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2861. The Long Shadow of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights: Colorado's 2024-2025 Budget and Economy

Author:
Michael Berry
Publication Date:
01-2025
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
California Journal of Politics and Policy
Institution:
Institute of Governmental Studies, UC Berkeley
Abstract:
In one of the most polarized legislatures in the United States, partisan and ideological divisions among Colorado lawmakers often overlap with differences in identity and experience. Although the chasm between Democrats and Republicans on salient social and economic issues is wide, bipartisan policymaking still occurs. Democratic successes in 2022 extended their streak to four consecutive election cycles of remaining even or gaining seats in both the Colorado House and Senate. Unified government with expanded majorities has allowed Democrats to advance their agenda through the state budget with relative ease, and seldom used parliamentary tactics helped bring about liberal policy change in contentious issue areas including gun control. In budgetary politics, the fiscal constraints of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) currently do more to impede the progressive agenda than dwindling opposition votes from minority party Republicans. Statewide ballot measures have also driven policy change, at times in conservative directions, on consequential tax and fiscal policy issues. Coloradans have demonstrated an openness to government reform in some areas, but less so when it comes to ballot measures affecting TABOR.
Topic:
Budget, Economy, Tax Systems, and State Legislature
Political Geography:
North America, Colorado, and United States of America

2862. New Mexico 2024: Swinging the Compass. Recalibrating Fiscal Policy to Plan for a Slower Economy

Author:
Kim Seckler
Publication Date:
01-2025
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
California Journal of Politics and Policy
Institution:
Institute of Governmental Studies, UC Berkeley
Abstract:
In late February 2024, the New Mexico State Legislature closed the books on a relatively uneventful session. After successive years of record revenues and double-digit budget expansion, the legislature modestly reigned in spending increases to less than 7%. Legislators continued their recent trend of stashing some of the state’s massive surplus in newly created endowment funds, hoping to insulate the state from future economic downturns. The legislative action reflects a growing consensus that boom and bust budgeting does not provide for a stable, long-term financial future. Legislators still managed to approve a $10 billion dollar plus budget, set aside reserves upwards of 30%, and spend almost $1.4 billion in capital projects big and small. Though the 30-day session is short, lawmakers still found time to deal with some social issues (public safety, health care, education, and the environment) and some issues personal to the legislature. Though only 72 pieces of legislation passed, the legislature managed to reset the compass on New Mexico’s financial structure while tinkering with current social concerns.
Topic:
Budget, Economy, Fiscal Policy, and State Legislature
Political Geography:
North America, United States of America, and New Mexico

2863. Into the Unknown: The 2024 Washington State Legislative Session & Beyond

Author:
Michael Artime, Erin Richards, and Francis Benjamin
Publication Date:
01-2025
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
California Journal of Politics and Policy
Institution:
Institute of Governmental Studies, UC Berkeley
Abstract:
In this paper, we discuss the political and budgetary landscape of Washington State. With consistent Democratic leadership—in the governor’s mansion and with respect to legislative priorities—the state has been able to advance a more liberal policy agenda than states without Democratic majorities. In this session, the legislature voted to invest in the development of affordable housing, behavioral health initiatives, and policies designed to curb climate change. However, ballot initiatives in November might serve as a significant impediment to these policy pursuits. Voters will decide whether to keep the cap-and-trade climate policy, the capital gains tax, and the long-term care program for the state. The cap-and-trade policy, as well as the capital gains tax, serves as a means of revenue generation and the elimination of these resources would upend the budget in important ways moving forward.
Topic:
Government, Budget, Democratic Party, and State Legislature
Political Geography:
Washington, North America, and United States of America

2864. Should Newsom Stay or Should He LAO? California’s 2024-2025 Budget

Author:
Brian DiSarro and Wesley Hussey
Publication Date:
01-2025
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
California Journal of Politics and Policy
Institution:
Institute of Governmental Studies, UC Berkeley
Abstract:
The FY 2024-25 budgeting cycle in California was far less chaotic than the previous year, when a record $100 billion budget surplus morphed into a widening deficit. This time, Democratic Gavin Newsom and the Democratic controlled legislature had to tackle that mounting deficit as the state’s economy stalled, specifically among the wealthiest Californians, who fund a large portion of the state’s government. Neither Newsom nor the two new Democratic legislative leaders had experienced a budget deficit in office, which made coordination additionally tricky. The state is in much better shape than previous deficits, however, with a large reserve and strong budget resilience among its leaders. One problem- the governor increasingly reports different budget numbers than the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst Office (LAO), which assesses the administration’s budget for the legislature.
Topic:
Government, Budget, Democratic Party, State Legislature, and Gavin Newsom
Political Geography:
California, North America, and United States of America

2865. Two Factions Walk into a Budget Session

Author:
Jason McConnell and Robert Schuhmann
Publication Date:
01-2025
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
California Journal of Politics and Policy
Institution:
Institute of Governmental Studies, UC Berkeley
Abstract:
The 67th Wyoming Legislature’s 20-day budget session was convened Thursday, February 8, 2024, for the beginning of its work in Cheyenne. This year, outside of its typical budget work, over 360 bills were brought forward by both legislative committees and individual legislators. These bills ranged from property tax relief to health care. In the end, on Friday March 8th, the final biennial General Fund budget was close to $3.8 billion – up approximately $100 million from the previous biennium. Deep ideological divides within the state’s dominant Republican Party drove much debate and show no signs of abating before next year’s general session.
Topic:
Government, Budget, State Legislature, and Republican Party
Political Geography:
North America, United States of America, and Wyoming

