Instructions
Print this workbook in its entirety. You must select a specific California policy area to focus on for the semester. Note: For Weeks 2-6, please focus your workbook answers specifically on the Housing & Homelessness case study. Each week, bring this physical workbook to class and submit your handwritten responses to the weekly prompt for a pass/fail grade.
The deliverables below are aligned with the weekly course readings and themes. Use this workbook to build your policy reform strategy incrementally over the 16-week semester.
Context: Stone Ch. 1, 2, & 3. The Market vs. the Polis; conflicts over Equity and Efficiency.
Prompt: Frame your chosen policy gap as an equity problem. Then, explain how opponents might use "efficiency" arguments to block your proposed structural reform.
Context: OSU Ch. 1 & 2. The impact of federalism and state constitutional structure.
Prompt: How does federalism (state vs. federal vs. local power) impact your policy? Is your issue primarily governed by state law, federal law, or local ordinances?
Context: OSU Ch. 6, Stone Ch. 7. State Constitutions and the symbolic power of Numbers.
Prompt: How is your policy issue quantified? What "numbers" are used to define the problem? Are there state constitutional constraints that affect it?
Context: OSU Ch. 5, Stone Ch. 9. Key actors in the policy process and organized interests.
Prompt: Map the interest groups in Sacramento. Who are the key actors opposing your reform, and what are their interests?
Context: OSU Ch. 7, 8, Stone Ch. 6. The Legislative Branch, Executive Branch, and Symbolic framing.
Prompt: How is your issue framed symbolically? How will you navigate the legislature and executive branch to advance your reform?
Context: Stone Ch. 8. Causal stories in the Polis.
Prompt: What causal story (e.g., accidental, intentional, inadvertent) do opponents tell to justify the status quo of your issue?
Context: OSU Ch. 10, 4, Stone Ch. 15. Bureaucracy, administrative powers, and local sustainability.
Prompt: Identify the specific state agency or bureaucracy responsible for your policy. What specific administrative powers can you leverage, and how might local governments try to block it?
Context: OSU Ch. 11, Stone Ch. 11. Budgeting, public finance, and policy decisions.
Prompt: Conduct a rough Cost-Benefit Analysis of your policy. How will you fund this reform during state budget cycles?
Context: OSU Ch. 9, Stone Ch. 13, 4. The courts, legal rules, and social welfare.
Prompt: How could existing rules be weaponized in the courts to delay your policy? How does your policy address the welfare/security of Californians?
Context: OSU Ch. 13, Stone Ch. 5. Public services and individual liberty.
Prompt: Does your policy expand or restrict individual liberty? How does it affect the delivery of visible public services?
Context: Stone Ch. 14, OSU Ch. 3. Fundamental rights and the new margins.
Prompt: Frame your policy as a fundamental "right." How does this affect marginalized communities (The New Margins)?
Context: Stone Ch. 10, OSU Ch. 12. Policy persuasion and entitlement structures.
Prompt: How will you persuade opponents to support your policy? Are there entitlement structures that need reform?
Context: OSU Ch. 13. Traditional and visible services.
Prompt: Finalize your implementation plan for state and local service delivery.
Context: Stone Ch. 5, 8, 12. Security, causal stories, and decision-making.
Prompt: Final reflection on the causal narrative of your policy journey and your proposed structural reforms.
Context: Navigating political power and finalizing the advocacy portfolio.
Prompt: Reflect on the simulation. What was the most difficult structural barrier to passing your policy in California? How did your strategy evolve over the past 16 weeks?