Hot Districts, Cool Legislation: Evaluating Agenda Setting in Climate Change Bill Sponsorship in U.S. States

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.

Politics and Corporate‐Sector Environmentally Significant Actions: The Effects of Political Partisanship on U.S. Utilities Energy Efficiency Policies

“…In regard to government policy, several studies document that Republican‐dominated governments are less likely to adopt or initiate policies consistent with environmental protection (see Adua, 2021; Bromley‐Trujillo et al, 2016; Bromley‐Trujillo, Holman, & Sandoval, 2019; Carley, 2011; Chandler, 2009; Coley & Hess, 2012; Fowler & Breen, 2013; Gerber, 2013; Huang et al, 2007; Lester, 1980; Lim & Bowen, 2018; Lyon & Yin, 2010). Huang et al (2007), for instance, report that states dominated by the Republican Party are significantly less likely to adopt renewable energy portfolio standards than those dominated by the Democratic Party.…”

“…There is also evidence of higher support for clean energy laws among Democrats than Republicans (Coley & Hess, 2012). In relation to policy initiation, Bromley‐Trujillo and her collaborators (2019) report that Democratic members of state legislatures are more likely to initiate climate change policies in general and in response to temperature anomalies than are their Republican counterparts. In fact, these authors report that Republicans are altogether unresponsive to temperature anomalies consistent with climate change.…”

Are Republicans Bad for the Environment?

“…Through the passage and implementation of relevant policies and practices, pro-environmental voting records in states' Congressional delegations contribute to reductions in greenhouse emissions (Dietz et al 2015). In addition, Democrats in state legislatures have responded to temperature anomalies by sponsoring more climate change bills, while Republicans are unresponsive to climate anomalies (Bromley-Trujillo, Holman, and Sandoval 2019).…”

The State of State Environmental Policy Research: A Thirty‐Year Progress Report

“…9 Overall, the largest group of articles in the data set focused on politics, with 81 articles falling in this category. Articles in this category address such disparate topics as political control of the bureaucracy (e.g., Beland & Boucher, 2015;Potoski & Woods, 2001;Waterman, Rouse, & Wright, 1998), legislative politics (e.g., Bromley-Trujillo, Holman, & Sandoval, 2019;Brunell & Cease, 2019); public opinion (e.g., Fowler, 2016;Johnson, Brace, & Arceneaux, 2005;Kim & Urpelainen, 2018), environmental interest groups and protest movements (e.g., Crow et al, 2019;Muñoz, Olzak, & Soule, 2018;Reenock & Gerber, 2008), and environmental justice (e.g., Konisky & Reenock, 2017;Liang, 2018;Wikstrom, Miller, Campbell, & Tschudi, 2019). The latter has been a particular focus in recent years, contributing to the sharp upward trajectory of this category since 2014.…”