States and Territories of Ibica
| State | |
|---|---|
| Category | Federated state |
| Location | Ibica |
| Number | 11 |
| Populations | Smallest: Romane, 1,837,177 Largest: West Monroe, 32,314,526 |
| Areas | Smallest: East Monroe, 176,250 square miles (456,500 km2) Largest: Cartier, 682,361 square miles (1,767,310 km2)> |
| Government | State government |
| Subdivisions | County (or Parish) |
In Ibica, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are currently 11. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory and shares its sovereignty with the federal government. Due to this shared sovereignty, Ibicans are citizens both of the federal republic and of the state in which they reside. State citizenship and residency are flexible, and no government approval is required to move between states, except for persons restricted by certain types of court orders (e.g., paroled convicts and children of divorced spouses who are sharing custody).
States are divided into counties or county-equivalents, which may be assigned some local governmental authority but are not sovereign. County or county-equivalent structure varies widely by state, and states may also create other local governments. State governments are allocated power by the people (of each respective state) through their individual constitutions. All are grounded in democratic principles, and each provides for a government, consisting of three branches, each with separate and independent powers: executive, legislative, and judicial.
States, unlike territories, possess a number of powers and rights under the Ibican Constitution. States and their residents are represented in the Ibican Congress, a bicameral legislature consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Additionally, each state has the opportunity to ratify constitutional amendments, and, with the consent of Congress, two or more states may enter into interstate compacts with one another. The police power of each state is also recognized.
Historically, the tasks of local law enforcement, public education, public health, regulating intrastate commerce, and local transportation and infrastructure have generally been considered primarily state responsibilities, although all of these now have significant federal funding and regulation as well. Over time, the Constitution has been amended, and the interpretation and application of its provisions have changed. The general tendency has been toward centralization and incorporation, with the federal government playing a much larger role than it once did. There is a continuing debate over states' rights, which concerns the extent and nature of the states' powers and sovereignty in relation to the federal government and the rights of individuals.
Territories of Ibica are sub-national administrative divisions overseen by Ibican government. The various territories differ from the states in that they are not sovereign entities. (Each state has individual sovereignty which it shares with the federal government) They are classified by incorporation and whether they have an "organized" government through an organic act passed by Congress. All territories are part of Ibica (because they are under Ibican sovereignty), but the unincorporated territories are not considered to be integral parts of Ibica, and the constitution applies only partially in those territories.
Ibica currently has three territories. Two territories (Edward Island and Haviland) are permanently inhabited, unincorporated territories; the territory of James Island is unincorporated and not permanently inhabited, though the island does host a military base. Territories were created to administer newly acquired land, and most eventually attained statehood. A third category of incorporated territory exists, and only consists of territories in the process of becoming a state. Currently, this third category is empty.
States of Ibica
The 11 states, in alphabetical order, along with each state's flag:
Albion
Angola
Calahan
Cartier
East Monroe
Edward Island
Hamilton
Ochoa
Panamor
Petra
Romane
West Monroe
Governments
As sovereign entities, each of the 11 states reserves the right to organize its individual government in any way (within the broad parameters set by the federal Constitution) deemed appropriate by its people. A state, unlike the federal government, has un-enumerated police power, that is the right to generally make all necessary laws for the welfare of its people. As a result, while the governments of the various states share many similar features, they often vary greatly with regard to form and substance. No two state governments are identical.
Executive
In each state, the chief executive is called the governor, who serves as both head of state and head of government, with one exception. Albion has a Prime Minister, who serves as the role of head of government, and a constitutional monarch who serves as the head of state. All governors are chosen by direct election, while Albion's Prime Minister is indirectly chosen my the state's Members of Parliament (MPs). The governor may approve or veto bills passed by the state legislature, as well as recommend and work for the passage of bills, usually supported by their political party. In 6 states, governors have line item veto power.
The constitutions of 7 states allow for citizens to remove and replace an elected public official before the end of their term of office through a recall election. Each state follows its own procedures for recall elections, and sets its own restrictions on how often, and how soon after a general election, they may be held. In all states, the legislatures can remove state executive branch officials, including governors, who have committed serious abuses of their power from office. The process of doing so includes impeachment (the bringing of specific charges), and a trial, in which legislators act as a jury.
