PAYGO for Punctuality

The federal budgeting process is wrought with conflict that makes it nearly impossible for the budget to be passed on time, or so it seems. One aspect overlooked is the effects of statutory Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) rules. The cursory evidence indicates PAYGO may be beneficial under certain circumstances. The analysis relies on an Autoregressive-Moving-Average (ARMA) time series model with data from appropriations bills signed into law from fiscal years 1994 to 2014. The findings indicate mixed effects for PAYGO statutes with a shorter budgeting timeline under the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990, but a longer timeline under the Statutory PAYGO Act of 2010. Additional findings suggest substantive relationships between the length of the budgeting process and party polarization, presidential leadership, and the economy

Local governments are hidden but important partners in air quality management.

While it is often overshadowed by concerns about climate change, air quality is still an important issue which affects a large number of Americans. Luke Fowler looks at the role of government in managing air quality, writing that while large scale state and federal programs and partnerships exist, there are often gaps in their coverage. Local governments, in turn, can feel pressure from their citizens to step in and fill those gaps. He finds that smaller municipalities often struggle to have an impact on air quality, especially if their coverage area is geographically large

When Need Meets Opportunity: Expanding Local Air Networks

Though the Clean Air Act (CAA) relies on a traditional inter-government partnership, new initiatives from local governments that fall outside of the conventional implementation strategy have created a unique public service delivery network by adding layers to the implementation scheme. Using both logistic and multinomial logistic models and a dataset of 497 Metropolitan (MSA) and Micropolitian (µSA) areas, this research tests a model of network membership for local governments based on internal organizational and external network factors. Findings indicate policy problems, perceptions of resource availability, network density and structure, and socio-economic and political factors affect local initiative to expand networks

Is Partnership Quality or Quantity More Effective?

Current scholarship identifies benefits to both high quality partnerships and extensive networks when managing shared policy goals. However, with limited collaborative capacity, many public-sector agencies are faced with a decision of whether to pursue quality connections with specific organizations or more partnerships with an array of organizations. Using survey data from 72 local air agencies, findings indicate that quality of partnerships are better predictors of improved air quality than quantity of partnerships. Conclusions suggest building high quality partnerships is more important than having many partnerships when pursuing shared policy goals in a multi-dimensional environment

Tracking State Trends in Environmental Public Opinion

Trends in state-level public opinion on the environment within the U.S. are examined, using data from the General Social Survey (GSS) from 1976 to 2008. Multilevel Regression and Post-Stratification (MRP) approach estimates public support for environmental spending at the U.S. state-level over three decades. This allows for an analysis of inter-state homogeneity of environmental public opinion, over the latter half of the twenty century. The findings indicate state-level trends mirror those at the national-level, but state-level public opinion is becoming more analogous over time

States and Federal Environmental Policy: A Hierarchical Linear Model of CAA And CWA Implementation

While designed and adopted at the federal level, the Clean Air Act (CAA) and Clean Water Act (CWA) rely on states for implementation. The result of this implementation framework is a disparity in environmental conditions across the nation. The objective of this research is to examine how the implementation stage of the policy process affects program outcomes. The findings indicate that the primary means of shaping program outcomes are the decision-making criterion and subsequent behavior of implementing officials, where their value based actions dictate service delivery. These decisions are, in turn, shaped by the context of the work, where organizations and the socio-political environment influence the basis for decision-making. These findings connect broader organizational and socio-political factors with program outcomes through an indirect relationship, rather than assume a direct relationship as previous authors have done. The findings explain a significant portion of the variance in both air and water program outcomes across the nation. This research indicates the importance of front-line operators in the implementation process, an issue that has been left-out of other work. These conclusions can be used to enhance performance management by practitioners, through a greater understanding of how organizations and individuals affect program outcomes. Finally, the theoretical framework and methodological techniques suggest that previous implementation research has failed to properly specify statistical models, which enhances the literature on the subject

In Idaho, Republicans’ support for mask mandates falls if they are enforced

Mask mandates are one policy tool state governments have used to tackle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But does the enforcement of these mandates change the way Americans think about them? In new research, Luke Fowler and Jeff Lyons examine the effects of mask mandate enforcement measures, such as fines, on public support in Idaho. They find that Democrats are overwhelmingly supportive regardless of enforcement, but Republican support falls significantly, effectively robbing state Republican leaders of a way to enforce mask mandates in Idaho

Creating Accountability with Interstate Cooperation: Unauthorized Water Use Enforcement on the Klamath River

While lacking coercive power to compel enforcement, interstate compacts create accountability through multiple sources and layers connecting enforcement behavior to oversight. Using logistic regression, we test a model of accountability and enforcement of unauthorized water usage on the Klamath River. Findings indicate unauthorized water usage is far more likely to be reported and enforced on the Klamath River than on neighboring rivers in the same counties. Conclusions indicate the increased institutional layers of interstate compacts lead to more accountability and stringent enforcement and reporting of unauthorized water use

There is more pollution when Congress and state governorships are under Republican control

Republican politicians have been portrayed traditionally as having less concern for the environment, but what does the evidence say about the GOP and pollution? In new research, Luke Fowler and Jaclyn Kettler examined 20 years’ of data on state-level toxic waste releases

Overlapping Authorities in U.S. Energy Policy

The authors argue overlapping intergovernmental authorities explain much of the complexities in U.S. energy policy, by accounting for limited powers, uncertain autonomy, cooperation and conflict, inter-state differences, and intersecting policies. Additionally, the authors identify implications of overlapping authority for policymakers, regulators, and industry leaders, including polycentric policymaking venues, direct and indirect policy effects, and energy system governance. Overlapping authority provides a framework for understanding intersecting roles of national, state, and local governments in energy policy