How Governmental Policy is Made

1
No. 34
November 2005
PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER
What is Policy?............................................................1
Where Policy is Expressed ..............................1
Ideas Result in Policy....................................................2
The Coin of Influence .....................................2
Sources of Ideas ...............................................2
An Idea is only the First Step .......................................5
Effective Lobbying ...........................................6
How Governmental
Policy is Made
This BRIEF explores how the ideas for governmental policy emerge
and what it takes to get them adopted. Content is based primarily on
Michigan, which has a full-time legislature. While concepts are
relevant to other states and the national level, details may differ.
What Is Policy?
Policy is defined in the Merriam-Webster Online
Dictionary as “...a definite course or method of
action selected from among alternatives... to guide
and determine present and future decisions.” Policy
can also be defined as making decisions that reflect
values and allocating resources based on those values.
Thus, policy represents a particular political, ethical,
or programmatic viewpoint. Governmental policy
reflects theoretical or experiential assumptions about
what is required to resolve a particular issue or
problem.
WHERE POLICY IS EXPRESSED
At the federal and state levels, governmental policy is
reflected in multiple venues:
The federal and state constitutions set the general
framework, as interpreted in specific instances
through court decisions.
The chief executive’s agenda is presented through
speeches, press releases, “State of the State” and
budget messages to the legislature, executive
orders, and instructions to department heads.
Legislative policy is expressed in speeches and press
releases by the leadership and formulated in
policy and appropriation bills.
It is not generally recognized that budgets, expressed
in appropriation acts and taxes, are critical
statements of social policy. Budgets distribute
resources and determine what government can and
cannot do. Taxes may favor property versus income,
businesses versus consumers, or production versus
consumption. They may or may not provide stable
resources for governmental services.
Policy can also be found in the determinations and
decisions of state department heads and middle
management. Their decisions or actions determine
how legislative policy and broad governmental
mandates are actually translated into services. Policy
is reflected in strategic plans and policy memoranda.
It is translated and carried out through rules and
regulations, manuals, requests for proposals,
contractual agreements, enforcement actions, and so
forth.
2
At the local level, county commissioners and
township supervisors, school boards and
superintendents, and local governmental agencies
make policy within the confines of state law and
other state formulations. Chief executives of cities
and city councils operate according to state law and
city charters. The directors of local governmental
agencies operate within a state and county
framework.
Thus there is a policy hierarchy ranging from the
broad statement of mission or purpose in the
constitution, or “here is what we propose to do” as
expressed in law, down to the more explicit “here is
what that means when we carry it out” as defined in
departmental documents.
IDEAS RESULT IN POLICY
THE COIN OF INFLUENCE
Elected officials are influenced by four things that
get them elected or re-elected:
Votes
Money
Ideas that lead to actions that lead to good
results for constituents and good publicity1
Information and feedback from their
constituents
Appointed officials and middle managers are also
influenced by ideas. However, if their ideas create
political problems for elected officials, they are in
trouble.
SOURCES OF IDEAS
There are multiple sources for the ideas that lead to
policy, including suggestions and proposals made by
constituents.
Events, Personal Experiences, and High
Visibility Issues are Prime Sources for
Policy Change
Cataclysmic events can have an immediate impact on
public policy.
9/11 and the Columbine massacre substantially
impacted decisions and actions at the federal, state and
local levels.
Think Tanks and Bureaucrats
Child Care Expulsion Prevention Projects
Jane Knitzer, from the Columbia University Center for
Children in Poverty, gave a presentation about young
children who were being expelled from child care and
the need for mental health services. As a result of this
presentation, the prevention director decided to use
small prevention grants to enable five community mental
health agencies to survey the situation in their community
and to develop ways to utilize existing resources to
provide services. Subsequently, the director of mental
health services for children and families convinced middle
management staff in the state social services agency to
assign federal child care and development funds to
underwrite services in the five projects and to expand
services to other locations. A document was developed
to establish parameters for these services.
