Lawrence A Becker
Jason L. Morín
Tyler J Hughes
History, Development and Policy Influence of the California Latino Legislative Caucus
Project Type:
Project
Project Sponsors:
- CSU Sacramento
Project Award:
- $30,000
Project Timeline:
2016-02-15 – 2016-09-01
Lead Principal Investigator:
Project Team:
Principal Investigator |
Principal Investigator |
Conventional wisdom tells us legislative coalitions, like the California Latino Legislative Caucus, exert a great deal of power within the policy process. Since the Caucus? inception, its members attained important leadership positions in the in the legislature, advocated for the policy interests of their constituents, and successfully passed landmark legislation. While the Latino Legislative Caucus can rightly take credit for specific instances of significant policy change in California, there are few systematic analyses of the role such groups play in the legislative process (Hammond 2001). This study seeks to better understand the role of legislative coalitions in policymaking and how the influence of coalitions can vary over time due to changes in demographics, public attitudes, and institutional rules. Specifically, the California Latino Legislative Caucus is treated as a case-study in policy entrepreneurialism to explain the development, history, and legislative influence of the Caucus over time.