Municipal and State Government

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POL 203 – Assignment 2 Writing a Model State Constitution

After readings Bachner and Ginsberg (Chapter 2) and Smiith and Greenblatt (Chapter 3) please compose a one page paper that specifies the design for a Model State Constitution. In it please answer the questions below and consider carefully how much power you will give to each branch, and how much democracy you will build in. You may employ additional research, but be sure to properly cite all sources at the end of the paper.

What is the name of your state?
What are the federal constraints on the type of government you may create?
Draft Constitution:
Legislature:
Which powers will be given to this branch?
Does it have a bicameral or unicameral structure?
How will its members be chosen (Hint: U.S. Constitution, Art. IV, sec. 4)?
What is their length of term in office? Number of terms possible?
Executive branch:
Will you have one?
If you have a chief executive (governor), which powers will they hold?
How will members of the branch be chosen? Appointed by the legislature? Elected? Short ballot (unified executive) or long ballot (lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, comptroller, etc.)?
Length of term in office? Number of terms possible?
Courts: unified system (local and all various state courts under one structure)?
How will judges be selected? Elections, appointment, or a hybrid system?
What powers will it have? Will it have power to review legislation?
Rights and liberties? Which will be included, and will they be positive or negative rights?
Other considerations:
How much democracy will be incorporated? Will citizens have initiative, referendum, and recall possibilities?
How malleable do you want your constitution to be? Will it be easily amended, or will you build in controls to slow down amendments?