Table of Contents
Part I: Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations
1. Stephen C. Fehr. 2009. “Obama: A Change in Direction.” State Legislatures. January: 12-14.
A new president offers an opportunity for a new working relationship between state and federal governments. Big problems create pressure on both parties to get that new relationship right.
2. Josh Goodman. 2008. “A Government Adrift.” Governing. August.
South Carolina’s 1895 Constitution creates a horse and buggy government. That’s bad news for reformers trying to make things work in the age of the internet.
3. Kevin M. Esterling. 2008. “Does the Federal Government Learn from the States?: Medicaid and the Limits of Expertise in the Intergovernmental Lobby.” Publius. September: 1-21.
When state and national government policy interests diverge it can lead to a failure of federalism. As the case of Medicaid demonstrates, this means hard earned state expertise does not always contribute to better public policy.
4. Josh Lohmer. 2009. “An Issue of Sovereignty.” State Legislatures. February: 16-19.
States and the United States are not the only sovereign governments in America. Sovereign Native American nations are seeking to assert their independence from both.
5. Alan Greenblatt. 2008. “The Corruption Puzzle.” Governing.
Some relationships between state, local and federal officials are not so cozy. Is there a national epidemic of sleaze at the state and local level or are federal prosecutors out of control?
Part II: Elections and Political Environment
6. Tim Story and Edward Smith. 2008. “Making History.” State Legislatures. December: 14-17.
Democrats score big electoral gains in the states, but the GOP stays strong in the South.
7. Josh Goodman. 2008. “Pushing the Envelope.” Governing. May.
Considered going postal with your ballot? You’re not alone. When it comes to elections, more and more citizens are just mailing it in.
8. Stephen Ansolabehere. 2009. “Effects of Identification Requirements on Voting: Evidence from the Experiences of Voters on Election Day.” PS: Political Science & Politics. January: 127-130
Some states want to card you at the voting booth. Is this a necessary protection for clean elections, or an ugly way to intimidate certain groups of voters? Whatever the intent, the outcome seems to suggest the answer to this question is neither.
9. Jennie Drage Browser. 2009. “Battle for the Ballot.” State Legislatures. January: 18-19.
The agents of representative democracy (state legislators) try to reign in the agents of direct democracy. Depending on who you talk to the latter is either you the noble citizen or them the not-so-noble special interest groups who have set up an entire industry on the notion of making laws without lawmakers.
Part III: Parties and Special Interest Groups
10. Alan Greenblatt. 2008. “Blueburbs.” Governing. October.
Suburban voters are changing colors, increasingly swapping Republican red for Democratic blue. The implications for politics at the local, state and national level of this shift are enormous.
11. Shane D’Aprile. 2008. “It’s No Party for Republican Moderates.” Politics. May: 31-35.
After years of steady retreat from conservatives, Republican moderates decide to fight for the soul of their party. It’s a fight that will be decided at the street – that is, the state and local – level.
12. Peggy Kearns. 2009. “The Influence Business.” State Legislatures. January: 20-23.
Nobody wants to stick up for lobbyists. Maybe that’s a shame; lobbyists actually do democracy some good.
Part IV: Legislatures
13. Rob Gurwitt. 2009. “Death and Life in the Pressroom.” Governing. January.
With traditional media in the business doldrums, the number of reporters covering state legislatures is dwindling. Does the pressroom have a digital future?
14. Alan Greenblatt. 2008. “Austin’s Surprise Speaker.” Governing. March
Legislative leaders elected with the backing of the minority party have an easier time building consensus. The post-partisan legislature may be a long way off, but the emergence of more coalitional government is already here.
15. Thomas Stucky, Geralyn Miller and Linda Murphy. 2008. “Gender, Guns, and Legislating: An Analysis of State Legislative Policy Preferences.” Journal of Women, Politics & Policy. 29: 477-495.
How a legislature handles a given policy issue may depend on its gender balance. Not just on women’s issues, but on broader policy topics like gun control.
Part V: Governors and Executives
16. Rob Gurwitt. 2009. “The Ordeal of David Paterson.” Governing. March
New York Gov. David Paterson wanted change, and to help bring change he had the goodwill of the legislature and partisan majorities in both chambers. It turns out, that’s not enough.
17. Josh Goodman. 2009. “The Second Best Job in the State.” Governing. April.
The map to the governor’s mansion leads many ambitious politicians to the attorney general’s office. AG’s are increasingly governors-in-waiting, and they have plenty of high profile things to do while waiting for a shot at the top executive office.
18. Margaret Ferguson and Cynthia Bowling. 2008. “Executive Orders and Administrative Control.” Public Administration Review. December: S20-S28.
