Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-k7p5g Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-10T23:06:20.791Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Hot Districts, Cool Legislation: Evaluating Agenda Setting in Climate Change Bill Sponsorship in U.S. States

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2021

Rebecca Bromley-Trujillo ,
Mirya Holman  and
Andres Sandoval
Rebecca Bromley-Trujillo
Affiliation:
Christopher Newport University, Newport News, VA, USA
Mirya Holman*
Affiliation:
Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA
*
Mirya Holman, Tulane University, 6823 St. Charles Avenue, Norman Mayer Building, Room 316, New Orleans, LA 70118-5665, USA. Email: mholman@tulane.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

What factors influence agenda setting behavior in state legislatures in the United States? Using the localized effects of climate change, we examine whether notable changes in temperature can raise the salience of the issue, thus encouraging a legislative response. To evaluate the behavior of individual legislators around climate policy, we utilize an original data set that includes geographic mapping of climate anomalies at the state legislative district level and incorporates individual, chamber, district, and state characteristics to predict climate bill sponsorship. Using a multilevel model that estimates climate change bill sponsorship among 25,000 legislators from 2011 to 2015, we find a robust relationship between temperature anomalies and bill sponsorship for Democratic members of state legislators while Republicans are unresponsive to such factors. Our data and methodological approach allow us to examine legislative action on climate change beyond final policy passage and offers an opportunity to understand the motivations behind climate innovation in the American states.

