Books published by publisher Institute of Governmental Studies Press

Paving the Way: Women's Struggle for Women s Political Equality in California weaves into a 170-year historical narrative the dramatic personal stories of dozens of mostly unsung and long-forgotten women who challenged traditional concepts of femininity and helped shape California s public landscape. With a foreword by California State Librarian Greg Lucas, Paving the Way takes us from the post-Gold Rush era and the decades-long fight for suffrage, through the turbulent and transformative 1960s and 1970s, into today's #MeToo movement. With a perspective shaped by a combined 150 years experience in journalism and public policy, the authors bring to life the grit, determination and resilience of these trailblazing women.

Once regarded as a national model of policymaking, in recent decades California's reputation has deteriorated to a state more commonly associated with dysfunction. At the heart of this demise has been the state's inability to manage its budget -- a core function of any effective government. Historically, California, like other states, has been subject to boom-and-bust budget cycles that produce huge swings in revenue during periods of economic growth and precipitous revenue drops when recessions occur. However, these cycles became more severe in the 1980s and culminated in the crisis budgeting era of the 2000s, when the state teetered on the brink of insolvency. Although California's fiscal conditions have improved in the last few years, the state still faces significant budget challenges that leave funding support for state and local services vulnerable to future economic recessions and long-term spending commitments. Through the lens of crisis budgeting, this book traces the roots of the state's budget problems and offers context for understanding California's dynamic budget conditions. The book provides a comprehensive examination of the California budget that includes description and analysis of how the budget process works, how the tax system is structured, and how the state allocates its spending on major program areas. In addition, it also explains the impact of external pressures on budgetary decision-making arising from interest groups, the media, and the public, and explores the increasing presence of ballot-box budgeting. Along the way, this book addresses a number of key questions that state and local policymakers and the public have asked about how the state raises and spends its money. What characteristics of the political system in California make budgeting difficult? How does the tax system lead to boom-and-bust cycles? Why does California frequently encounter fiscal crises? Why is the financial fate of local governments tied to the state budget process? Do restrictions on the budget process, such as spending limits, help improve budget conditions? What policy changes would place the state on stronger fiscal ground?Boom and Bust: The Politics of the California Budget provides the foundation for understanding California's budget and provides fresh insight and analysis on the state's dominant issue of recent decades.

Who are the people of California, and what do they believe politically? How do Californians choose their leaders, and how do those leaders govern once they are in power? How has California confronted some of its greatest public policy challenges?These are the questions that underlie this in-depth and careful examination of America's mega-state. This book uses the latest research and scholarship to explore California's civil society -- how an extraordinarily complex state of 37 million people governs itself through politics and policy.The results paint a complex picture, one not nearly so simple as the handy California stereotypes. Are Californians really worse off than they used to be? Are they all Hollywood liberals far to the left ideologically? Are the recent reforms in their political systems making much of a difference? Who really governs the state -- its world-famous governors or its highly professional legislature? How can a state often derided as a hopeless failure be leading the way on one of the most important public policy issues of our time? All these questions are examined in this new edition of Governing California, updated to reflect the results and changes of the 2012 election.Table of Contents:Part ICalifornia and Californians1. Well-being in the Golden State: The Five Californias of the Human Development IndexSarah Burd-Sharps and Kristen Lewis, Social Science Research Council2. State of Change: Immigration Politics and the New Demography of CaliforniaJack Citrin, University of California, Berkeley; Morris Levy, University of California, Berkeley; and Andrea Campbell, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 3. California s Political Geography: Coast vs. Inland and Increasingly BlueFrederick Douzet, French Institute of Geopolitics of Paris, and Kenneth P. Miller, Claremont McKenna College4. Medium Blue: Partisan Politics and Ideological Polarization in CaliforniaCorey Cook and David Latterman, University of San FranciscoPart IIPolitics in the Golden State5. Direct Democracy: The Initiative, Referendum, and RecallKenneth P. Miller, Claremont McKenna College 6. Redistricting: Did Radical Reform Produce Different Results?Vladimir Kogan, Ohio State University, and Eric McGhee, Public Policy Institute of California 7. Polarization Interrupted? California s Experiment with the Top-Two PrimarySeth Masket, University of DenverPart IIIGoverning the Golden State8. Goodbye to All That: Mending California's BudgetJohn Decker, University of California, Berkeley9. Governors and the Executive BranchEthan Rarick, University of California, Berkeley10. The Legislature: Life under Term LimitsBruce Cain, Stanford University; Thad Kousser, University of California, San Diego; and Karl Kurtz, National Council of State Legislatures11. Partisan Polarization and Policy Gridlock: Does One Lead to the Other?Thad Kousser, University of California, San Diego12. The California JudiciaryDavid A. Carrillo, University of California, Berkeley13. Local Government: Designing and Financing the Cities and Counties of CaliforniaMax Neiman, University of California, BerkeleyPart IVPolicy Challenges14. Education: Back from the BrinkDavid N. Plank and Susanna Loeb, Stanford University15. Water: A Case Study in FederalismMegan Mullin, Temple University16. Climate Change Policy: A Race to the TopDaniel A. Mazmanian, University of Southern California; Hal Nelson, Claremont Graduate University; and John Jurewitz, Pomona College

Diversity and change are hallmarks of California political life, and the changes often chart new paths for other states to follow. California blazed a trail to direct democracy, personal politics, disdain for parties, professional campaign consultants, huge campaign budgets, and modern media techniques. This book explains how this diverse, entrepreneurial, and individualistic collection of people functions politically, how its most important institutions of government operate, and how it makes public policy. There are surprisingly few good books on California politics and government. Our goal is to give students and interested observers of state politics and government an analytical and interpretive overview of the machinery of state government, the pivotal issues that dominate political discourse, and the primary interest groups that play off one another in the ebb and flow of political life. Chapters include The Changing Legislative Landscape, by Patrick Johnston, Resolving Differences and Crafting Compromise: Creating a Budget for California, by John Decker, California: A Professional Legislature after Term Limits, by Bruce Cain, Thad Kousser, and Karl Kurtz, The Governor: Managing a Mega-State, by John Jacobs and A.G. Block, The Courts, by Preble Stolz, Jerry Uelmen, and Susan Rasky, Cities, Counties, and the State, by Revan Tranter, Direct Democracy: Initiative, Referendum, and Recall, by Eugene C. Lee, Redistricting: California 1971-2001, by J. Morgan Kousser, Do Debates Matter? The 2003 Gubernatorial Debates, by Rachel VanSickle-Ward and Darshan Goux, Immigration, by Jack Citrin and Andrea Campbell, Water in California: A Case Study in Federalism, by Megan Mullin