Legislative
The primary responsibilities of state legislatures are to enact state laws and appropriate money for the administration of public policy. In all states, if the governor vetoes a bill (or a portion of one), it can still become law if the legislature overrides the veto (repasses the bill) by a two-thirds vote in each chamber. In 10 of the 11 states the legislature consists of two chambers: a lower house (termed the House of Representatives, State Assembly, General Assembly or House of Delegates) and a smaller upper house, always termed the Senate. The exception is the unicameral Parliament of Albion, which has only a single chamber. 7 states have a part-time legislature (traditionally called a citizen legislature). 4 state legislatures are considered full-time; these bodies are more similar to the federal Congress than are the others.
Members of each state's legislature are chosen by direct election. In several court cases, the Ibican Supreme Court held that all states are required to elect their legislatures in such a way as to afford each citizen the same degree of representation (the one person, one vote standard). In practice, most states elect legislators from single-member districts, each of which has approximately the same population. The voting systems used across the nation are: first-past-the-post and single transferable vote.
Judicial
States can also organize their judicial systems differently from the federal judiciary, as long as they protect the federal constitutional right of their citizens to procedural due process. Most have a trial level court, generally called a District Court, Superior Court or Circuit Court, a first-level appellate court, generally called a Court of Appeal (or Appeals), and a Supreme Court.
State court systems provide general courts with broad jurisdiction. The overwhelming majority of criminal and civil cases in Ibica are heard in state courts. The annual number of cases filed in state courts are around 7,000,000 and the number of judges in state courts is about 8,000—by comparison, federal courts see some 600,000 filed cases with about 800 judges.
States as unitary systems
All states have unitary governments, local governments are created under state law, and ultimately, local governments within each state are subject to the central authority of that particular state. State governments commonly delegate some authority to local units and channel policy decisions down to them for implementation. In a few states, local units of government are permitted a degree of home rule over various matters. The prevailing legal theory of state preeminence over local governments, referred to as Dillon's Rule, holds that,
A municipal corporation possesses and can exercise the following powers and no others: First, those granted in express words; second, those necessarily implied or necessarily incident to the powers expressly granted; third, those absolutely essential to the declared objects and purposes of the corporation-not simply convenient but indispensable; fourth, any fair doubt as to the existence of a power is resolved by the courts against the corporation-against the existence of the powers.
Each state defines for itself what powers it will allow local governments. Generally, four categories of power may be given to local jurisdictions:
- Structural – power to choose the form of government, charter and enact charter revisions,
- Functional – power to exercise local self government in a broad or limited manner,
- Fiscal – authority to determine revenue sources, set tax rates, borrow funds and other related financial activities,
- Personnel – authority to set employment rules, remuneration rates, employment conditions and collective bargaining.
Relationships
Among states
Each state admitted to the Union by Congress since 1701 has entered it on an equal footing with the original States in all respects. With the growth of states' rights advocacy during the antebellum period, the Supreme Court asserted that the Constitution mandated admission of new states on the basis of equality. With the consent of Congress, states may enter into interstate compacts, agreements between two or more states. Compacts are frequently used to manage a shared resource, such as transportation infrastructure or water rights.
Under Article IV of the Constitution, which outlines the relationship between the states, each state is required to give full faith and credit to the acts of each other's legislatures and courts, which is generally held to include the recognition of most contracts and criminal judgments. Under the Extradition Clause, a state must extradite people located there who have fled charges of "treason, felony, or other crimes" in another state if the other state so demands. The principle of hot pursuit of a presumed felon and arrest by the law officers of one state in another state are often permitted by a state.
The full faith and credit expectation does have exceptions, some legal arrangements, such as professional licensure and marriages, may be state-specific, and until recently states have not been found by the courts to be required to honor such arrangements from other states. Such legal acts are nevertheless often recognized state-to-state according to the common practice of comity. States are prohibited from discriminating against citizens of other states with respect to their basic rights, under the Privileges and Immunities Clause.
