3.3 State Administration

At the state level, the following constellations can be distinguished: delegated federal administration (or state administration on behalf of the Federation) provides for the states to discharge administrative functions for the Federation. In spatial planning, the most important example of delegated federal administration is the planning, building, and maintenance of federal motorways and highways. State administration, in contrast, is concerned with carrying out state laws and carrying out federal laws that do not as a rule belong to a different type of administration. The states discharge these functions in their own right. Administrative competence and structures in the states, as at the federal level, are extraordinarily differentiated from a legal, organisational, and material point of view because administration is organised by the states themselves. State administration performs tasks within the exclusive remit of the state.95 This is the case with schools, the police, and state spatial planning. Moreover, most federal laws are also carried out by the state in its own right and responsibility. This is the case for urban planning law, industrial law, and for much of environmental law.

Organisational Aspects
Administrative structures in the states are characterised by collaboration between public authorities (direct public administration) and local autonomous agencies (indirect public administration).96

The highest level of general public administration is constituted by state ministries with their specific areas of responsibility (e.g., finance, economics, justice).97
The intermediate level of public administration in most states is entrusted to administrative districts, termed Regierungsbezirke. With the exception of the city states and smaller non-city states like Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, and Saarland, the states have divided their territory into such administrative districts each with a district authority (Regierungspräsidium).98 These district authorities (called Bezirksregierung in some states) discharge all functions in the district not entrusted to special purpose authorities. District authorities are responsible for horizontal coordination, as well as vertical mediation and supervision functions between ministries and both lower state authorities and local authorities/municipalities. This intermediate authority is headed by a chief executive with the title of Regierungspräsident. Among the major functions of the Regierungspräsidium is state spatial planning.
The lower level of public administration in the states is formed by counties (Landkreise) each under a county administration (Landratsamt or Kreisverwaltung) or the mayor's offices (Bürgermeisterämter) of county-free cities (kreisfreie Städte). In these county-free cities, which are generally cities with a population of over 100,000, the county and municipal level coincide. Some governmental functions are discharged by the mayor's office of major county towns (große Kreisstädte). A große Kreisstadt is a larger town or city forming part of a county. If, in its capacity as a lower administrative authority, it performs government functions (e.g., as building authority), it is bound by instructions and subject to functional supervision by the district authority (Regierungspräsidium).99
In addition to the general state administration outlined above (district authorities and counties), there are special public authorities at the intermediate and lower levels of administration with various degrees of specialisation (e.g., state school authority with central and local supervisory boards (Oberschulamt and Schulamt)). In this context, too, various models of administrative organisation have been adopted by the different states.

 


95 Cf. Katz, Staatsrecht, Rn. 472, 235.
96 Cf. Badura, Staatsrecht, G Rn. 52 ff., 617 ff.
97 Cf. Badura, Staatsrecht, G Rn. 53, 617.
98 Lower Saxony, however, a relatively large non-city state has recently abolished these intermediate authorities.
99 Cf. Badura, Staatsrecht, G Rn. 53, 617.