Government: Local and State — Answer Key
Part A: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. Tax money pays for public services like fire trucks and ambulances.
Public means "for everyone," and services like fire trucks and ambulances respond to any person in the community, which is why they are called public services.
2. On election day, citizens go to a polling place to vote.
A polling place is set up just for election day so citizens can mark a ballot in private and choose the leaders or answers they want — that's what voting is.
3. The state legislature is a group of elected officials who write state laws.
Legislature comes from the word "legislate," meaning to make laws, and the state legislature is the elected group whose whole purpose is to do exactly that.
4. A city council is a group of people who help the mayor govern the city.
A city council is the team of elected members who meet with the mayor to vote on budgets, rules, and plans, sharing the job of running the city together.
5. The government collects taxes from citizens to pay for roads and schools.
Building roads and running schools costs a lot of money, so governments collect taxes — small amounts from many citizens — to pool enough funds for these big projects.
6. The governor signs new laws and leads the state government.
The governor is the top executive of the state, so once the legislature passes a bill, it is the governor who signs it and turns it into a state law.
7. People who break laws may have to pay a fine or go to court.
A court is where judges decide if someone broke a law and what should happen next, so people accused of breaking laws often have to appear there.
8. Local government hires police officers to keep neighborhoods safe.
Keeping streets and homes safe is a local job, so cities and towns use tax money to hire and train police officers who patrol their own neighborhoods.
9. A mayor is the elected leader of a city or town.
The mayor is the top elected official at the city level, chosen by the people who live there to lead the local government and represent the community.
Part B: Matching
Match each item on the left to the correct answer on the right.
1. Match each item to its correct answer.
Taxes
→ Money citizens pay for services
Makes laws for a city
Voting
→ How citizens choose leaders
How citizens choose leaders
State legislature
→ Makes laws for a state
Money citizens pay for services
City council
→ Makes laws for a city
Makes laws for a state
Taxes are the payments citizens send in that fund shared services; voting is the ballot-box way people pick who will lead; the state legislature writes laws for the whole state; and a city council focuses on rules for just its own city.