What Powers Do State Governments Hold?

Civics Crash Course Lesson 4

Constitutional Design

American democracy exists within a federal system. Federalism is a form of government that is divided between a central authority and smaller units of power. In the United States, the central authority is the national government seated in Washington, D.C., and the smaller units are our state governments. While the U.S. Constitution delegates crucial powers to the national (federal) government, a significant amount of authority has been set aside for states.

The Constitution grants enumerated powers to Congress in Article I and expressed powers to the president in Article II. While Article IV establishes parameters for state relations, the last amendment to the Bill of Rights is the cornerstone of state power. This 10th Amendment reserves for states or the people any powers that are not

• delegated to the federal government by the Constitution
• forbidden or denied within the Constitution

The founders saw fit to explicitly state and thereby contain the powers delegated to the new national government. They were keenly aware of the necessity of having a robust government at the state level. James Madison explained that: 

“The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite…” The Federalist No. 45

“...the powers proposed to be lodged in the federal government are as little formidable to those reserved to the individual States, as they are indispensably necessary to accomplish the purposes of the Union…” The Federalist No. 46

State Checks and Balances

In order to create a system of government to protect our rights and freedoms, the Constitution limits the powers the national government may exercise. Power divided between levels (national and state) and branches (judicial, legislative, and executive) safeguards against abuses of power concentrated at any one level or branch.

Indeed, state governments act as a formidable check on overreaches by national institutions. At times, states attempt to push back against national policies through informal means such public condemnations, lobbying, or declining to share data/resources. If necessary, states also hold the formal authority to curb the federal government’s ambitions by:

• declining to ratify U.S. Constitutional amendments 
• suing the federal government or challenging federal laws in court
• implementing federal laws in a manner that upholds principles set forth in state constitutions
• resisting enforcement of objectionable federal policies

States may also collaborate in opposing federal action. For example, nineteen states recently filed a lawsuit together in response to President Trump’s executive order restricting voting rights. ⁽¹⁾

James Madison predicted that states might effectively band together in response to encroachments by the federal government. Opposition from states…

“...would be signals of general alarm…Plans of resistance would be concerted. One spirit would animate and conduct the whole.” He asserted that states would be able to effectively “repel the danger” brought by the federal government. The Federalist No. 46

At times, states act not only to restrain the federal government’s powers, but to counter other states’ policies. After the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision returned the regulation of abortion to states:

• Many states have considered, resurrected, or passed laws to restrict residents from seeking abortions 
• Some of these states now impose criminal and civil penalties on individuals and entities providing access both inside and outside of the state
• Twenty-two states that protect reproductive rights have enacted shield laws to protect providers from these penalties ⁽²⁾
   

The U.S. Supreme Court may weigh in on whether states can impose their laws outside of their borders and how to interpret the Full Faith and Credit Clause in Article IV of the Constitution in this matter.

Reserved Powers in Our Daily Life

State government does not exist solely to combat federal excesses or challenge the authority of other states. Their domain extends well beyond the realm of checks and balances.

James Madison envisioned that authority in our federal system would be divided such that state government would:

… concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, 

improvement, and prosperity of the State. The operations of the federal government

 will be most extensive and important in times of war and danger; those of the

 State governments, in times of peace and security. The Federalist No. 45

State governments play a central role in our lives. Notably, these reserved powers have traditionally included jurisdiction over:

• public education
• conducting elections and making voting laws
• marriage and divorce laws
• licensing professionals such as doctors, lawyers, and teachers 
• licensing activities such as driving and hunting
• extending some autonomy to local and county governments through “home rule”
• regulating commerce within a state
• setting health guidelines

In addition to these reserved powers, states share some powers with the national government. These concurrent powers include:

• taxing, spending, and borrowing money
• providing for the general welfare
• maintaining public safety
• establishing courts
• defining crimes and determining punishments
• creating property rules and exercising eminent domain

To personalize the degree to which state governments touch our lives, consider the first few hours of a typical morning in which you:

• awake in a home zoned and taxed by your local government
• wash with water sourced and regulated by your state 
• interact with family, perhaps including
  • a partner you may or may not be able to legally marry in accordance with state laws
  • parents who receive state benefits
  • children whose education is governed and funded by state laws 
• consume breakfast food that may have been 
  • subject to sales tax 
  • labeled in accordance with state laws 
  • sold by vendors regulated by your municipality 
• commute on sidewalks and streets maintained by state and local powers
• use state or local public transportation traveling at a speed limit they set (or travel in a car that is registered in your state and taxed by your municipality)
• head to a workplace that must comply with state standards to protect staff and the environment

Drawbacks and Benefits of State Power

There are wide variations in state laws. These differences spring from divergent political cultures in our pluralistic republic. Ideally, these laws and policies reflect the will of the people living in a state without straying from the principles set forth in the U.S. Constitution.