Media reports of more localized situations can trigger
action.
Media stories about foster children in Michigan
resulted in the appointment of the Binsfeld
Commission, which generated laws requiring changes in
timelines and services for children in foster care.
Personal experiences generate momentum for changes
in policy.
A legislator’s personal experience is a significant trigger
for policy development. Federal legislation resulted from
the Kennedy family’s experience with a sibling who had
developmental disabilities.
Parents who have lost children have become effective
lobbyists. For example, Mothers Against Drunk
Driving (MADD) has been a potent force for enacting
drinking and driving laws. More recently, in Michigan,
Jasmine’s Law (requiring measures for traffic safety
around schools) was enacted in response to a parent’s
lobbying after the loss of a child.
Parents of special needs children seek services. For
example, IDEA, the federal act providing funds for
special education services to at-risk children with
disabilities, was initiated and has been sustained by the
lobbying efforts of parents.
People who are impacted by specific situations in law seek
to change them. For example, non-custodial fathers want
a law requiring visitation, bypassing determinations by
judges, and grandparents denied access to grandchildren
3
Social, Economic, and Technological Changes
Trigger a Search for Solutions
Initially, social trends and possible solutions to
perceived problems are identified by think tanks,
federally funded resource centers, university
researchers, governmental agencies, or
knowledgeable individuals. As a second step,
foundation and governmental grant funding for
research and service development influences policy
by underwriting cutting-edge research and pilot
demonstrations. Finally, the national advocacy
organizations that serve as connectors between the
research and the policy makers process, package, and
disseminate information and advocate for legislative
change.
Citizen Input and Gubernatorial Support:
North Carolina’s “Smart Start”
North Carolina’s “Smart Start” is a classic example of a
policy initiated and maintained by citizens. The idea of
state support for quality early childhood programming
was initiated by a small group of women meeting around
a kitchen table. They convinced the governor to adopt
their idea, and his active support initiated a program of
grants to local communities to improve child care and
other services. An ongoing campaign of public
information and citizen communications to legislators has
maintained the program despite a change in
administration.
Examples of social, economic, and technological trends
that influence policy include:
poverty status of children
out of wedlock births to adolescents
increases in juvenile crime
urban sprawl
global warming
loss of manufacturing jobs to overseas locations
reduction in oil reserves
increasing use of catalog and Internet purchases
vulnerabilities in use of the Internet
by custodial parents want requirements for visitation in
law.
Legislators often find it expedient to advocate for
high visibility home town issues that concern their
constituents. There are numerous examples at both
the state and national level.
For example, motorcycle riders seek to overturn the law
requiring the wearing of helmets (and have been
successful in a number of states). In another example,
when a local business fired employees who smoked outside
of work and refused to be tested, a legislator introduced a
bill to ban such employment practices.
Associations and organizations hire lobbyists to
highlight issues of concern to their membership. Information Dissemination
Information about an issue may be initially
disseminated through research and technical reports,
journal articles, and books. These publications
conceptualize the issue, present analyses of data
(perhaps including summaries of similar research or
meta-analyses of data from a group of similar
studies), and recommend possible solutions.
Research findings may be summarized for interested
stakeholders in press releases, newsletters, policy
briefs, and Web sites. Information may also be
communicated directly to professionals, advocates,
and decision makers through presentations at
national conferences of professional organizations
(e.g., the National Governors Association and the
National Conference of State Legislators), or at
hearings held by legislative or executive committees
or professional organizations.
A thoughtful publication can have a farreaching
impact. Examples of books that have
fundamentally influenced public policy abound:
Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring kicked off the
environmental movement.
Dr. Ray Helfer’s The Battered Child initiated child
protective services and supportive home
visiting.
The Institute of Medicine’s Neurons to
Neighborhoods provided background and
credibility for expanding services to very young
children.