In the 1993 the National Commission on the Sate and Local Public Service (better known as the “Winter Commission”) called for governors to be given more power to control the executive branch. Institutional reforms have yet to fully centralize executive power in gubernatorial hands, but executive orders may provide one route to follow up on the Winter Commission recommendation.
Part VI: Courts
19. James Gibson. 2008. “Noiser, Costlier – and Better.” Miller-McCune.
If you are going to use the ballot box to select judges, you have to be prepared to deal with the natural consequences of competitive democratic elections. That means politicized judicial elections, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
20. Shane D’Aprile. 2008. “Verdicts for Sale?” Politics. October: 37-39.
Money and mudslinging in judicial elections, and the winning judges who decide on cases involving their electoral patrons, are prompting increasing calls to reform how we select state judges.
21. Brian Frederick and Matthew Streb. 2008. “Paying the Price for a Seat on the Bench: Campaign Spending in Contested State Intermediate Appellate Court Elections.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly. 8: 410-429.
Little is known about campaign spending in state courts of appeals. How much is being spent on contests for these appellate court seats, and does it influence who ends up on the bench?
Part VII: Bureaucracy
22. Will Wilson. 2009. “Second Spin.” Governing. January.
The baby boom generation is retiring and leaving behind a public sector with a recruiting problem. Who will replace the boomers in public service? How about more boomers?
23. Jonathan Walters. 2008. “A Tower of Tiers.” Governing. May.
One way to solve looming problems with public pension funds is to offer a new generation of public sector employees unequal pay for equal work. This might help the finances, but will it hurt recruiting and create a political problem along the way?
24. Jonathan Walters 2008. “Novices With Numbers.” Governing. December.
Performance measurement has caught on with just about everywhere except public administration graduate training. The shift to outcome-oriented governance requires a new approach to preparing a new generation of public administrators.
25. David Ammons and Joshua Edwards. 2008. “Misrepresentation of Staffing Standards for Police.” State and Local Government Review. 40: 186-194.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police denies that police staffing standards exist. That hasn’t stopped a wide range of law enforcement agencies using staffing standards to ask for more money.
Part VIII: Local Government
26. Josh Goodman. 2008. “Attempted Merger.” Governing.
States are pushing local governments into mergers and consolidations. Local governments are pushing back.
27. Peter Gess and Nicole Sanders. 2008. “Governing A Diverse Community: The Effect of Experiential and Cross-Cultural Learning on Georgia Local Government Officials.” State and Local Government Review. 40: 75-83.
Increasing immigrant populations are creating challenges for local government officials. This study shows a little cross-cultural understanding can help.
28. Josh Goodman. 2009. “Radical Renewal.” Governing.
Minneapolis Mayor Rybak takes an unconventional approach to local economic development. It seems to be working.
29. Doug Daniels. 2008. “Welcome to Jersey City Politics.” Politics. May: 25-29.
Jersey City politics have been dirty, rough, and sometimes downright weird, for more than a century. Part IX: Budgets and Taxes 30. Edward Smith. 2009. “A Grim Forecast.” State Legislatures. February: 12-15.
The pain of a fiscal crisis in the states is likely to linger for some time.
31. Garry Boulard. 2009. “The Big Squeeze.” State Legislatures. May: 12-15.
Faced with dwindling funding, state colleges and universities are trying to come up with their own solutions to budget challenges.
32. Penelope Lemov. 2009. “A Break in the Levy.” Governing. February.
Property taxes have always been a local government’s hedge against the recession revenue blues. Not this time.
33. Jonathan Walters. 2008. “Turning the Lottery Loose.” Governing. September.
There are plenty of ways for states to pull more revenue out of their games. All of them face substantial political hurdles. Part X: Policy Challenges 34. Mikel Chavers. 2009. “Stimulating Growth.” State News. January: 24-26.
Faced with the biggest recession of a generation, state governments accelerate projects that put shovels in the dirt and people to work.
35. Rachel Brand. 2009. “Medicaid: Under the Weather.” State Legislatures. April: 12-16.
Medicaid is suffering from too much complexity and too little funding, and even a federal stimulus is not going to cure this program’s ills.
36. William Fulton. 2009. “The Dying Auto Mall.” Governing. March.
Auto dealerships were long viewed as cash cows for public coffers. As the economy drags the car business down, local governments have to figure out a way to keep a vital part of their tax base alive for the long term.
37. Ellen Perlman. 2009. “See Thru Government.” Governing. May.
Getting money is a big problem for state governments these days. Turns out spending it isn’t so easy either.
