California Policy Research Articles

Towards a dispersed electrical system: Challenges to the grid

A number of countries are currently restructuring their regulations to accommodate dispersed electrical production, resulting in rapid organizational change in grid systems. Dispersed electrical generation in enterpreneurial, industrial and municipal projects appears to be gaining legitimacy and experience. In California, new suppliers of electricity have delivered some 5 800 MW of new capacity to utilities, representing almost 15% of total state electrical capacity. California's policy in stimulating non-utility power has posed four critical policy issues: how to manage oversupply, how to set rates based on avoided cost, how to accommodate extensive self-supply from cogeneration, and how to respond to pressures for greater access to transmission lines for ‘wheeling’ of power. Events in California illustrate specific policy approaches and lessons learned that are potentially valuable for others interested in stimulating dispersed electrical supply in traditional grid systems. Several issues remain, however, unresolved.

The analytic basis for an effective prime farmland landscape preservation scheme in the U.S.A.

In general, the scheme I devise and advocate is based on the best available econometric analysis of the interaction between urban, hobby farm and prime agricultural land-use activities under conditions of regional urban containment. Daniels claims that I am naïve about the efficacy of the hobby farm ring around urban areas buffering prime agricultural districts from urban development. Yet, this is the very scheme used successfully in many places pursuing prime farmland preservation with success (Nelson, 1988a). My conceptual scheme has been, or is soon to be, used either unintentionally or as a matter of policy in Oregon, Florida, California, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, and (perhaps) Georgia. Ironically, Daniels' own work and the regulatory scheme he is devising for Lancaster County includes features that are founded mostly on the techniques I have demonstrated to be effective through the analysis I synthesized in this Journal. I suspect that even he will find the need to have hobby farm land-use designations buffering prime farmland from urban development. I am mostly sympathetic with all the points made by Daniels, although he has more faith than I in things like right-to-farm laws, property tax breaks for commercial farmers and minimum lot size agricultural districting. On the other hand, he is apparently crafting a regulatory scheme that achieves the central objectives of prime farmland preservation by using the techniques that I offer as successful, namely exclusive farm use designation, urban growth boundaries and special rural residential districts on lower-quality soils for hobby farmers (with no tax breaks). To this he is adding some carefully exercised purchase of development rights (where, I hope, the tax payer does not pay twice). I am sure he will be successful. I thank Tom Daniels for his many important contributions.

"Envisioning California": An Introduction

This special issue of California History presents selected papers from Envisioning California: Peoples, Land and, Policies conference, found ing gathering of a statewide community of Cali fornians devoted to interdisciplinary inquiry into California's history, policies, and future, and to encouraging new academic field of California Studies. February 1989, historians, social sci entists, policy-makers, business people, envi ronmentalists, writers, and artists, along with representatives from labor and ethnic groups, met in Sacramento to share their insights and research, compare divergent perspectives, and collaborate in envisioning?in perceiving and trying to understand ?California, its master trends and possibilities as a whole. This conference was called and hosted by Center for California Studies, California State Uni versity, Sacramento. The California Historical Soci ety provided great support as co-sponsor, as did other organizations, including California Eco nomic Development Corporation, University of California's California Policy Seminar, Cali fornia State Library, Walter and Elise Haas Fund, and Institute of Governmental Studies at University of California, Berkeley. For all its sunshine and open spaces, California has often proven a difficult place to comprehend. In saga of states, Carey McWilliams noted, the chapter that is California has long fascinated credulous and charmed romantic. The burden of fable stretches as far back as Ordones

Populism, Decentralization, and Arts Policy in California

Arts policy in California reflects the division separating the "elite" and "populist" arts. The state arts agency, the California Arts Council, favors the populist or community arts. The council's success in preserving and expanding its populist arts policy in a sometimes hostile political environment has depended ultimately upon its ability to alter its organizational structure in a fashion that minimizes administrative stress and maximizes its political assets. In this regard, the 10-year history of this public organization with its rather unorthodox origins confirms some of the conventional wisdom that has accumulated in the study of public administration and public policy.