4
The Power of Research and the Media
Perry Preschool Project
The High/Scope Educational Foundation evaluated a
preschool intervention for low income four-year-olds. The
intervention involved four half-days of high quality, centerbased
services for low income children and a weekly visit
with parents. A 19 year follow-up and cost benefit analysis
indicated that for every dollar spent, there was a gain of $7
in savings from expenditures for crime, welfare and special
education.2
The authors put together an attractive report and a media
blitz. The story in the Washington Post was seen by a
staffer from the National Governors’ Conference, who
arranged for a presentation at the next meeting of the
governors. The result: Almost every governor proposed
and had implemented a preschool program for four-yearolds
the next year–most of them without understanding
the essential components (e.g., a participatory curriculum,
low child-staff ratio, and trained teachers) that made the
difference.
The Tipping Point
[…] products and messages and behaviors spread just like
viruses do […] The three agents of change are, (1) Law of
the Few–there are a handful of social/energetic/
knowledgeable/ influential people who are capable of
influencing others […]; (2) the Stickiness Factor–ideas
have to be memorable to move us to action; and (3) the
Power of Context–behavior is a function of the social
environment.
Gladwell, M. (2000). The tipping point: How little things
can make a big difference. New York: Little, Brown and
Company.
Policy Often Reflects Personal and Political
Philosophy
Policy emerges from the personal and political values
of individuals and political parties, framed in such a
way as to engender wider support.
Individual. Often policy is based on what
politicians and bureaucrats learned in school 20
years ago, the lessons that came from fighting the
last war, what they think works or will work,
More recently, The Price of Government by
Hutchinson and Osborne has influenced the way
legislators look at appropriation requests.
Magazine articles also reach a very broad public
audience.
Magazine articles on “Cool Cities” are affecting
urban policy.
An article by former Vice President Dan Quayle
triggered changes in the way governmental
support was provided for adolescent mothers.
As information hooks into public interest and
reaches a tipping point, organizations and individuals
begin to publicly express interest and concern and,
more importantly, communicate with both legislators
and the executive.
deeply held personal convictions, or a pragmatic
effort to build coalitions and coalesce support.
Political parties. Agendas adopted at local, state,
and national conventions reflect the convictions
of the party leadership concerning current issues
that are expected to enhance a candidate’s
chances of being elected. Between elections,
potential actions are vetted against their potential
impact on the next election.
The perceived environment. What politicians perceive
as the “will of the majority” influences their
actions. For example, legislators in Michigan
maintain that voters would rather cut services
than pay additional taxes. This perception is
profoundly influenced by the prior history of a
governor and two legislators who were turned
out of office after responsibly increasing taxes to
resolve a budget deficit.
Organized constituencies. A recent development on
the political landscape is the emergence of
groups organized to identify, promote, train,
underwrite, and elect candidates supportive of
their thinking. Examples include Emily’s List,
supporting pro-choice women; research
organizations promoting a conservative agenda;
and Patrick Henry University, recruiting
conservative home-schooled college students as
future leaders.
The Federal Government Influences State and
Local Policy
Federal overall policy directions, expressed in
legislation and administrative actions, have a
significant influence on state and local policy. The
5
Commissions and Workgroups
In reformulating policy and practice in response to
citizen concerns, decision makers may use
representative groups of citizens and knowledgeable
experts to troubleshoot ideas. These commissions or
workgroups develop out of expressed dissatisfaction
with current services or concerns about an emerging
issue.
High visibility commissions are organized at the
national level by the President, the Surgeon
General, and Congress, and at the state level by
governors.
Legislative leadership at the state level establishes
task forces.
Department heads and middle managers establish
lower visibility workgroups and advisory
committees.
Use of a commission or workgroup may be:
a way of avoiding action
a political gesture
a way of getting consensus among various
constituencies about recommendations,
energizing support for action, and providing
support for change to legislators or bureaucrats.