2866. How Are Minority Staffers Utilized? Evidence from the California State Assembly

Author:
Michelangelo Landgrave
Publication Date:
01-2025
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
California Journal of Politics and Policy
Institution:
Institute of Governmental Studies, UC Berkeley
Abstract:
Legislative staffers are among legislators’ most valuable assets and their appointment by legislators is strategic. Past research has focused on how legislative staffer appointments help legislators meet policy or constituency service goals. In this article I advance the literature by theorizing how minority staffers are utilized. I hypothesize, and show using novel data from the California State Assembly, that state legislators disproportionally place Hispanic and Asian American Pacific Islander staffers in constituency service positions. This may be done as an effort to provide a form of surrogate descriptive representation. Concerningly, because minority staffers are more likely to be placed in constituency service positions, minority staffers are less likely to be placed in policy orientated positions where they might have the most influence over substantive policymaking. This leads to a situation where minority staffers are placed in visible constituency service appointments but continue to be underrepresented in key policy appointments.
Topic:
Government, Minorities, State Legislature, and Staffers
Political Geography:
California, North America, and United States of America

2867. Adapting to a changing climate

Author:
Edson Ntodwa, Rorisang Lekalake, and Matthias Krönke
Publication Date:
11-2025
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afrobarometer
Abstract:
Scientists continue to issue urgent warnings about accelerating climate change, with each year bringing new evidence of its devastating impacts globally (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2023a; NASA, 2024). Recent years have witnessed unprecedented extreme weather events across the African continent that underscore the immediacy of the climate crisis, from tropical cyclone Freddy and severe drought in Southern Africa to record-breaking heatwaves and catastrophic floods in the Sahel (Barnes et al., 2024; Pinto et al., 2024). Yet the global political landscape for climate action has become more challenging. Major greenhouse-gas emitters, including the United States, have retreated from climate commitments, threatening to undermine international climate agreements and domestic climate policies (Dolphin, 2025). At the same time, African leaders demand additional financial support to finance green-energy projects but are divided over how quickly their countries should transition to green energies (Chime, 2025; FSD Africa 2025). On one hand, Ethiopia, Kenya, Egypt, and South Africa have made meaningful progress toward adopting renewable energy sources. On the other hand, countries with large oil and natural-gas reserves (e.g. Nigeria and Senegal) are more reluctant to commit to the green-energy transition and the reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions (Kimeu, 2023; Climate Investment Funds, 2025).
Topic:
Climate Change, Public Opinion, Public Policy, Carbon Emissions, and Drought
Political Geography:
Africa

2868. Who owns a bank account in Africa?

Author:
Suhaylah Peeraullee, Dominique Dryding, and Kamal Yakubu
Publication Date:
12-2025
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afrobarometer
Abstract:
During his inaugural speech as chairperson of the African Union (AU) for 2022–2023, President Macky Sall of Senegal called for the creation of a pan-African credit-rating agency, arguing that low sovereign ratings discourage investment, raise borrowing costs, and undermin Africa’s competitiveness in global markets (Wanjohi, 2022). Similarly, at the 35th AU Summit in February 2022, President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana criticised international credit-rating agencies for their “continuing consequential stranglehold” over African economies, which constrains governments’ access to development finance and increases the cost of capital (African Peer Review Mechanism, 2022, p. 4). These interventions reflect more than episodic political frustration. They point to a broader contest over how African economies are assessed and valued within the global financial system. Ideas about risk and creditworthiness are shaped by historical experience, structural constraints, and unequal power relations, and they in turn influence policy agendas and institutional reform (Jackson, 2021). From this perspective, African leaders’ critiques of the global credit-rating architecture can be read as an effort to assert greater agency over how African economic potential is defined and priced.
Topic:
Economics, Capital, and Banking
Political Geography:
Africa

2869. On a Roll, or Is It a Slide? Alaska’s Budgeting Process in 2024

Author:
Glenn Wright
Publication Date:
01-2025
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
California Journal of Politics and Policy
Institution:
Institute of Governmental Studies, UC Berkeley
Abstract:
As in 2023, Alaska’s politics seem to be benefitting from a more moderate and collegial policymaking environment and possibly even more sensible budgetary policy. In part, this seems due to Alaska’s adoption of a new election system which in 2022 generated a more moderate set of legislative coalitions than the previous several election cycles. These moderate coalitions may be short-lived, however, as an effort to repeal the new election system is underway. And even with our relatively moderate State House and State Senate coalitions, headwinds and controversies remain, especially issues around public education funding.
Topic:
Education, Budget, Elections, and State Legislature
Political Geography:
North America, Alaska, and United States of America

2870. From aspiration to action: Barriers to youth empowerment in Africa

Author:
Rorisang Lekalake, Sophie Sunderland, and Komi Amewunou
Publication Date:
12-2025
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afrobarometer
Abstract:
Africa has the world’s youngest population, with more than 400 million people between the ages of 15 and 35 – a number projected to rise above 830 million by 2050. This sustained youth bulge will keep the continent demographically young for decades, bringing significant challenges as well as opportunities, especially in areas such as jobs, education, and entrepreneurship (African Union, 2025). In this context, Africa’s development trajectory increasingly depends on its ability to participate in the global knowledge economy, where human capital (education and skills) drives productivity, innovation, and competitive advantage (United Nations Economic Commission for Africa & Oxford Economics Africa, 2023). Access to quality education is therefore a critical pathway to employment that provides purpose, dignity, and personal fulfilment – in addition to material security – for the continent’s youth.
Topic:
Economics, Education, Employment, Youth, and Jobs
Political Geography:
Africa