Administrative unit in the United States
The United States has the following state administrative units :
- the 50 states , which in turn are divided into counties and townships , cities , villages and other types of parishes, and other independent or subordinate institutions ;
- the federation , which consists of the states in their entirety and is exclusively responsible for the administrative district , the suburbs , the Indian reservations , the military and the American embassies and consulates abroad, and
- quasi- political administrative units such as environmental protection zones and school districts, which are usually subordinate special political units.
In total there are over 85,000 political entities in the United States . They represent a subset of the entire territory of the United States .
Federation
The units of the federal government include the originally square government district with the capitol in its original geographical and geometric center. Congress has exclusive control over the governorate and all other areas owned by the federal government.
Outside of the 50 states and the county, there are a number of other areas under the control of the United States. The status of these areas varies greatly. Puerto Rico, for example, has the right to convert to a state or become independent. On November 6, 2012, Puerto Ricos decided against the status quo and in favor of full integration. Other areas are a series of inhabited and uninhabited islands in the Pacific and the Caribbean that are used by the federal government for various, often military, purposes.
According to the fourth article of the constitution , the powers of Congress over non-state areas are exclusive and comprehensive. However, if the area becomes a state, it must agree to any changes to its area. To administer these areas, Congress passed a law on March 3, 1849 to establish the US Department of the Interior . In contrast to other similarly named ministries, the Ministry of the Interior is not responsible for the implementation of laws or domestic policy, with the exception of the Indian reservations and island dependencies.
States
The most important political entity in the United States after the federal government is the state . In formal legal terms, the states are not subdivisions of the United States, but rather behave in a unique interplay known as parallel sovereignty. As a result of a series of decisions by the Supreme Court , both the states and the federal government itself (which coexists with the 50 states) are sovereign. The sovereignty of the federal government is limited directly by the constitution , while the sovereignty of the states is limited by the federal constitution and the constitution of the state itself.
The federal states have similar constitutional organs as the state itself: The executive power of governance is exercised by a directly elected governor , who determines the guidelines of the policy and performs other important tasks. This includes in particular a key role in the legislative process, where he signs and drafts laws or veto them . As the highest representative of his state, he also has the right to pardon and appoint high officials. Other members of the executive are a lieutenant governor (in 45 states), the Secretary of State and the Attorney General, as well as the heads of other departments, which vary widely from state to state. These officials are either directly elected by the people or appointed by the governor. The legislature is in all states except Nebraska, as at the federal level of two chambers (State Legislature) , the upper house (state Senate) and a lower house (here designations find as the House of Representatives or State Assembly ). Only in Nebraska does the legislative power consist of a chamber . At the state level, the chambers have sole legislative power. In addition to an executive and legislature all states also have a judicial power ( judicial ) in the form of constitutional courts. Its members are appointed by the governor, with the approval of the respective state senate, which corresponds to the same practice as at the federal level. Each state therefore has its own constitution, which also regulates the political system.
The Civil War and some court rulings have made it clear that states cannot leave the federal government on their own. In addition, by virtue of the constitution, they are not permitted to pursue foreign policy.
The individual states decentralize their sovereign powers in at least two levels. The first level consists of the state-wide agencies that report directly to the state government. Examples of such authorities are the Department of Motor Vehicles , the Statistics Office or the Health Department. The second level consists of the counties called " Borough " in Alaska and New York City and " Parish " in Louisiana . Counties are administrative districts of the state government. A third tier exists in many of the Midwestern states and is known as townships .
Counties
In principle, the purpose of the counties is to support the state in its administrative tasks. This includes, for example, the collection of property tax, which is set centrally by the states almost everywhere. Counties, on the other hand, generally do not offer the services commonly associated with cities and towns.
In some states, such as Michigan , state universities are autonomous and have certain constitutional powers.
Cities
In all states, cities are administered regardless of the township in which they are located. In some states they are also independent of their surrounding county (similar to a German urban district). Such cities then have powers equal to or greater than those of the counties. Cities differ from counties and townships in that they are not regarded as administrative units of the state, but are semi-autonomous associations that are recognized by the state. The cities are administered by an elected or appointed city council .