The Executive Branch
Department heads are a primary source for the ideas
that result in legislative policy. Based on
Workgroup/Legislator Action and
Bureaucratic Decisions
Human Services Coordinating Bodies
The lobbyist for the Mental Health Association prevailed
upon a prominent legislator—head of the appropriations
committee—to sponsor a workgroup on prevention. The
effort resulted in the legislator’s successful promotion of
an increase in the appropriation for pilot prevention
projects. Of the 63 recommendations in the report, the
mental health agency director hesitated the longest over
the one proposing interagency collaboration. The
prevention director decided to put half of the new funds
into human services coordinating bodies by providing
incentive grants for staff. Technical assistance was
provided to encourage good processes and certain types
of programming.
AN Idea is Only the First
Step
Multiple individuals and groups have a hand in
translating an idea into policy. As term limits
continually siphon off the developing expertise of
legislators, legislative staff and lobbyists play a larger
role in policy development.
A governor’s legislative and budget proposals are
sifted through an executive staff, a budget office,
and affected department heads.
administrative experience, they propose shifts in
policy, suggest technical changes to current
legislation, and analyze proposals under
consideration by the legislature.
Legislators are generally assisted by their staff, a
bill drafting agency, and a fiscal agency that
analyzes the content and impact of proposed
legislation.
The public influences legislators, the executive,
and department staff both as individual citizens
and as members of interest groups and
associations.
Larger groups hire lobbyists to present their point of
view, whose job is to promote their organization’s
interests by suggesting legislation and by reacting to
what legislators propose. They present their point of
availability of funding, specifications, and
requirements all impact state and local decision
making and the use of local resources. Federal
activities that impact state and local policy include:
Federal and state level programs (e.g., funded
efforts such as Medicaid, TANF, No Child Left
Behind) and initiatives (unfunded projects in
development)
Incentives and sanctions for state performance
(e.g., reducing adolescent pregnancy, enforcing
child support from non-custodial parents)
Competitive grants (e.g., after-school programs)
An estimated quarter of all state budgets comes
from federal funds.
6
Policy Development is a Complex Process
What Does Gun Access have to do with an Early
Childhood Initiative?
Policy decisions may be influenced by factors that have
nothing to do with the issue that is nominally on the
table. A Speaker of the House in his last term decided to
push through some legislation making guns easier to
obtain. There was considerable public concern about a
shooting involving two six-year olds. To avoid lobbying
against his measures by child advocacy groups, he
coupled his bills with an addition to the School Aid Act
that appropriated $45 million for 0-5 programming in
support of parents. Seduced by the prospect of this
funding, the child advocacy groups did not oppose the
gun bills. They prevailed upon the Speaker to require
collaborative programming in the 0-5 legislation.
Intended as a three year commitment, the initiative was
reduced in the second year and then terminated because
of the state’s financial situation. This sequence of events
was fueled by a personal philosophy, a happening,
interest group support, and buying off opponents.
The Legislative Process
To become legislative policy (i.e., law), an idea has to work
through the legislative process, which generally involves
the following steps. A bill is:
drafted;
introduced in one house of the legislature by a
legislator and sent to the appropriate committee;
considered by the committee, often with a public
hearing at which associations, departments, and
affected citizens provide testimony;
reported out for action (or voted down);
voted on by the full house;
sent to the other house to move through the same
sequence of actions, where differences between the
two versions are resolved through a small conference
committee of representatives from both houses;5
signed or vetoed by the governor; and
if vetoed, legislators may feel strongly enough to pull
together the required number of votes to override the
veto.
Major policy changes are translated by the responsible
agency into administrative rules that require public
hearings and legislative approval.
EFFECTIVE LOBBYING
How do citizens with a burning issue impact
policy?6
Typically, individuals or groups of individuals are
effective when they have a clear agenda and follow a
consistent game plan, contacting the governor,
legislators, and/or department heads, depending on
where the action is. They can influence the process at
any single stage or at multiple points.
They have a clear, succinct message–what the pros
call “getting your point across in the time the
elevator goes down.”
They make extensive use of the media.
They organize like-minded individuals into a
constituency. A recent development is the
emergence of blogs–Web sites that provide
information, encourage comments, facilitate
fundraising, and mobilize action groups. See, for
example, www.blogforamerica.org.
