Your State, Your Laws, Your Responsibilities

In this unit, we will be exploring the purpose of government, the levels of government, branches of government, and taxes.

Study Guide

Review

Purpose of Government

Our government is made up of people who run our community, state, and country.

The government creates laws & policies to keep us safe. It also provides citizens services like firefighters, libraries, and public school.

Local Government: The 1st level of government. They create and enforce laws for cities, towns, and counties. They are lead by a mayor.

State Government: The 2nd level of government. They create and enforce laws for the state. They are lead by a governor.

Federal Government: The 3rd level of government. They create and enforce laws for the country. They are lead by a president.

What?

Responsible for making/creating laws.

Who?

Senate & House of Representatives

What?

Responsible for carrying out or executing laws.

Who?

President & Vice President

What?

Make sure that everyone is following the Constitution.

Who?

Supreme Court

Step 1: A citizen or representative comes up with an idea for a law.

Step 2: A committee researches and edits the bill.

Step 3: Congress (House of Representatives & Senate) debate and vote on the bill.

Step 4: It goes to the head of the executive branch. This is the governor or the president.

Step 5: They will then either sign it into a law or veto the law.

The head of the state executive branch is the governor. Pennsylvania's governor is Josh Shapiro.

The executive branch has many jobs. They are known mostly for enforcing the laws of the state. Other jobs include:

Local government in Pennsylvania is responsible for:

Running fire and police departments.
Making sure the community has water
Taking care of the sanitation department. This includes making sure the trash gets picked up
Taking care of parks, roads, and traffic lights
Running libraries and hospitals

What do mayors do?

Mayors manage workers. Mayors help run city departments. These include the police and sanitation departments.
Mayors make rules. Cities have laws, or rules. Mayors help decide which laws are right for their community.
Mayors solve problems. Do you see a problem in your community? Maybe a park has broken equipment. Tell your mayor. He or she might be able to help.
Mayors work with other leaders. Many cities or towns have a council. A council is a group that works with the mayor. Together, they help the town run smoothly.

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