments and enforced by state officials.
B)Thirteen states have mandatory statewide codes but do not have state oversight.
C)Seventeen states have no comprehensive building codes, only local codes.
D)All of the above are true.

Question 16

States' departments of community affairs (DCAs)are specialized community agencies that

A)offer services and programs to the federal government.
B)offer a range of programs and services to local governments.
C)are now defunct, but served a valuable purpose in the mid-1950s.
D)have consistently failed to provide adequate advocacy for local governments.

Question 17

The chronological order of the three waves of suburbanization are

A)automobiles facilitating development of outlying areas, followed by exit-ramp economies, followed by retail locating in outlying areas.
B)automobiles facilitating development of outlying areas, followed by retail locating in outlying areas, followed by exit-ramp economies.
C)exit-ramp economies, followed by automobiles facilitating development of outlying areas, followed by retail locating in outlying areas.
D)retail locating in outlying areas, followed by exit-ramp economies, followed by people moving out to retail on exit-ramps.

Question 18

Smart growth has the goal of all of the following except

A)higher density with smaller lot sizes and taller buildings.
B)greater reliance on public transportation and walking.
C)more families and households with more cars.
D)greater integration of housing, retail, and commercial activities.

Question 19

Shadow governments typically are found in three forms, which include all of the following except

A)private enterprise shadow governments, such as homeowners' associations.
B)public-private partnership shadow governments, common examples of which are development corporations and business improvement districts.
C)subsidiaries of conventional governments with unusual powers, such as area-wide planning commissions.
D)nonprofit organizations, such as local chapters of the American Red Cross and the League of Women Voters.

Question 20

The U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (ACIR)

A)was created in 1959 and remains a powerful influence in helping states establish their own ACIR organizations.
B)is now defunct, but many states have established their own ACIRs.
C)was abolished during the Reagan administration in the 1980s, but was revived by President Clinton in 1996.
D)was created in 1960 as a temporary organization that was supposed to dissolve in 1991, but it continues to function because the agency obtained an extension to operate until 2015.

Question 21

Unfunded mandates were once a constant source of friction between the states and their local governments, but most states now pay most of the costs associated with mandated policies that affect local governments.

Question 22

City-county consolidations, the merger of city and county governments into a single jurisdiction, have been popular during the past thirty years. To date, more than 120 cities and counties have consolidated.

Question 23

Voters often clamor for more efficient government, but when presented the opportunity on the ballot to support regionalization through city-county consolidations or other similar initiatives, they often defeat the proposal.

Question 24

Dillon's rule holds that local governments are "creatures of their states."

Question 25

Local officials express concern that neither their policy-making power nor their financial authority has kept pace with the increased administrative responsibilities placed on them by state governments.

Question 26

The new urbanism

A)rejects the suburban model of development in favor of a traditional small-town style.
B)advocates a high-density, pedestrian-friendly, environmentally sensitive design for communities.
C)believes that residents will acquire a sense of community and become engaged in civic life by utilizing an anti-suburban model of city planning.
D)All of these choices.

Question 27

Under regional government, local jurisdictions

A)give up some of their political power in exchange for area-wide solutions to local problems.
B)usually gain power because states provide additional funding and incentives to join such arrangements.
C)usually gain additional power because of the new regional charters approved by states.
D)usually do not experience any loss of political power.

Question 28

The more recently a state has adopted its constitution, the less likely it contains provisions that strengthen local government.

Question 29

State legislatures are the trustees of the basic rules of local governance in America. The laws and constitutions of each state are the basic legal instruments of local governance.

Question 30

City-county consolidations are efforts to provide a regional government,

A)but the primary functions of local government-public safety, public works, and health and human services-are generally kept separated along county and city lines.
B)where area jurisdictions are merged into a single countywide government.
C)and counties and cities within their boundaries generally get to create the rules of the game.
D)and they were increasingly popular at the polls in the 1960s and 1970s, when twenty-three such governments were created.

Question 31

Edge cities are new boom towns featuring retail shops, malls, restaurants, office buildings, and housing developments far from the closest central city.

Question 32

City-county consolidations were once thought to be the wave of the future, but to date there are only _________ cities and counties that have consolidated.

A)thirty-three
B)fifty
C)eleven
D)forty-one

Question 33

Infrastructure generally refers to the physical network of a community-which includes roads, bridges, airports, water and sewer systems, etc.

Question 34

Unfunded mandates are a persistent source of friction between state and local levels of government.

Question 35

In 2004, Arizona adopted a Growing Smarter Act that discouraged urban sprawl.

Question 36

Urban sprawl refers to development beyond the central city and is characterized by low densities, rapid land consumption, and dependence on the automobile.

Question 37

Estimates now suggest that there are in excess of 200,000 shadow governments in operation across the United States.

Question 38

Infrastructure generally refers to the physical network of a community-which includes roads, bridges, airports, water and sewer systems, etc.

Question 39

Which of the following is not an anticipated benefit of city-county consolidations?

A)Stubborn public policy problems can be tackled from an area-wide perspective.
B)Combining forces produces economies of scale.
C)Regional governments are farther away and more distant from citizens.
D)Support for consolidation typically comes from the local chamber of commerce and civic organizations.

Question 40

Urban sprawl creates considerable transportation and revenue pressures for cities.

Question 41

Why do many argue that urban sprawl is a problem that should be faced by local, regional, and state governments? Discuss the ideas and policy aspects of smart growth and how they address the issue of urban sprawl.

Question 42

The simplest equation in infrastructure policy can be said that no infrastructure equals no development.

Question 43

One idea put forth to deal with the poverty of rural areas is to expand local intergovernmental cooperation.

Question 44

Governments have tried to create incentives for developers to produce low-income housing units and, if that fails, to build them themselves.

Question 45

Discuss the waves of urbanization and suburban development since the 1920s and the effects these changes have exerted on local government. In particular, touch on the struggle by state and local governments to solve the problems of the fragmentation of governments in these metropolitan areas as well as the advantages and disadvantages of the solutions.

Question 46

When homes were abandoned and the number of homeless people rose, state governments responded with inaction.

Question 47

State and local governments have had an ongoing love-hate relationship for years. Explain the legal, political, and financial inter-relationships between these two critical levels of government and how they can work better together.

Question 48

What are shadow governments? How do they work, where do the get their power, and are they effective? Do they pose any particular problems for state and local governments?

Question 49

A challenge to New Urbanism could be attempting it in a place plagued by social disorder and disinvestment.

Question 50

17.2 percent of people living in rural areas have incomes above the national average.

Question 51

What is the future of rural America? Discuss the major reasons for the loss of population in rural areas and propose some solutions to those problems?

Question 52

By 2012, only about 19 percent of the population lived in rural America.

Question 53

One way for states to help deal with rural problems is to promote statewide land-use planning.

Question 54

New Urbanism emphasizes wide open places, 'McMansions,' and an increase in space between people.

Question 55

​People are leaving many rural areas, with the most relentless decline occurring in a broad swath stretching northward from west Texas through North Dakota.