The Initiative and Referendum in California, 1898-1998

The Initiative and Referendum in California, 1898-1998

Author: John M. Allswang

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 2000-07-01

Total Pages: 366

ISBN-13: 0804780072

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book provides a detailed analytic history of direct legislation—the initiative and referendum—in California from its origins in the late nineteenth century to the present day. California was one of the first states to implement mechanisms for direct legislation, and these mechanisms have been used with growing frequency as the entire process has become professionalized (from signature-gathering through fund-raising to legal challenge and defense). The author studies this important political device in terms of voter interest and behavior, its role in public issues, and how it has affected the state’s politics and government. The book first analyzes how and why direct legislation came to California, seeing it as a typical example of the disconnected nature of progressive era reforms. It then studies selectively, from among the 300 propositions that have been on California ballots, those propositions that have been most relevant to the major issues of their time, have generated the highest levels of voter interest and participation, and have shaped the development of state politics and government. The author pays particular attention to the explosion of direct legislation, in frequency and consequence, since the Proposition 13 “property tax revolution” of 1978. He also describes how California’s contemporary direct legislation experience—from tax rebellion to harsher criminal justice to controversial ethnic issues—has had national ramifications. The book concludes with a careful analysis of the current state of the initiative and referendum in California: voter attitudes toward the process, its role as a “fourth branch” of government, and arguments for and against changes in the procedure. Based on extensive research in campaign documents, manuscript collections, the contemporary press, and other primary sources, the book also makes extensive use of voting data, public opinion polls, and official filings of campaign expenditures. All in all, it is the most comprehensive study ever made of a political process that is used today in twenty-seven states.


Coastal Sage

Coastal Sage

Author: Thomas J. Osborne

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 0520283082

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

There are moments when we forget how fortunate we are to have the California coast. The state is home to 1,100 miles of uninterrupted coastline defined by long stretches of beach and jagged rocky cliffs. Coastal Sage chronicles the career and accomplishments of Peter Douglas, the longest-serving executive director of the California Coastal Commission. For nearly three decades, Douglas fought to keep the California coast public, prevent overdevelopment, and safeguard habitat. In doing so, Douglas emerged as a leading figure in the contemporary American environmental movement and influenced public conservation efforts across the country. He coauthored California’s foundational laws pertaining to shoreline management and conservation: Proposition 20 and the California Coastal Act. Many of the political battles to save the coast from overdevelopment and secure public access are revealed for the first time in this study of the leader who was at once a visionary, warrior, and coastal sage.


California Greenin'

California Greenin'

Author: David Vogel

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2018-05-15

Total Pages: 301

ISBN-13: 1400889596

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A political history of environmental policy and regulation in California, from the Gold Rush to the present Over the course of its 150-year history, California has successfully protected its scenic wilderness areas, restricted coastal oil drilling, regulated automobile emissions, preserved coastal access, improved energy efficiency, and, most recently, addressed global climate change. How has this state, more than any other, enacted so many innovative and stringent environmental regulations over such a long period of time? The first comprehensive look at California's history of environmental leadership, California Greenin' shows why the Golden State has been at the forefront in setting new environmental standards, often leading the rest of the nation. From the establishment of Yosemite, America's first protected wilderness, and the prohibition of dumping gold-mining debris in the nineteenth century to sweeping climate- change legislation in the twenty-first, David Vogel traces California's remarkable environmental policy trajectory. He explains that this pathbreaking role developed because California had more to lose from environmental deterioration and more to gain from preserving its stunning natural geography. As a result, citizens and civic groups effectively mobilized to protect and restore their state's natural beauty and, importantly, were often backed both by business interests and bystrong regulatory authorities. Business support for environmental regulation in California reveals that strict standards are not only compatible with economic growth but can also contribute to it. Vogel also examines areas where California has fallen short, particularly in water management and the state's dependence on automobile transportation. As environmental policy debates continue to grow more heated, California Greenin' demonstrates that the Golden State's impressive record of environmental accomplishments holds lessons not just for the country but for the world.


Handbook of Public Policy Implementation

Handbook of Public Policy Implementation

Author: Fritz Sager

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2024-07-05

Total Pages: 543

ISBN-13: 1800885903

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In this comprehensive Handbook, international experts examine theoretical and empirical research to analyse a core element of the public policy process: implementation. Traversing numerous sub-disciplines and traditions including top-down and bottom-up approaches to public policy implementation research, the chapters present a synthesis of the state of scholarship and stimulate future thinking in the field.


Policy Implementation in Federal and Unitary Systems

Policy Implementation in Federal and Unitary Systems

Author: K.I. Hanf

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 9400950896

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Analytical Models and Institutional Design in Federal and Unitary States, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, June 26-30, 1983


International Comparisons in Implementing Pollution Laws

International Comparisons in Implementing Pollution Laws

Author: P.B. Downing

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-03-09

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 9401719276

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book is the culmination of a process that started in the summer of 1979. One of the editors was invited to work with several members of the International Institute for Environment and Society. These researchers were in the early stages of a rather ambitious project designed to study differences in the implementation of pollution control laws among European countries. Our discussions soon revealed that there was much to be learned by the sharing of our research findings in the United States and Europe. Discussions among the researchers at lIES suggested that we expected there to be wide cultural and institutional differences among countries and, therefore, significant differences in the operation and effectiveness of control efforts in different countries. It has been argued al most universally that differences in institutional form will lead to differences in pollution control outcomes. By comparing implementation in various countries, we could observe the ef fects of institutional differences. The lIES project was only one study of the implementation process. Perhaps by analyzing the results of various studies by various authors and for a wide variety of countries and situations, more could be learned. The conference idea was born. The idea culminated in two conferences. The first confer ence was sponsored by the Policy Sciences Program at Florida State University and was held in Tallahassee, Florida, March 6-7, 1981. The second conference was sponsored by the lIES and was held in Berlin, Germany, October 1-3, 1981.


The Public Sector

The Public Sector

Author: Franz-Xaver Kaufmann

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2015-06-03

Total Pages: 568

ISBN-13: 3110857014

DOWNLOAD EBOOK


Environmental Protection at the State Level

Environmental Protection at the State Level

Author: Evan J. Ringquist

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-09-16

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13: 1315287994

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Why do some states enact stronger pollution control progammes than others? And, do stronger controls have identifiable impacts on environmental quality in these states? This work seeks to answer these question by means of combining data, methods and theory from the natural and social sciences.