| A | B |
|---|
| elect | to choose by voting |
| borough | a community that usually has fewer people than a city |
| township | a community for citizens who live outside a city or borough |
| municipal government | local gavernment made up of elected leaders |
| commission | elected leaders in a township |
| council | elected leaders in a city or borough |
| home rule | citizens are able to vote for the type of local government they want |
| county | one of the sections into which a state is divided |
| number of PA counties | sixty-seven counties |
| county commissioners | elected citizens who make decisions for the county |
| county responsibilities | smoothly run elections, effective use of county taxes |
| school districts | special kinds of government that make decisions about education |
| checks and balances | Each branch of government keeps watch over the other two branches |
| Edward Rendell | Governor of Pennsylvania |
| Executive Branch | carries out the laws- Governor, President |
| Executive responsibilities | create a budget, set goals, provide services |
| budget | a plan for responsible use of tax money |
| Legislative Branch | making the laws - Congress |
| U S Congress | Senators & Representatives |
| PA General Assembly | State Senators & State Representatives |
| State Senators | serve a four year term |
| State Representatives | serve a 2 year term |
| Bills | proposals for new laws |
| veto | rejection of a bill by a governor or president |
| Judicial Branch-Courts & Judges | interprets the laws according to the Constitution |
| Constitution - PA or US | rule of law for our state & the United States |
| democratic republic | a system of government in which people pick representatives to run the government |
| candidates | people running for political office |
| political party | a group of citizens who share many of the same ideas about government |
| Two major political parties in the US | Democratic & Republican |
| Some Responsibilities of President | carry out the laws, lead the military, meet with other countries' leaders |
| 100 Senators, 435 Representatives | U S Congress |
| 9 Justices(judges) | Supreme Court |
| jury | a group of citizens who are 18 or older that decides whether the accused person is guilty under the law |
| US Government use of taxes | to pay for services such as defense & disaster relief |
| Barack Obama | United States President |
| Hilliary Clinton | U S Secretary of State |
| Joseph Biden | U S Vice President |
| Steve Samuelson | PA Representative from our area |
| Arlen Spectre | US Senator from PA |
