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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
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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

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