Understanding Federalism in Contemporary Policy
Federalism divides power between national, state, and local governments, creating multiple access points for stakeholders to influence policy outcomes. This division means that while national policies set broad frameworks, states can implement and sometimes resist or modify these policies based on local priorities and political ideologies.
Environmental Regulations and the Paris Agreement
- In 2015, President Obama entered the U.S. into the Paris Agreement via executive order, bypassing Senate approval due to opposition.
- The agreement required all states to reduce carbon emissions, imposing new environmental regulations nationwide. For a comprehensive overview of how these regulations fit into broader governmental structures, see Comprehensive Overview of Unit 2: AP Government - The Three Branches of Government.
- When President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the agreement, some states like California maintained stricter environmental standards independently.
- President Biden later rejoined the Paris Agreement, illustrating how federal environmental policy can shift with presidential administrations.
- This example highlights how federalism allows states to enforce policies that may differ from federal directives, reflecting political and ideological differences.
Marijuana Legalization as a Laboratory of Democracy
- Marijuana has been federally illegal since the 1930s, with strict enforcement under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970.
- Starting in 1996, states like California began legalizing medical marijuana, followed by recreational legalization in Colorado in 2012. This shift in policy can be better understood through the lens of Understanding Wicked Problems in Public Policy: The Role of Play and Participation.
- Despite federal illegality, President Obama chose not to enforce federal marijuana laws in states that legalized it, demonstrating executive discretion.
- This state-level experimentation serves as a "laboratory of democracy," where states test policies that may influence national legislation.
- Since Colorado and Washington's legalization, 18 more states have followed, showing the evolving landscape of federalism in drug policy.
Key Takeaways
- Federalism creates multiple layers of governance, allowing states to tailor policies to their constituents.
- Presidential administrations significantly influence how federal laws are enforced. For insights into how public opinion shapes policy decisions, refer to The Impact of Public Opinion on Gun Control Policy Decisions.
- States can act as testing grounds for innovative policies before potential national adoption.
For students preparing for AP Government, understanding these examples clarifies how federalism operates in practice and affects policymaking across the U.S.
well hey then welcome back to heimlich's history now over the course of the last couple of videos we've been talking
about unit 1 of the ap government curriculum namely the concept of federalism we've gone through the
constitution and some supreme court cases to see how federalism works but in this video let's talk about some current
examples of federalism in action so if you're ready to get them bring cows milks well then let's get to it so
here's what we're trying to do in this video explain how the distribution of powers among the three federal branches
in between the national and state governments impacts policymaking so the first thing to mention is that because
federalism divides power between federal and state and local governments that means that there are more access points
for stakeholders to influence policy outcomes remember stakeholders are folks like you and me who are affected by the
outcome of legislation because federalism divides power this way we have a lot more places where we can get
involved in those outcomes but national policy is also constrained by the sharing of power and for that let me
give you two current examples environmental regulations and the legalization of marijuana that should be
spicy okay so first federalism is illustrated by environmental regulation in 2015 president obama led the united
states into an international accord called the paris agreement and lots of leaders around the world were deeply
concerned about climate change and melting ice caps and rising ocean levels in the heating up of the earth which
would eventually leave us all looking like a bunch of old monkeys kneecaps now in order to enter a treaty like this it
would normally be by the approval of the senate because that power is given to them in the constitution but the senate
was a majority republican and well to put it mildly they were not big fans of this agreement so obama entered the
agreement by executive order and how he did that is beyond the scope of what we're talking about here just know that
that's how it was done anyway when the united states became a member nation of the paris agreement that meant that all
sorts of new environmental regulations were imposed on the state and so all 50 states were required to submit to these
regulations and reduce their carbon emissions however when donald trump won the presidency he pledged to remove the
u.s from the paris agreement which he did but what's interesting is that some states decided to keep the regulations
imposed by the paris agreement case in point california so that means that if you own a factory in california and you
want to emit greenhouse gases you have to abide by the much stricter state limits rather than the looser federal
limits anyway just in case you were wondering when joe biden was elected president he went ahead and got us back
into the paris agreement so this very much has to do with the political ideology of the president okay now
another example of federalism in action is the legalization of marijuana the old wacky tobacco and here's where i tell
you that under the heading of federalism we often talk about states as laboratories for democracy and what that
means is that states will pass certain laws and then representatives in the federal government then other states
will see how it goes within that state in order to determine if that's a law that needs to be passed nationally and
the legalization of marijuana is very much an example of the laboratory of democracy concept so marijuana has been
illegal federally since the end of the 1930s but the crackdown really came during president richard nixon's war on
drugs in 1970 congress passed the controlled substances act which stipulated severe punishments for
possession and use of marijuana now by the time the 80s and 90s came around there was a growing body of research
showing that marijuana could be used as a therapeutic in certain medical cases and so in 1996 california voted to
legalize medical marijuana and they did so by a statewide vote after that several states followed suit and that
brings us to 2012 when colorado legalized recreational marijuana but here's the weird thing in 2012
possession of marijuana was still a federal crime like nothing had changed on the federal level but if you were a
colorado resident you could now go down to your local marijuana shop and legally break the federal law to which i say
what like to possess marijuana was legal in colorado but illegal in the united states how does that work well remember
the role of the president the president is the executive of the federal government which is to say the president
enforces the law obama agreed with the legalization of marijuana and so he basically just said yes it's illegal but
i'm not going to be devoting any federal resources to enforcing those laws in colorado so again we see here federalism
in action and colorado has very much been a laboratory for democracy here the federal government and other states are
closely watching how this whole thing plays out in this state to see whether this would be a good national policy and
ever since colorado and washington legalize recreational marijuana 18 more states have followed suit okay thanks
for watching your view packet right here for ap government which is going to help you get an a in your class and a 5 on
your exam in maine if you want me to keep making these videos then by all means subscribe and i shall oblige for
more videos on unit 1 here's a playlist right here heimler out
Federalism is a system of governance that divides power between national, state, and local governments. This structure allows states to implement and sometimes modify national environmental policies based on local priorities, as seen with California maintaining stricter standards even after federal withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.
The Paris Agreement, entered into by President Obama, required states to reduce carbon emissions, leading to new environmental regulations. However, when President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the agreement, states like California continued to enforce stricter regulations, showcasing the flexibility of federalism in environmental policy.
Marijuana legalization illustrates federalism as states have acted independently to legalize marijuana despite its federal illegality. This state-level experimentation allows for diverse policies, with states like Colorado and California leading the way, which may influence future national legislation.
President Obama opted not to enforce federal marijuana laws in states that legalized it, demonstrating executive discretion. This decision reflects the complexities of federalism, where state policies can diverge from federal laws, allowing states to act as 'laboratories of democracy' for policy experimentation.
Presidential administrations significantly influence how federal laws are enforced, as seen with environmental policies and marijuana laws. Changes in administration can lead to shifts in policy enforcement, allowing states to adopt different approaches based on their political ideologies and priorities.
Key takeaways include that federalism allows states to tailor policies to their constituents, states can serve as testing grounds for innovative policies, and presidential administrations play a crucial role in shaping the enforcement of federal laws. Understanding these dynamics is essential for grasping U.S. policymaking.
These examples of federalism, particularly in environmental policy and marijuana legalization, provide practical insights into how governance operates in the U.S. They illustrate the interaction between state and federal laws, which is crucial for understanding the complexities of American government and preparing for AP Government exams.
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