Winner of the 2008 Textbook Excellence Award from the Text and Academic Authors Association (College Humanities/Social Sciences category)!

The fifty states and the many cities and localities are about as diverse as can be—but why do they differ? And how do political scientists account for those differences? In a unique collaboration, political scientist Kevin Smith has teamed up with Governing magazine journalists Alan Greenblatt and Michele Mariani to provide the answers. In this comprehensive, well researched, and engaging text, the authors present the most current information on states and localities in fresh, accessible prose. Similarities between states make meaningful comparisons possible.

But their differences—in institutional structures, laws and regulations, culture and history, demographics, economy, and geography—provide the perspective students need to answer crucial questions about politics and government.

Excellent Coverage, Exceptional Writing
This new edition continues to take full advantage of Governing’s insightful, timely, and lively reporting, blending it with top quality scholarship to provide current and comprehensive coverage of state political institutions, processes, and public policy. Starting with the essentials, the authors cover the institutional bases, from federalism and constitutions to legislatures, executives, and the courts; as well as the ins and outs of party politics, elections, voting behavior, and the structure and politics of local and regional governments. They then discuss in rich detail key policy areas such as finances and budgeting, education, health and welfare, and crime.

New to this Edition

• A brand new chapter devoted to regional government and metropolitics has been added to expand coverage of local governments.
• Many new chapter opening vignettes cover recent events and important issues to bring the politics of states and localities to life for students.
• The lessons of Hurricane Katrina for federalism and intergovernmental relations have been integrated throughout.
• Facts and figures have been comprehensively updated—demographic and fiscal data, as well as elections results.
• Expanded coverage of interest groups.
• More real world policy examples—on the environment, education, security, and a host of other issues—help students better grasp how politics becomes practice at the state and local levels.

An Understanding of What Appeals to Students and Instructors
The text features well-integrated, pedagogically rich tools to help enhance students’ understanding of the comparative method. The text’s effective full-color design engages and keeps students focused.

• More than thirty-five full-color fifty-state maps allow students to readily grasp crucial points of comparison.
• Well-designed and completely updated tables and figures present the latest data at a glance.
• A Difference that Makes a Difference boxes highlight the importance of the comparative method, applying the book’s analytic framework.
• Local Focus boxes show how intergovernmental relations impact localities, and vice versa.
• Policy in Practice boxes give examples of how federal, state, and local policies are actually implemented, with an eye towards the costs and benefits to citizens, encouraging students to think critically.

Free Governing Subscription!
Bring the latest in state and local coverage to your lectures and seminars with a free subscription to Governing magazine, the best source for issues and trends in state and local government. Contact us at collegesales@cqpress.com for more information.

Package Available!
Order Governing States and Localities, 2nd Edition with CQ Press’s annual reader State and Local Government, 2007-2008 Edition, edited by Kevin B. Smith, for a discount!

Map of the United States
Preface
List of Tables, Figures, and Maps
Boxed Features

1. Introduction: They Tax Dogs in West Virginia, Don’t They?
The Impact of State and Local Politics on Daily Life
The Comparative Method in Practice: Yes, They Really Do Tax Dogs in West Virginia
Recognizing the Stakes
Conclusion

2. Federalism: The Power Plan
Systems of Power
Why Federalism?: The Origins of the Federal System in the United States
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Federalism
The Constitutional Basis of Federalism
The Development of Federalism
The Supreme Court: The Umpire of Federalism
Conclusion

3. Constitutions: Operating Instructions
What State Constitutions Do: It’s Probably Different than You Think
The Evolution of State Constitutions
The First Generation of State Constitutions
Formal Constitutional Changes
Informal Methods for Changing Constitutions
Why State Constitutions Vary
How State Constitutions Differ
Constitutions for Local Government?
Conclusion

4. Political Attitudes and Participation: Venting and Voting
Elections
What Elections are Used for
Public Opinion
Conclusion

5. Parties and Interest Groups: Elephants, Donkeys, and Cash Cows
A Primer on Political Parties
State Party Regulation and Finance
Party Competition
Third Parties and No Party at All
Interest Groups and Lobbies
Conclusion

6. Legislatures: The Art of Herding Cats
The Job of Legislatures
Organization and Operation of Legislatures
State Legislators
The Citizen’s Whipping Boy
Conclusion

7. Governors and Executives: There is No Such Thing as Absolute Power
The Job of Governor
The Powers of Governors
Becoming Governor and Staying Governor
Other Executive Offices
Conclusion

8. Courts: Turning Law into Politics
The Role and Structure of State Court
Selecting Judges
Judicial Compensation
Prosecution and Defense of Cases in State Courts
The Case for Court Reform
Conclusion

9. Bureaucracy: What Nobody Wants but Everybody Needs
What is Bureaucracy?
What does the Bureaucracy Do?
What is “Enough” Bureaucracy?
Measuring Bureaucratic Effectiveness: It does a Better Job than You Think
The Transformation of State Bureaucracy: From Patronage to Professionalism
Politics and the Merit System
If Not Merit … then What?
E-Government
Conclusion

10. Local Government: Function Follows Form
The Many Faces of Local Government
The Organization and Responsibilities of Local Governments
Municipalities
Working within Limits: The Powers and Constraints of Local Government
Participation in Local Government
The Road Ahead
Conclusion

