| A | B |
|---|
| devolution | current effort to scale back the size and activities of the national government |
| block grants | grants of money from the federal government to states for programs in certain general areas |
| ferderalism | a political system in which ultimate authority is shared between a central government and state |
| sovereignty | supreme or ultimate political authority |
| unitary system | system in which sovereignty is wholly in the hands of the national government so that subnational political units are dependent on its will |
| conferderation system | a political system in which states/regional government retain ultimate authority |
| federal system | a system in which sovereignty is shared so that on some matters the national government is supreme |
| federal regime | a political system in which local units of government have a specially protective existence |
| "necessary and proper" clause | the final paragraph of Article 1 section 8 of the Constitution which authorizes Congress to pass all laws |
| nullification | a therory first advanced by James Madison And Thomas Jefferson that states have the right to "nullify" |
| Dual federalism | A constitutional theory that the national government and the state governments each have defined areas of authority. |
| city | A municipal corporation or municipality that has been chartered by a state to exercise certain defined powers and provide certain specific services. |
| municipal corporation | A legal term for a city |
| special-act charter | A charter that denies the powers of a certain named city and lists what the city can and cannot do. |
| general-act charter | A charter that applies to a number of cities that fall within a certain classification, usually based on city population |
| Dillon's rule | A legal principle that holds that the terms of city charters are to be interpreted narrowly. |
| home-rule charter | definition here |
| ordinances | definition here |
| counties | definition here |
| special-district governments | definition here |
| School districts | definition here |
| police power | definition here |
| initiative | definition here |
| referendum | definition here |
| recall | definition here |
| grants-in-aid | definition here |
| categorical grants | definition here |
| revenue sharing | definition here |
| conditions of aid | definition here |
| mandates | definition here |
| second-order devolution | definition here |
