Exam 3: State Constitutions: the Fundamental Rules of State Government

In 1955, the Kestnbaum Commission devised the model state constitution, which many states used as a model in revising their own constitutions.

All of the formal procedures for constitutional change in the states involve two basic steps. These steps consist of

South Dakota's declaration of federal firearms regulations as invalid, Utah's enactment of a law prohibiting the federal government from carrying out its Affordable Care Act, and the legalization of medical marijuana in seventeen states are examples of

In order to study an existing constitution and subsequently recommend changes to the legislature or to the voters, states often establish

The concept of judicial review refers to the judiciary's power to declare the actions of the legislative and executive branches or the actions of lower courts unconstitutional.

Judicial review is the power of the U.S. Supreme Court or a state supreme court to declare unconstitutional actions of the executive and legislative branches as well as decisions of lower courts.

Legislative supremacy, or the legislature's dominance of the other two branches, was imbedded in early constitutions due to

The most common manner of making formal changes to state constitutions is permitted in all fifty states and accounts for 90 percent of all revisions. It begins with a(n)

Only federal law and federal statutes take priority over state constitutions and state laws.

Following the War of Independence, all states rewrote their constitutions and put them into effect immediately without popular ratification.

The Massachusetts constitution, though amended, is the only constitution of the original thirteen states that still exists, because

The most common way that state constitutions are revised is through judicial interpretation.

Very few states allow constitutional amendments to be made using direct citizen initiatives.

Should Washington, D.C. become the 51st state? Take a position; and in doing so, discuss the background issues and the trade-offs involved in its admission as a state.

Describe four major elements of the National Municipal League's Model State Constitution. Discuss the perceived problem with existing state constitutions that each element attempted to overcome? In conclusion, address the issue of how effective these elements are in addressing the problem and speculate on any additional elements that might be needed.