THE INFLUENCE OF BLACKS IN STATE AND LOCAL FAIR HOUSING POLICY-MAKING

The influence of black officials and organizations on public policy varies among political settings. Factors responsible for this variation include the relatively limited political resources still available to blacks, the size of the black population in a location, the representation of blacks in elective office, the control of political gate keepers, and prevailing ideology. The ability of blacks to influence fair housing policy is further predicated upon the level of government addressed. Black individuals and organizations were in- strumental in gaining agenda status for the passage of federal fair housing legislation in the 1960s. Experiences in Cleveland and Ohio reveal a less prominent role for blacks in state and local fair housing policy. Two major factors peculiar to this topic, inattention of traditional civil rights groups and diminished public support for civil rights policies, combine with repre- sentational issues to require a broader coalition for support of these policies. The lead in advocacy has been assumed by black/liberal white coalitions that promote managed residential integration contrary to the preferences of black-dominated interests that prefer equality of housing opportunity regardless of racial impact. The latter group, lacking the politi- cal resources of the former, usually reacts to policy rather than initiating policy. Black elected officials, who play a pivotal role in responding to the demand-protests of their constituents, may be hampered or helped by the political resources available in state and local settings. The theory of politi- cal incorporation helps to explain the incremental gains of blacks as com- pared to long-term policy responsiveness in state and local policy-making. Copyright 1989 by The Policy Studies Organization.

THE PLURALITY OF FACTORS INFLUENCING POLICYMAKINC: SCHOOL REFORM LEGISLATION IN THE AMERICAN STATES, 1982-84

This paper attempts to explore recent efforts of American state legislatures to improve the quality of public schools. Which state legislatures have passed school reform legislation? At what aspects of public education is this reform legislation aimed? Are there significant variations across states in such reform legislation? What has contributed most to the passage of such legislation? Is it the socioeconomic characteristics of individual states or the structural and procedural characteristics of their legislative branch that better explain school reform legislation? Analysis of data from the 50 states reveals greater variation in legislative results that reform public schools. The regional locus of most reform was the south. Most importantly, school reform legislation was found to be influenced by the interaction of a multitude of divergent forces. This finding suggests that researchers interested in the determinants of legislative action must move beyond analysis of whether economic or political forces shape legislative outcomes to inquire how economic, political and other forces interact when a given reform effort reaches the legislative halls of the states. Copyright 1988 by The Policy Studies Organization.