And the Winner Is … Devolution

by Ann Beaudry, CEO, Center for Policy Alternatives

Our national elections left the nation divided. The presidential contest was the closest in living memory. The Congress – both the House and Senate – are closely divided as well. Not only is there no decisive mandate to solve major problems, there is no mandate at all. There are strong similarities on the “problems list” from both Republicans and Democrats – education, prescription drugs, tax relief, patients rights. But there is no agreement on the solutions.

And we can’t expect much help from the Congress. Regardless of who is in the White House, the narrowly divided Congress is a recipe for inaction. Fierce partisanship has been a fact of life in the current Congress, now in lame duck session with a big unfinished agenda. When only 40 votes are needed to filibuster in the Senate, and little energy for consensus solutions, the deck is already stacked against action on tough issues. As Stuart Rothenberg, a non-partisan analyst has noted, “they’re not going to be able to get anything done in the next Congress.” And “they” can stand for liberals and conservatives alike.

But progress can be made in state capitals. That’s why the winner for this election is actually devolution, a process that has moved problems . and, to varying degrees . money, authority and responsibility – from Washington to the 50 states. We don’t have to wait for Washington to change for action to take place. Now more than ever, we must escalate progressive efforts in the states. Our nation’s problems are firmly in the hands of state legislators and state policy activists.

States are clearly where the political action is. This year, state legislatures passed over 150,000 laws. seventy-five times more than the U.S. Congress. Many of these new laws are at the forefront of progressive policy, providing broader health care coverage, stronger gun safety laws, tougher environmental standards, and more innovative education programs than the federal government.

States have a greater potential to adopt cutting edge solutions than the federal government for three basic reasons:

First, in many states there is an opportunity to mold political consensus across party lines. Partisanship need not be a barrier to effective policymaking in state legislatures. As CPA’s Flemming Fellows have learned, values-based consensus building works.

Second, there is often a much greater diversity of policymakers at the state level. For example, this year 47 state legislatures have a higher percentage of women officeholders than the United States Congress. Similarly, 20 state legislatures have a greater percentage representation of African-Americans than the Congress. This diversity brings a variety of viewpoints that enriches policy debate in the states.

Third, state legislators come from smaller election districts, spend more time in their districts, and therefore are closer to the people they represent. When citizens voice policy solutions, legislators are more likely to hear and respond.

Thus, the states can take action. They are testing grounds for social and economic policies. Over time, the best ideas are adopted across the states and this pushes federal policymakers to take action. For example, 30 states adopted versions of the Family and Medical Leave Act before the federal law was enacted. Similarly, the mechanism that secured passage of the Brady Bill in 1993. telephone background checks. was pioneered in state legislatures beginning in 1989.

Unfortunately, devolution also creates disparities across the states. In many places, it empowers political organizations far to the right of mainstream politics. And too often, because they lack staff and research facilities, legislators become overly susceptible to influence from lobbyists and monied interest groups that step in to fill the resource and information gap with their own self-interested slant. The sacles are not balanced.

So, devolution is this year’s election winner, but state legislators will need a lot of help to ensure that democracy is a winner too.