Us Gov't

The three levels of government in America today are Federal, State and Local. The Federal government is in charge of legislation that affects the entire United States. The state government works on legislation that affects people in their particular state. Local government is determined by town or county and affects your local area. Federal or state laws can override local laws. The roles of each level can be found in the U.S. and state constitutions.
The U.S. Federal government is made up of three branches: the executive branch, judicial branch, legislative branch. The executive branch is responsible for enforcing the laws of the U.S., the judicial branch is our court system that decides the meaning of laws and how they are applied and the legislative branch is split into two more branches/houses; The Senate and the House of Representatives. The houses make laws and vote on them in Congress. The Federal government is also responsible for the Federal income tax, Social Security and other Federal controlled programs.
The executive branch is lead by the president of United States. The president is elected by the entire country and can only lead for four years, called a term and can serve only two terms. The president also serves as the commander in chief of our armed forces, negotiates treaties and carries out laws or approves new laws. The executive branch also includes the vice president and other cabinet officials. The cabinet is made up of 15 major departments of government the cabinet also acts as the president’s advisory panel. A list of the cabinet can be found at USA.gov and their responsibilities.
There are three solid requirements of being president of the United States: age, citizenship and residency. To be president of the U.S. you must be 35 years of age or older – the Constitution set no maximum age limit (Fun fact: the youngest president to take office was John F. Kennedy at 43 years 236 days old and the oldest was Ronald Regan at 69, shortly before turning 70 years old on February 16th). The candidate must be born a U.S. citizen, if born abroad his/her parents must be born U.S. citizens. Finally, the candidate must be living in the U.S. for at least 14 years. Skills, background and profession are not a factor; U.S. voting citizens choose who is best experienced for the position. There are no legal or constitutional requirements to be a part of the president’s selected cabinet.
The judicial branch oversees the U.S. court system and explains the meaning of laws. The criminal court/local courts interpret and carry out laws then sentence suitable punishments for local crimes. The Supreme Court is head of the judicial branch and unlike your local criminal court it decides if any act violates our constitutional right as U.S. citizens. Supreme Court decisions are final and nothing can overturn a ruling. The Supreme Court is made up of nine judges of “justices”. Justices are nominated, if there is a vacancy, by the president and the Senate vote in the nominee. Justices hold the “seat” until they are impeached or step down.
The legislative branch is split up into two “houses” the Senate and the House of Representatives. The House of Representatives has 435 elected personnel, the number of representatives for your state is based on the state population. The Senate has 100 elected personnel, two representatives for each state. The legislative branch proposes new laws and work to have them passed then enforced.
The State Government is modeled after the Federal government though each state may organize as they deem fit. Under the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, all power is not given to the federal government - it is reserved for the states and the people. State government is lead by and elected governor. Responsibilities include: state troopers, DMV, public school system and the judicial system. The executive branch is headed by a governor who is elected by the residence of the state. No two states executive branch is identical.
To qualify for governor of your state you must visit you local town hall/city hall for requirements as they would fall under the state’s Constitution. Governors are the Executive Officers of the state, not Federal Officials. A common requirement is being a residence of the state and it is not necessary to be born a U.S. citizen, but it is required to be one. Governor’s responsibilities may include passing or vetoing state bills, reporting current conditions of the state to the people, and developing the state budget.
The judicial branches for individual state are led by the Supreme Court or Highest State Court. State courts include probate court, family court, traffic court, juvenile court, small claims court and municipal court. Jurisdiction for state court is any case that does not fall exclusively in federal court authority. Examples of cases that fall in state control are:
 Cases involving the state constitution—Cases involving the interpretation of a state constitution.
 State criminal offenses—Crimes defined and/or punished by the state constitution or applicable state statute. Most crimes are state criminal offenses. They include offenses such as murder, theft, breaking and entering, and destruction of property.
 Tort and personal injury law—Civil wrongs for which a remedy may be obtained, usually in the form of damages; a breach of duty that the law imposes on everyone in the same relation to one another as those involved in a given transaction.
 Contract law—Agreements between two or more parties creating obligations that are either enforceable or otherwise recognized as law.
 Probate—The judicial process by which a testamentary document is established to be a valid will, the proving of a will to the satisfaction of a court, the distribution of a decedent's assets according to the provisions of the will, or the process whereby a decedent's assets are distributed according to state law should the decedent have died intestate.
 Family—The body of law dealing with marriage, divorce, adoption, child custody and support, and domestic-relations issues.
 Sale of goods—The law concerning the sale of goods (moveable objects) involved in commerce (especially with regards to the Uniform Commercial Code).
 Corporations and business organization—The law concerning, among other things, the establishment, dissolution, and asset distribution of corporations, partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability companies, etc.
 Election issues—The law concerning voter registration, voting in general, legislative reapportionment, etc.
 Municipal/zoning ordinances—The law involving municipal ordinances, including zoning ordinances that set aside certain areas for residential, commercial, industrial, or other development.
 Traffic regulation—A prescribed rule of conduct for traffic; a rule intended to promote the orderly and safe flow of traffic.
 Real property—Land and anything growing on, attached to, or erected on it, excluding anything that may be severed without injury to the land.
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Local governments usually are divided in two tiers: counties and municipalities, cities/towns. Cities can be developed in many ways, defined by state constitutions. Local government is further divided into districts. Districts supply functions in local government outside county or city restrictions, e.g. school districts or police protection districts and fire fighters. Local government varies greatly from state to state; it is constructed and adjusted to meet resident’s needs.
Municipalities are lead by an individual called the Mayor. The mayor is elected by the local residence and must meet a few requirements. In order to run for mayor you must be at least 25 years of age, a local resident for at least a one year and a qualified voter. Maypr responsibilities generally are budgeting for the cities maintenance (i.e. road repairs and park preservation) and over sees the local main departments (i.e. police department, housing, education and transportation) - mayor responsibilities do vary by location.