POLS 306: State Government and Public Policy

This course focuses on the institutions, actors, processes and challenges involved in making and implementing public policy generally, and environmental and sustainability policy specifically, in state government. Students will examine the political and legal foundations of state governments and the actors that influence policy outcomes to understand 1) how state governments function, 2) what allows government to meet the needs of their constituents and 3) what prevents government from achieving their goals. Additionally, this course will introduce students to foundational theories and concepts of the study of public policy creation, implementation and evaluation. Although this course will focus on state government structure and policymaking generally, it will give special attention to the impact of policy processes on environmental and sustainability policy and the government of the state of Washington.