They form coalitions with other groups.
They contribute to political campaigns or volunteer
for a candidate during an election campaign.
view formally at hearings and informally through
meetings with legislators.3
There are innumerable opportunities for public
reaction as an idea makes its way through the
legislative process. The governor may propose an
action or a legislator may introduce a bill, but the
idea will go nowhere unless it can garner sufficient
support to be placed on the legislative agenda by
the majority party. Then it has to be acceptable and
receive a “yes” vote from more than half of the
legislators. Whether or not this happens largely
depends on the prevailing politics and public
reaction.
Legislators assess a bill against their own convictions,
how they anticipate it will impact their constituents,
and feedback from their constituents and lobbyists.
One study indicated that legislators place most
reliance on the information they receive from grass
roots organizations, their staff, and lobbyists.4 The
fate of any bill is ultimately determined by the
position taken by the majority party’s caucus, along
with the informal discussions and negotiations that
are an essential part of the legislative process.
7
NOTES
1. Amidei, N. (December 2002). So you want to make a
difference: Advocacy is the key. OMB Watch [On-line], 14.
Available: www.ombwatch.org.
2. A 40 year follow-up found a payoff of $13 in public savings
and $4 in additional income to participants for every $1 dollar
spent in quality early childhood education and care. This finding,
among others, has been the basis for the current national
campaign promoting access to quality preschool and child care as
an effective economic investment.
3. See Jackson-Elmoore, C. (July 2005). Informing state
policymakers: Opportunities for social workers. Social Work, 10
(3).
4. There are a multitude of special interest groups: business
interests (e.g., chamber of commerce; wine and beer retailers);
labor unions; professional and work related associations ( e.g.,
National Education Association, National Association of Social
Workers); advocacy groups (e.g., Fight Crime: Invest in Kids,
Children’s Defense Fund, NAACP, American Association of
Retired Persons); single focus organizations (e.g., National Rifle
Association).
5. If the differences between the two versions are extensive,
the bills will be stalled until a negotiating process can resolve
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This BRIEF was written by Betty Tableman, with review from
Michigan State University faculty and engagement specialists
Laura Bates, University-Community Partnerships and Institute
for Children, Youth, and Families; Robert Brown, University-
Community Partnerships; Joseph Farrell, Health Policy; Dave
Knaggs, University-Community Partnerships and School of
Social Work; Francisco A. Villaruel, University-Community
Partnerships and Department of Family and Child Ecology;
and with appreciation for comments from former
Representative H. Lynn Jondahl, the Michigan Political
Leadership Program in the Institute for Public Policy and Social
Research; Mary Ludtke, Michigan Department of Community
Health; Senator Mark Schauer, State of Michigan; and Michele
Strasz, Michigan Council for Maternal and Child Health. This
material was originally presented in a briefer version to a
distance learning class on policy taught by Francisco A. Villaruel.
http://outreach.msu.edu/bpbriefs
They aggressively get their message across by
personal visits, telephone calls, and written/
E-mail communications. They spend the time
that it takes to create relationships and to
communicate in a non-adversarial way.
Constituents who have developed an ongoing
relationship are the most effective. They know their
legislator’s views and history. They telephone, send
E-mails, and write letters; they go to the legislator’s
meetings and fundraisers in their district; they make
an appointment to visit the legislator’s office for a
brief conversation after a committee hearing. They
understand that for a state legislator, five letters on the same
subject from constituents represents a public consensus.7
substantial issues. Cf. S 155 and HR 1229, bills with different
titles and content dealing with gang prevention (2005).
6. See Lakoff, G. (2004). Don’t think of an elephant! Know your
values and frame the debate. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea
Green Publishing. See also Michigan Council for Maternal and
Child Health. (2005). Vision to action: Tools for building meaningful
relationships with policymakers. Lansing, MI.; and Amidei, op.cit.
7. Hollister, D. On organizing. www.educ.msu.edu/epfp/
links.htm
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