State-Local Government Relationship
Each state in the United States has unique partnerships with its intergovernmental organizations, which include municipalities, counties, villages, and special districts. The constitution creates a direct relationship between the roles of the state and the functions of local councils. The state constitution outlines unique obligations for county and city governments. The state, for example, has the obligation to include elementary and secondary education, but the order of distribution is decided by local school districts (Howard, Fleischmann, and Engstrom. 67).
Special Purpose Districts
Furthermore, the constitution has provided for the formation of Special purpose districts, which offer specialized services in the education and health services on behalf of the state. These Special purpose districts are independent fiscally and administratively. It proves that the constitution is very clear on state-local government relationship.
Legislative Amendments in Georgia
Elsewhere, whereas the federal law allows for legislative amendments to be passed in three-quarters of all states, the Georgia constitution provides for a majority of votes on the proposed piece of changes. The majority decides the fate of proposed amendments according to Georgia's state constitution, unlike in the Federal or national law, which requires three-quarters of a "yes" in all the states to approve changes. This provision additionally gives a clear boundary between federalism and Georgia's state constitution.
Checks on Local Governments
The Georgia Constitution also provides for checks in the operations of the local governments. For instance, the Supreme Court, a state court in Georgia, can hold and rule that a law or an action by the local government has contravened the provisions of Georgian constitution (Howard, Fleischmann, and Engstrom. 198). Furthermore, the State constitution of Georgia gives a governor the power to do away with specific items in the bill to make it implementable. Hence the U.S or federal constitution does not guarantee the President such powers. These provisions are a clear sign of boundary between federalism and intergovernmental relations.
County Governments and Service Delivery Agreements
The Georgia constitution provides for the formation of the county governments with the sole responsibility of serving administrative functions of the state. They do this outside incorporated areas unless they have the contract with a municipality in which they are working in (Conaway, Scafidi, and Stephenson 250). The services they deal in include water, parking services, garbage collection, and recreational facilities. To draw a clear line between various roles of the intergovernmental agencies, provided in the state constitution is the service delivery agreements between the counties and the cities in the state under which, each city or county has to choose the local government that will deliver the specific tasks assigned to them.
Roles of Intergovernmental Agencies
Furthermore, the constitution provides for clear roles of intergovernmental agencies in relation to those of the state. Since they were formed as an extension of the state, they must-have explicit functions. The roles specified in the constitution include record keeping of public health records, welfare, and individual deeds (Conaway, Scafidi, and Stephenson 257). Also, the general assembly, the chief legislative body in the States, has a sole mandate of making legislation that affects the whole state. However, this legislation can be recalled by the Supreme Court of the state if it is proven to be in contradiction to the constitution of Georgia. In conclusion, the presence of a clear boundary between federalism and intergovernmental agencies does not exclude the fact that all these public institutions are interdependence regarding revenue, policy and law enforcement.
Works Cited
Conaway, Brooke, et al. “Parents, Homevoters, and Public School Employees: An Analysis of Voting Patterns in the 2012 Georgia Charter Schools Amendment Referendum.” Journal of School Choice, vol. 10, no. 2, Feb. 2016, pp. 249–269., doi:10.1080/15582159.2016.1157782.
Fleischmann, Arnold, and Carol Pierannunzi. Politics in Georgia. University of Georgia Press, 2007.