State education policy in california

California education policy makers are among the most active in the nation. The dynamics of policy formation in this state are complex and fast-paced, with virtually every important dimension of the school system affected by recent state level decisions. Structurally, the current period began in 1968 when SB 1 passed the legislature and was signed into law. This bill, frequently called the Magna Carta of education, removed many state mandates for school programs and curriculum requirements, returning control of most issues to the local school districts. Reform movements of the late 60s and early 70s soon began to erode this newly established local control, of course, but for a brief moment the state succeeded in restoring power and prestige to local school boards. Before long, however, the state was thrust into the very center of policy when the California Supreme Court held inequities resulting from a school district finance system based on local property taxes to be in violation of the state constitution (Serano v. Priest, 1972). Within a decade, the passage of a major property tax reform referendum, the infamous Proposition 13, virtually cancelled the fiscal autonomy of local boards and ushered in a period of sweeping change in school finance and governance. Other changes were brought on by the efforts of two reform oriented superintendents of public instruction (Wilson Riles and Bill Honig) and a very active legislature. Riles successfully encouraged rapid expansion of categorical programs for various special populations and attempted to

Intervention strategies for accident-involved drivers: An experimental evaluation of current California policy and alternatives

Intervention strategies for accident-involved drivers: An experimental evaluation of current California policy and alternatives

The California Health Care Market—Where Is It Headed Next?

JOAN B. TRAUNER is Adjunct Assistant Professor of Health Policy, Institute for Health Policy Studies, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco. This article was funded by the California Policy Seminar and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

POLICY AND OPINION IN CALIFORNIA AFTER PROPOSITION 13

This paper examines the interplay of public opinion and public policy in California following the implementation of Proposition 13. Its results show that fiscal policies have become more closely al...

Earthquake Prediction in Japan and the United States

Major earthquakes were predicted on both sides of the Pacific in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, and the state of California, the United States, at roughly the same time. These predictions differ from those made previously in that (1) the location, scale, and likelihood in a given timeframe have been specified; (2) the predictions for both regions have been taken seriously by the governments; and (3) there has been an unprecedented increase in earthquake concern among the area's residents. In the present study, the American and Japanese reactions to these earthquake predictions are compared in terms of earthquake policy and the impact on residents’ lifestyles. Conclusins are that (1) there is a major difference in the time, money, and energy spent on earthquake policy, Shizuoka being far better prepared than California; (2) Tokai earthquake policy is premised on the assumption of short-term predictability, but California policy is not; and (3) Shizuoka residents are ahead of Californians in earthquake preparedness, but public earthquake awareness is growing steadily in California, and should be considerably enhanced in the near future.

Intervention strategies for accident-involved drivers: An experimental evaluation of current California policy and alternatives

This project was designed to evaluate current and alternative strategies for selecting and treating accident-involved drivers in California. The current accident-based selection criteria were contrasted with an expanded selection strategy that included convictions as well as accidents as criteria for selection. The standard diagnostic reexamination treatment was compared to two alternative behavior modification treatments—an accident avoidance session and a mailed educational pamphlet/self-administered test. Interaction between treatments and selection criteria revealed that accident-involved drivers with minimum conviction histories were amenable to treatment intervention, while accident-involved drivers with more extensive conviction histories were not. Treatment effects were statistically significant (p < .02), with each of the treatment groups having posttreatment accident means in excess of 20% lower than comparable control groups.

Colonial Policy and Native Depopulation in California and New South Wales 1770-1840

Colonial Policy and Native Depopulation in California and New South Wales 1770-1840

Brushland fire-management policies: A cross-impact simulation of southern California

A cross-impact simulation computer language, UW-KSIM, is presented as a potentially useful technique for assessing the consequences of resource policies. Cross-impact simulation is used to estimate trends in a set of variables that result from interactions produced from hypothesized relationships among the members of the set. This technique is illustrated with an example that simulates the likely impacts of a 20-year rotation burn policy in southern California's brushland watersheds and that compares the results to a simulated representation of the observed effects of the fire-exclusion policy. Simulated losses under the fire-exclusion policy were up to 300% higher than those produced by the rotation burn policy. Similarly, the simulated average area burned per year was reduced from 5.6% of the study area under the fire-exclusion policy to 2% of the study area under the rotation burn policy. A corresponding reduction in simulated appropriations for fighting wildfires was also demonstrated.

