What is the difference between federal, state and local government?

#One address, several governments

Wherever you live, several governments work at the same time. Each has its own leaders, budget and legal powers. The federal government uses the powers the Constitution gives it. States keep the powers the Constitution does not give to the national government or deny to the states. Local governments, such as counties, cities, townships and school districts, are created by the state. State law decides how much each one can do. Some states give local governments more room to act through "home rule."

#Who handles common tasks

• Passports: the State Department, part of the federal government.
• Driver’s licenses: your state’s motor vehicle agency.
• Zoning: a city, borough, township or county, depending on where you live.
• Public schools: a separate school district in most states. In some states, schools are run by a city, county or state agency instead.
• Property assessment: it varies by state. In Pennsylvania, counties assess property for tax purposes.
• Income tax: the federal government, and in some places the state and local governments too. Pennsylvania, for example, allows local earned income taxes.

#When federal and state law conflict

The Constitution makes itself, federal laws made under it and treaties "the supreme Law of the Land." When a valid federal law truly conflicts with a state law, the federal law wins. That rule does not turn state or local officials into federal employees. Governors, mayors and county commissioners are chosen under state and local law, not by the federal government. They work under their own constitutions, charters and laws. Outside the federal government’s powers, states set their own rules.

#No single local chain of command

Local governments sit side by side more than they sit above one another. A county, a city and a school district are separate governments with separate leaders. A school district can cover several municipalities. Pennsylvania, for example, has 2,555 municipalities but only 500 school districts. Working in the same town does not put a mayor in charge of the county sheriff. The governor leads the state executive branch but does not make the daily decisions of local school boards. Each office takes its powers from state law or a local charter.

#Not every place has every level

The usual picture of federal, state, county, city and school district does not fit everywhere. Connecticut abolished its county governments in 1960 and moved their duties to the state. Rhode Island has county areas but no county governments. Washington, DC, has no state or county government in Census Bureau counts. Tribal nations are separate again: the Bureau of Indian Affairs lists 575 federally recognized tribes, which keep their own powers of self-government.

#How to find the right office

Start with the service, not the title, and ask which government provides it where you live. For a passport, the federal government is responsible, and for a driver’s license, your state is. For local streets, zoning or trash pickup, start with your city, borough or township, and for school questions, contact your school district. If a service is not listed on your municipality’s website, your county’s website is the next place to look.