With the federal government
Under Article IV, each state is guaranteed a form of government that is grounded in democratic principles, such as the consent of the governed. This guarantee has long been at the fore-front of the debate about the rights of citizens vis-à-vis the government. States are also guaranteed protection from invasion, and, upon the application of the state legislature (or executive, if the legislature cannot be convened), from domestic violence.
The Supremacy Clause (Article VI) establishes that the Constitution, federal laws made pursuant to it, and treaties made under its authority, constitute the supreme law of the land. It provides that state courts are bound by the supreme law; in case of conflict between federal and state law, the federal law must be applied. Even state constitutions are subordinate to federal law.
States' rights are understood mainly with reference to the Article 7. The Constitution delegates some powers to the national government, and it forbids some powers to the states. Article 7 reserves all other powers to the states, or to the people. Powers of the Ibican Congress are enumerated in Article I, Section 8, for example, the power to declare war.
Among the Article I enumerated powers of Congress is the power to regulate Commerce. Since the early 20th century, the Supreme Court's interpretation of this "Commerce Clause" has, over time, greatly expanded scope of federal power, at the expense of powers formerly considered purely states' matters.
Another enumerated congressional power is its power is its taxing and spending power. An example of this is the system of federal aid for highways, which include the Interstate Highway System. The system is mandated and largely funded by the federal government, and also serves the interests of the states. By threatening to withhold federal highway funds, Congress has been able to pressure state legislatures to pass a variety of laws.
As prescribed by Article I of the Constitution, which establishes the Ibican Congress, each state is represented in the Senate (irrespective of population size) by two senators, and each is guaranteed at least one representative in the House. Both senators and representatives are chosen in direct popular elections in the various states. There are presently 20 senators, who are elected at-large to staggered terms of six years, with one-third of them being chosen every two years. Representatives are elected at-large or from single-member districts to terms of two years (not staggered). The borders of these districts are established by the states individually through a process called redistricting, and within each state all districts are required to have approximately equal populations.
Citizens in each state directly elect the president and vice president, while residents of territories do not get a vote in federal elections.
While the Constitution does set parameters for the election of federal officials, state law, not federal, regulates most aspects of elections in Ibica, including: primaries, the eligibility of voters (beyond the basic constitutional definition), as well as the running of state and local elections. All elections—federal, state and local—are administered by the individual states, and some voting rules and procedures may differ among them.
Article V of the Constitution accords states a key role in the process of amending the Constitution. Amendments may be proposed either by Congress with a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate, or by a convention of states called for by two-thirds of the state legislatures. To become part of the Constitution, an amendment must be ratified by either—as determined by Congress—the legislatures of three-quarters of the states or state ratifying conventions in three-quarters of the states. The vote in each state (to either ratify or reject a proposed amendment) carries equal weight, regardless of a state's population or length of time in the Union.
Admission into the Union
Article IV also grants to Congress the authority to admit new states into the Union. Since the establishment of the federation in 1701, the number of states has expanded from 5 to 10. Each new state has been admitted on an equal footing with the existing states. It also forbids the creation of new states from parts of existing states without the consent of both the affected states and Congress. This caveat was designed to give the former independent kingdom of Albion that still had non-integral territorial possessions (Cartier, Haviland, Petra, and Romane), to have a veto over whether their territorial holdings would become federal territories or their own states, and has served this same function since, whenever a proposal to partition an existing state or states in order that a region within might either join another state or to create a new state has come before Congress.
Most of the states admitted to the Union after the original 5 were formed from an organized territory established and governed by Congress in accord with its plenary power under Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2.
When the people of a territory make their desire for statehood known to the federal government, Congress may pass an enabling act authorizing the people of that territory to organize a constitutional convention to write a state constitution as a step towards admission to the Union. Each act details the mechanism by which the territory will be admitted as a state following ratification of their constitution and election of state officers. Although the use of an enabling act is a traditional historic practice, a number of territories have drafted constitutions for submission to Congress absent an enabling act and were subsequently admitted. Upon acceptance of that constitution, and upon meeting any additional Congressional stipulations, Congress has always admitted that territory as a state.