Agenda Setting in the States: How Politics and Policy Needs Shape Gubernatorial Agendas

Abstract

This article examines gubernatorial agenda attention to social welfare and health‐care policy, assessing the extent to which liberal agenda attention is a function of state politics and policy needs. Using data collected through content analysis of state of the state speeches from 2000 to 2007 across the 50 states, I show that gubernatorial agenda attention is a function of a number of policy demand indicators, including gubernatorial party identification, state legislative party control, and policy needs as measured using state environmental characteristics. The results also suggest that Democratic and Republican governors react differently to their environments when constructing their agendas. The models of gubernatorial agenda attention show that state‐level agenda setting is a complicated process driven by both demand for public policy, as well as constraints acting against a governor's desire to devote attention to specific policies. Related Articles:“Issue Salience, Party Strength, and the Adoption of Health‐Care Expansion Efforts.” (2012) http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2011.00340.x/abstract“The Interpretive Process of Agenda‐Building: A Research Design for Public Policy.” (2002) http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2002.tb00632.x/abstract“Agenda Setting at the State Level: The Neutralization of Entrepreneurial Politics in Virginia's Land Use Initiative.” (1994) http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.1994.tb00343.x/abstract Este artículo examina la atención de la agenda gubernamental a las políticas de seguridad social y cobertura médica, evaluando en qué medida la atención de la agenda liberal está en función de las necesidades de las políticas estatales. Usando datos recolectados mediante el análisis del contenido de discursos estatales del año 2000 al 2007 en los 50 estados, muestro como la atención de la agenda gubernamental está en función de un número de indicadores políticos, incluyendo partido gobernante, control legislativo del partido gobernante, y necesidades políticas tomando como medida el contexto político del estado. Los resultados también sugieren que los gobernadores Demócratas y Republicanos reaccionan de manera diferente al establecer sus agendas. Los modelos de atención gubernamental muestran que la creación de una agenda a nivel estatal es un proceso complicado impulsado por la demanda por políticas públicas, así como las restricciones que sobre los deseos de un gobernador de dedicar atención a políticas específicas.

Gubernatorial Policy Priorities and State Fiscal Outcomes

“…Earlier studies commonly analyzed the content of text documents by hand with human coders quantitating text into data. Documents were coded based on the number of sentences devoted to a topic (Heidbreder 2012; Heidbreder and Scheurer 2013) or the topic structure was simply assumed based on the reading of the document (Ferguson 2003; Ferguson and Barth 2003). This is a time‐consuming approach that is also prone to errors.…”

New Avenues for the Study of Agenda Setting

“…3), but the legislative powers of state governors is much more variable. Brianne Heidbreder's () study of gubernatorial agenda setting illustrates how governors have gained more formal powers through setting the agenda. They develop these formal powers by taking the lead on producing solutions to policies that had long been the purview of the federal government; by embracing longer terms in office, which allowed for more time for policy in between campaign cycles; and through increased responsibility for producing the budget, as well as tools like the line‐item veto, which allows the governor in many states to shape legislation from start to finish.…”

“…First, we examine increased analysis of agenda setting within state and local institutions to find that these institutions engage in two levels of agenda setting: the first, occurring within state and local institutions and the second, occurring when state and local governments' attempt to influence the agendas of federal institutions. The first variety of agenda setting is critical to developing an understanding of how states and local actors manage their agendas without the outside influence of the national government (Heidbreder, ). The second addresses an understudied aspect of federal‐state relations in which the state tries to communicate its preferences to change the national agenda (Leckrone & Gollob, ).…”

Accountability, Learning, and Response Amid Fiscal Crisis

“…Political and economic conditions constrain a governor's ability to get something on the agenda or keep attention on it (Heidbreder, 2012). This can lead governors to increasingly rely upon political rhetoric to bolster the perception of their power, or avert blame during dire economic situations.…”