American federalism and interstate relations

The relationship between federal, state and local governments

The constitution not only determines the structure and power of the federal government, but also has basic provisions for state governments. At the same time, each state also has a state constitution; The state constitution contains the provisions of local governments in the state. Local government refers to the government of a city, county, town or school district and a special constituency. Local governments are responsible for managing local natural resources or transportation systems.

The Constitution of the United States stipulates the powers and responsibilities of the federal government. The powers belonging to the federal government include interstate trade, national defense, coinage, immigration and naturalization, and signing treaties with foreign countries.

However, with the development of time, the constitution has been interpreted and revised with the changes of the times, and the power of the federal government has also changed. Through cooperation with the state governments, the federal government has formulated some laws and projects funded by the federal government and implemented by the state governments. This cooperation mainly includes: education, social welfare, housing subsidies and nutrition, homeland security, transportation and emergency action. These projects must operate in accordance with federal regulations.

This cooperation enables the federal government to influence the state governments. For example, in the1970s, the federal government hoped to reduce energy consumption by reducing the maximum speed of expressways. However, the federal government did not pass direct legislation to achieve this goal, but announced that any state that does not automatically slow down in the state will not be able to obtain federal highway project funds. In addition, in many cases, in order to obtain federal funding, the state government itself must also provide some funds for highway projects.

The state constitution stipulates the structure and power of local governments. Just as state regulations must not violate federal laws, local governments are also bound by state constitutions and laws.