Keywords

climate changeagenda settinggeographic information systemspolicy processpublic policyrepresentationpolicy responsiveness
Type
Research Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 19 , Issue 3 , September 2019 , pp. 375 - 395
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barnes, Tiffany D. 2016. Gendering Legislative Behavior: Institutional Constraints and Collaboration in Argentina. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baumgartner, Frank R., and Jones, Bryan D.. 1993. Agendas and Instability in American Politics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Benegal, Salil D. 2018. “The Spillover of Race and Racial Attitudes into Public Opinion about Climate Change.” Environmental Politics 27 (4): 733–756.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benegal, Salil D., and Scruggs, Lyle A.. 2018. “Correcting Misinformation about Climate Change: The Impact of Partisanship in an Experimental Setting.” Climatic Change 148(1–2): 61–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bergquist, Parrish, and Warshaw, Christopher. 2019. “Does Global Warming Increase Public Concern about Climate Change?” The Journal of Politics. doi: 10.1086/701766.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Birkland, Thomas A. 1997. After Disaster: Agenda Setting, Public Policy, and Focusing Events. Washington, DC, US: Georgetown University Press.Google Scholar
Borick, Christopher P., and Rabe, Barry G.. 2010. “A Reason to Believe: Examining the Factors That Determine Individual Views on Global Warming.” Social Science Quarterly 91:777–800.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Borick, Christopher P., and Rabe, Barry G.. 2014. “Weather or Not' Examining the Impact of Meteorological Conditions on Public Opinion regarding Global Warming.” Weather, Climate, and Society 6 (3): 413–424.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boussalis, Constantine, and Coan, Travis G.. 2016. “Text-Mining the Signals of Climate Change Doubt.” Global Environmental Change 36:89–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boussalis, Constantine, Coan, Travis G., and Holman, Mirya R.. 2018. “Climate Change Communication from Cities in the USA.” Climatic Change 149 (2): 173–187. doi: 10.1007/s10584-018-2223-1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boussalis, Constantine, Coan, Travis G., and Holman, Mirya R.. 2019. “Communicating Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Efforts in American Cities.” Climate 7 (3): 45. doi: 10.3390/cli7030045.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowen, Daniel, and Greene, Zachary. 2014. “Should We Measure Professionalism with an Index?” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 14 (3): 277–296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bromley-Trujillo, Rebecca, Butler, J. S., Poe, John, and Davis, Whitney. 2016. “The Spreading of Innovation: State Adoptions of Energy and Climate Change Policy.” Review of Policy Research 33:544–565.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bromley-Trujillo, Rebecca, and Poe, John. 2018. “The Importance of Salience: Public Opinion and State Policy Action on Climate Change.” Journal of Public Policy. Published electronically October 30. doi:10.1017/S0143814X18000375.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bromley-Trujillo, Rebecca, Stoutenborough, James W., Kirkpatrick, Kellee J., and Vedlitz, Arnold. 2014. “Climate Scientists and Environmental Interest Groups: The Intersection of Expertise and Advocacy.” Politics, Groups, and Identities 2 (1): 120–134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carley, Sanya, and Miller, Chris J.. 2012. “Regulatory Stringency and Policy Drivers: A Reassessment of Renewable Portfolio Standards.” Policy Studies Journal 40:730–756.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chandler, Jess. 2009. “Trendy Solutions: Why Do States Adopt Sustainable Energy Portfolio Standards?” Energy Policy 37:3274–3281.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coan, Travis, and Holman, Mirya R.. 2008. “Voting Green.” Social Science Quarterly 89 (5): 1121–1135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cobb, Roger, and Elder, Charles. 1983. Participation in American Politics: The Dynamics of the Agenda-setting Process. 2nd ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Cressie, Noel A. C. 1993. Statistics for Spatial Data. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Doble, Ana Maria, and Caragea, Nicoleta. 2015. “Producing Small Area Estimation Using R in the Romanian Official Statistics.” Romanian Journal of Economics 40 (49): 115–125.Google Scholar
Dunlap, Riley E., Xiao, Chenyang, and McCright, Aaron M.. 2001. “Politics and Environment in America: Partisan and Ideological Cleavages in Public Support for Environmentalism.” Environmental Politics 10:23–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Egan, Patrick J., and Mullin, Megan. 2012. “Turning Personal Experience into Political Attitudes: The Effect of Local Weather on Americans' Perceptions about Global Warming.” The Journal of Politics 74:796–809.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elazar, Daniel Judah. 1994. The American Mosaic: The Impact of Space, Time, and Culture on American Politics. Boulder: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Gotway, Carol A., and Young, Linda J.. 2002. “Combining Incompatible Spatial Data.” Journal of the American Statistical Association 97 (458): 632–648.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holman, Mirya R., and Mahoney, Anna. 2018. “Stop, Collaborate, and Listen: Women's Collaboration in US State Legislatures.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 43:179–206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howe, Peter D., Mildenberger, Matto, Marlon, Jennifer R., and Leiserowitz, Anthony. 2015. “Geographic variation in opinions on climate change at state and local scales in the USA.” Nature Climate Change 5:596–603.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 2014. “Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.” Geneva, Switzerland: IPCC.Google Scholar
Jenkins, Shannon. 2006. “The Impact of Party and Ideology on Roll-Call Voting in State Legislatures.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 31:235–257.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kingdon, John. 1984. Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies. 2nd ed. New York: Harper Collins.Google Scholar
