Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 May 2016
Biotechnology is an evolving policy issue involving a wide variety of federal and state policymakers. While most public and scholarly attention has been focused at the national level, a good deal of state policymaking activity regarding biotechnology has already taken place. The biotechnology issue is not a single, well-defined policy issue but rather a cluster of related issues and concerns. This analysis identifies eight facets of the biotechnology policy issue that have surfaced during congressional debate, committee hearings, and public discussions. This eight-fold characterization of biotechnology development is used to describe recent congressional and state legislative activity affecting biotechnology. Both the complexity and multifaceted nature of the biotechnology issue, and the manner with which it has been dealt by federal and state policymakers, have contributed to the dynamic nature of federalism surrounding this issue.