11. Metropolitics: The Hole Government Problem
The Missing Level of Government
Sprawl—How Metropolitan Regions Grow
The Cons of Metropolitan Growth
Government Reform in Metropolitan Areas
The Case Against Reform: Public Choice and the Tiebout Model
Rural Metropolitics
Conclusion

12. Finances: Filling the Till and Paying the Bills
Show Me the Money: Where State Revenues Come From
The Budget Process
Conclusion

13. Education: Reading,Writing, and Regulation
Organization and Leadership: Schools Have Many Bosses
Money Matters
New Pressure to Perform
Many Brands on the School Reform Shelf
Choosing Wisely
Can’t Tell the Players without a Program
Issues to Watch
Conclusion

14. Crime and Punishment
Private Wrongs, Public Justice
Common Law, Sovereign Power
The Purpose of Punishment
New Freedoms, New Fears
The War on Drugs
Crack Cocaine
Harsher Punishments and Penalties: Prison Nation
The Return of Policing
Community Policing vs. the Professional Model
A Return to Community Policing
Crime, Punishment, and the Essence of Modern America
Issues to Watch
Conclusion

15. Health and Welfare Policy: State, Heal Thyself!
How Government Got into the Health Care Biz
The Idea of a Social Safety Net
The Birth of the American Safety Net
A Multi-Billion $ Afterthought
Oops!
The Devolution Revolution
Welfare Reform
The Feds Falter
The Rise of the Health Care State
A Promising Beginning
Does it Work?
The Return of Rising Costs
Local Government and the Wider Constellation of Health Issues
What is Good Health Anyway?
The Future of Devolution

Winner of the 2008 Textbook Excellence Award from the Text and Academic Authors Association (College Humanities/Social Sciences category)!

“I have been teaching a state politics course for eighteen years. I have used about five different texts during that time, and I rank this book #1. Smith, Greenblatt, and Mariani have a real winner; their book beats thecompetitors in terms of substance, style, and attractive resentation of current material. Governing States and Localities is engaging and well-written. Its approach to opics helps students to learn and remember what they read. Its engaging reportorial style and well-organized coverage within and across chapters helps to sustain tudents’ interest and facilitates their ability to ascertain the important from the merely interesting.”

- David H. Folz, University of Tennessee

“Governing States and Localities' strength is its accessibility. The material is presented clearly, its use of highlighted quotes draws interest, and the chapters make good use of cases and current political issues. The authors also weave excellent supporting quotes from academics and state and local practitioners into the text. These factors make it much more dynamic than comparable state and local texts. The book provides a wide range of supporting examples from every state; students are sure to find the book relevant no matter where they are from.”

- Dana Michael Harsell, University of North Dakota

“Governing States and Localities is exceptional in keeping students engaged and in explaining and providing examples of important concepts of state and local politics. It is extremely well written and a very good read. The quality and tone of the discussion are quite balanced and clear. The scope and content of state and local politics is vast and can be dull for students, especially non-majors: this textbook keeps them engaged with well-written real-life stories, providing many opportunities for class discussion.”

- Michael E. Greenberg, Shippensburg University

Kevin B. Smith is professor of political science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is the author of The Ideology of Education and numerous scholarly articles on state politics and policy. He is also a former associate editor of State Politics & Policy Quarterly. Prior to becoming an academic he covered state and local politics as a newspaper reporter.

Alan Greenblatt has been writing about politics and government in Washington and the states for more than a decade. As a reporter at Congressional Quarterly, he won the National Press Club’s Sandy Hume award for political journalism. Since joining the staff of Governing magazine, he has covered issues of concern to state and local governments, including budgets, taxes, and higher education. Along the way, he has written about politics and culture for numerous publications, including the Washington Post and the San Francisco Chronicle.

Michele Mariani is a senior associate with The Pew Center on the States, a division of The Pew Charitable Trusts, where she counts among her projects the Government Performance Project, a regular assessment of government management. Prior to joining the Pew Trusts, she wrote for Governing magazine.

IMPROVED ANCILLARY MATERIALS FOR STUDENT REVIEW AND COURSE PREP
Created by Christopher W. Larimer, University of Northern Iowa

Student Web site
http://college.cqpress.com/govstateandlocal

• Clear chapter summaries with online review questions to gauge comprehension
• A set of self-testing factual, conceptual, and vocabulary-based quiz questions with instant results that can be emailed to instructors
• A complete set of online flashcards to help review key terms
• Annotated Web links to important online resources
• Additional material from Governing.com offers students a wealth of data and information, as well as current reporting on what’s happening today in states and localities

Instructor’s Resources
Quality classroom-ready materials available free to adopters. Please email us at collegesales@cqpress.com for more information.

• Test Bank of more than 800 true/false, multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, and short essay questions available with user-friendly Respondus test generation software. Customize your exams, scramble and create different versions, and offer print or online tests (compatible with Blackboard, WebCT, and eCollege).
• Over 250 PowerPoint Lecture Slides specially tailored to the book carefully detail core concepts and underscore comparative principles.
• Instructor’s Manual with clear chapter summaries, lecture outlines, talking points for discussions and lectures, and sample syllabi.
• A set of more than 100 "Clicker" Slides for use with student response systems allow instructors to check student comprehension and ask survey-type or polling questions linked to chapter content.
• Transparency Masters and Slides of every table, figure, and map in the book for use while lecturing, in discussion groups, or for importing into test materials.

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