Kirkland, Justin H. 2011. “The Relational Determinants of Legislative Outcomes: Strong and Weak Ties between Legislators.” The Journal of Politics 73 (3): 887–898.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Konisky, David M., Hughes, Llewelyn, and Kaylor, Charles H.. 2016. “Extreme Weather Events and Climate Change Concern.” Climatic Change 134:533–547.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kreitzer, Rebecca J. 2015. “Politics and Morality in State Abortion Policy.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 15(1): 41–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kreitzer, Rebecca J., Hamilton, Allison J., and Tolbert, Caroline J.. 2014. “Does Policy Adoption Change Opinions on Minority Rights' The Effects of Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage.” Political Research Quarterly 67 (4): 795–808.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krivoruchko, Konstantin. 2011. Spatial Statistical Analysis for GIS Users. Redlands: ESRI PressGoogle Scholar
Lang, Corey. 2014. “Do Weather Fluctuations Cause People to Seek Information about Climate Change?” Climatic Change 125 (3–4): 291–303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leiserowitz, Anthony, Maibach, Edward W., Roser-Renouf, Connie, Feinberg, Geoff, and Howe, Peter. 2013. “Climate Change in the American Mind: Amerians' Global Warming Beleifs and Attitudes in April 2013.” YALE University and George Mason University. New Haven, CT: Yale Project on Climate Change Communication Report. Yale Project on Climate Change Commmnication.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maestas, Cherie. 2000. “Professional Legislatures and Ambitious Politicians: Policy Responsiveness of State Institutions.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 25:663–690.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matisoff, Daniel C. 2008. “The Adoption of State Climate Change Policies and Renewable Portfolio Standards: Regional Diffusion or Internal Determinants?” Review of Policy Research 25:527–546.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCright, Aaron M., and Dunlap, Riley E.. 2011. “The Politicization of Climate Change and Polarization in the American Public's Views of Global Warming, 2001–2010.” The Sociological Quarterly 52:155–194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Menne, Matthew J., Williams, Claude N., and Palecki, Michael A.. 2010. “On the Reliability of the U.S. Surface Temperature Record.” Journal of Geophysical Research 115 (D11): 1–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Motta, Matthew. 2018. “The enduring effect of scientific interest on trust in climate scientists in the United States.” Nature Climate Change 8:485–488.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Newmark, Adam J., and Witko, Christopher. 2007. “Pollution, Politics, and Preferences for Environmental Spending in the States.” Review of Policy Research 24:291–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Osborn, Tracy. 2012. How Women Represent Women: Political Parties, Gender and Representation in the State Legislatures. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pralle, Sarah B. 2009. “Agenda-Setting and Climate Change.” Environmental Politics 18:781–799.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rabe, Barry G. 2008. “States on Steroids: The Intergovernmental Odyssey of American Climate Policy.” Review of Policy Research 25:105–128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rabe-Hesketh, Sophia, Skrondal, Anders, and Pickles, Andrew. 2002. “Reliable Estimation of Generalized Linear Mixed Models Using Adaptive Quadrature.” The Stata Journal 2 (1): 1–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rao, J. N. K. 2003. Small Area Estimation. Hoboken: Wiley.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenthal, Alan. 2004. Heavy Lifting: The Job of the American Legislature. Washington, DC: CQ Press.Google Scholar
Rudman, Laurie A., McLean, Meghan C., and Bunzl, Martin. 2013. “When Truth Is Personally Inconvenient, Attitudes Change.” Psychological Science 24 (11): 2290–2296.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Salka, William. 2001. “Urban-Rural Conflict over Environmental Policy in the Western United States.” American Review of Public Administration 31 (1): 33–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schiller, Wendy. 1995. “Senators as Political Entrepreneurs: Using Bill Sponsorship to Shape Legislative Agendas.” American Journal of Political Science 39 (1): 186–203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schuldt, Jonathon P., Konrath, Sara H., and Schwarz, Norbert. 2011. “‘Global Warming’ or ‘Climate Change‘? Whether the Planet Is Warming Depends on Question Wording.” Public Opinion Quarterly 75 (1): 115–124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shao, Wanyun. 2017. “Weather, Climate, Politics, or God' Determinants of American Public Opinions toward Global Warming.” Environmental Politics 26 (1): 71–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shor, Boris. 2018. “Aggregate State Legislator Shor-McCarty Ideology Data, May 2018 update”, Harvard Dataverse, V2, doi: 10.7910/DVN/BSLEFDCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shor, Boris, and McCarty, Nolan. 2011. “The Ideological Mapping of American Legislatures.” American Political Science Review 105(3): 530–551CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stokes, Leah C. 2016. “Electoral Backlash against Climate Policy: A Natural Experiment on Retrospective Voting and Local Resistance to Public Policy.” American Journal of Political Science 60 (4): 958–974.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swers, Michele L. 1998. “Are Women More Likely to Vote for Women's Issue Bills Than Their Male Colleagues?” Legislative Studies Quarterly 23:435–448.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomsen, Danielle M. 2017. Opting Out of Congress: Partisan Polarization and the Decline of Moderate Candidates. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Treadwell, Jack. 1985. Public Policymaking in the American States. New York: Praeger.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Bromley-Trujillo et al. supplementary material

Appendix

Download Bromley-Trujillo et al. supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 583.7 KB