WHERE DO THE POWERS OF THE STATES COME FROM? IDENTIFY 10 POWERS THAT
STATES HAVE. WHAT ARE STATES PROHIBITED FROM DOING?

---

Request for Question Clarification by secret901-ga on 11 Oct 2002 17:19 PDT

About how many paragraphs do you expect for the answer?

---

Clarification of Question by npb17-ga on 11 Oct 2002 17:22 PDT

ENOUGH TO ANSWER ALL THE MAIN POINTS FOR THE QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU

---

Request for Question Clarification by mvguy-ga on 11 Oct 2002 17:31 PDT

Does the question refer to the U.S. Constitution?

---

Clarification of Question by npb17-ga on 11 Oct 2002 17:34 PDT

yeah, i guess, Federalism?

Hello--

I have the answers to your questions.

The powers of the state governments came to be through the U.S.
Constitution. During the time of the drafting of the Constitution,
some people were against giving the national government all of the
power. They demanded that the Constitution contain the Tenth
Amendment, which gave powers to both the states and the federal
governments.

Further, the U.S. Constitution contains what's called "the national
supremacy clause." It's in Article VI of the Constitution. This showed
how the Founding Fathers wanted to have separate state and federal
governments.


Below are 10 powers that the states have:

1. Law enforcement. The states have the right to create their own
state highway patrol offices.
2. Taxes. The states have the right to regulate their own taxes.
3. State highways. The states have the power to build and maintain
highway systems.
4. Gambling. The states have the power to regulate the legality of
gambling within their borders.
5. Driving. The states have the power to decide who may maintain a
driver's license.
6. Alcohol. The states have the power to decide who may drink and sell
alcohol.
7. National Guard. The states have the power to have their own
militaryies.
8. Business Opportunities. The states have the power to decide who may
conduct business within their borders.
9. Child Care. The states have the power to decide who may run child
care agencies within their borders.
10. Cigarettes. The states have the power to decide who may buy
cigarettes within their borders.

The states are prohibited from doing the following:

1. Banning guns.
2. Banning any particular religion, unless the activities involved
infringe on the rights of others.
3. Banning a group from meeting.
4. Banning speech.
5. Imposing excessive bail.
6. Imposing unreasonable searches or seizures.


You may read a history of federalism in our country. The link is
http://www.tcjc.cc.tx.us/campus_ne/faculty/cook/federalism.html

You may read more about how the state government's powers are limited.
The link is http://www.ourcivilisation.com/cooray/btof/chap174.htm

In researching this topic I searched the following terms: "powers of
the state" federalism and "state's rights."

I hope this helps!

darrel-ga

For the sake of clarity, I would like to note that some state rights
are limited by federal power. For example, states may incorporate
businesses and issue business licenses, but the "Commerce Clause" and
the so-called "Dormant Commerce Clause" limit states' ability to
impose regulations that unduly interfere with interstate commerce.
Under the "Full Faith and Credit" clause, states must respect each
other's drivers licenses. The modern National Guard is not in the form
of a state militia. There are federal laws regulating the sale of
cigarettes to minors. States may at times ban groups from meeting for
illegal purposes (e.g., street gangs and criminal enterprises).
Neither the Second Amendment nor the constitutional provisions
forbidding the federal government from imposing excessive bail have
been "incorporated" to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment,
and thus there is no federal constitutional reason why states cannot
ban guns or impose excessive bail. (Most states have protections of
the right to bear arms in their own constitutions that are as strong
or stronger than the Second Amendment.)