State power has proven to be harmful throughout American history, especially for African-Americans’ horrendous experiences with enslavement, segregation, denial of voting rights, discrimination at school/work, policing, and incarceration.

Many Americans continue to receive unequal protections depending on where they happen to live, especially:

• women
• racial and ethnic minorities
• citizens reentering from incarceration
• LGBTQ+ people 
• disabled citizens

In addition to the denial of fundamental rights, conflicting state policies can be problematic for Americans who cross state lines for work, leisure, and family care. Regulations vary for gun laws, environmental protection, educational standards, and healthcare access.

Yet when the federal government itself is either gridlocked or imperious,

state governments also serve as a refuge for many Americans.

States help limit the tyranny of the majority. In a system of majority rule at the national level, it’s possible that 49.9% of the nation may disagree with statutes and orders set forth in Washington, D.C.. Regardless of whether a minority stance is sizable, our nation values the constitutional right to protect individual freedoms and personal rights. State governments can mitigate the sweeping effects of national majoritarian rule.

States serve as laboratories of democracy. Over the past 250 years, states have been able to try out policy experiments that the federal government may not have the authority or consensus to enact. 

• States were first in abolishing slavery and granting the right to vote to women within their borders
• In recent years, state and local governments have been pioneers in areas ranging from administering rank choice voting to expanding access to health care

When states take the initiative to try out new approaches, they can serve as a case study for other states that are weighing policy options and assessing costs/benefits. State action can inspire shifts in popular opinion across the entire country as well. ⁽³⁾

States may have the ability to advance new legislative directives at a faster pace. It can be easier to build consensus within one state than between fifty states. Marriage equality, for example, began at the state level through state courts and state legislatures before gaining steam at the national level.

State governments are more closely connected to the people, and more representative. State level officials have an increased likelihood of interacting with constituents with more frequency and greater knowledge of local issues. Their districts are typically smaller and more homogeneous than a congressman’s.

The Evolution State Power

In practice, state powers have expanded and contracted over time. There have been several periods when states have attempted to assert more power.

• Our first form of government after the American Revolution was a confederation -  a loose association of states with a weak central authority - though this system failed to maintain order and adequately promote economic prosperity 
• From 1861-1865, the American Civil War was fought when states tried to secede from the union and form a confederacy (a type of confederation)
• Throughout much of the nineteenth and early twentieth century, the United States practiced Dual Federalism, an era in which states exercised a large measure of autonomy
• In the 1980s, states regained power through devolution and deregulation in the era of New Federalism

Although there have been periods of resurgence of state authority, federal power has generally trended upward since the New Deal in the 1930s. There are many reasons for this shift. Some of the factors that contribute to this increased centralization of power include:

• constitutional amendments
• judicial interpretations of authority, laws and rights
• state reliance on federal funding
• federal mandates 
• shifting political doctrines

As the political pendulum swings between assertions of state and federal authority, Americans are insulated from unfettered power through constitutional protections. We are afforded double security with power divisions between both different levels and separate branches of government. The founders’ intent was that one level (federal or state) and one branch (judicial, legislative, or executive) never gain too much control.

State level executive, legislative, and judicial policies are not a panacea for federal abuses of power. But states may be able to provide some relief, refuge and alternatives for Americans who do not feel represented or protected by the government at the national level.

1. Deepa Shivaram, “Biden Signs Executive Order on Voting as Lawsuit Targets Restrictions,” NPR, April 3, 2025, https://www.npr.org/2025/04/03/nx-s1-5351751/voting-executive-order-lawsuit.
2. The New York Times, “Tracking the States Where Abortion Is Now Banned,” last updated in 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/us/abortion-laws-roe-v-wade.ht….
3. Frances Stead Sellers, “Americans’ Views Flipped on Gay Rights. How Did Minds Change So Quickly?” Washington Post, June 7, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/americans-views-flip….
    

See More Civic Crash Courses

How Can Citizens Participate in Democracy Between Elections?

How Are Elected Officials Held to Account Between Elections?

In What Ways Are We Represented in our Representative Democracy?