REUSE OF POWER PLANT COOLING WATER FOR IRRIGATION1

ABSTRACT: Current water quality policies in California require disposal of saline blowdown waters from power plants in sealed evaporation ponds to avoid degradation of ground waters. This policy highlights the conflict between increased energy demands, increasing scarcity of water, and environmental priorities. Saline blowdown waters can be used for the irrigation of salt tolerant crops, albeit with some reduction in yields. The results of experiments intended to specify these yield reductions are reported. If such irrigation is carefully managed, the soil profile can be used to store residual salts and ground water degradation will be avoided, provided that irrigation ceases before the salts are leached to the ground water. An analysis of discharge below a carefully managed irrigation project shows that the downward movement of salts below the root zone is no worse than with conventional methods of disposal. Thus, irrigation reuse with blowdown water is shown to be a viable means of saline water disposal while maintaining existing standards of ground water quality protection. Further analysis demonstrates the economic feasibility of such irrigation reuse by showing that it is significantly less costly than the evaporation pond alternative.

Labeling theory and community care of the mentally ill in California: the relationship of social theory and ideology to public policy.

The practical merit of a labeling theory approach to mental illness is examined and assessed through an exploration of its application in terms of public policy, i.e., community mental health policy in the state of California since 1968. Primary focus is placed on the impact of the deinstitutionalization of mental health services in that state, and the release of former mental patients into the community. Similarities in the fundamental ideological underpinnings of labeling theory, an associated conspiratorial model of mental illness, and contemporary California mental health policy, are presented and examples of policy input by labeling theorists and researchers are detailed. The impact of the California policy on the mentally ill is generally negatively assessed in terms of three major criteria: (1) rehabilitation; (2) reintegration; and (3) quality and continuity of care. The "translation" of several theoretical misconceptions regarding mental illness, caused by putting labeling theory into official policy, is suggested to lie at the root of many of the policy's implementation problems. The uses of social science theory and research are discussed, and caution is advised in the translation and application of social scientific theory and research to public policy proposals and programs.

Controlling California's Indian Labor Force; Federal Administration of California Indian Affairs During the Mexican War

Between 1846 and 1849, the period of American military occupation and rule in California, United States officers were responsible for administration of Indian affairs and developed an Indian policy under United States aegis.1 This policy, though critical in the transition of California from Mexican to United States control, has received little attention from historians. Scholars of California history have tended to regard Indian affairs during this time as a minor issue while concentrating on other military and political developments.2 Older accounts of federal Indian policy in California are focused on the creation of a federal Indian reservation system during the 1850s.3 Recent books in California Indian history have also neglected this formative period, emphasizing instead the destruction of the native populations which came during the Gold Rush.4 An examination of Indian affairs in California during this era demonstrates that an Indian policy emerged from the efforts of federal military authorities to adapt their administration to the needs of California's Mexican and American residents. This policy, shaped by local interests, provided an assurance to both former Mexican citizens and incoming Americans that United States authorities would consider their needs before those of the Indians, protect their lives and property, and maintain control over the far more numerous Indian peoples. The policy was intended to maintain the established pattern of race relations in California. It would permit Mexican and American landowners

Energy Policy and Life Styles in California

Energy Policy and Life Styles in California

California's Policy on "Pot"

Man creates law as an expression of the type of society he wants to establish and maintain. Societies, however, are not stagnant, unmoving entities. They grow—or atrophy—and the perceived need for laws changes, the established policies feel the pull of alteration The marijuana laws in California are a good example of this change in that they have come nearly full circle during the course of this century, with further changes sure to come in the near future. Both California's policy on "pot" and the methods used to arrive at this policy—whatever it may be at any given moment-provide insight not only into the function of laws as policy decisions, but into California politics as well.

California's Policy on "Pot" : Continued from page 21

California's Policy on "Pot" : Continued from page 21

Third party payment for nonphysician health practitioners: realities and recommendations.

1Consultant Select Committee on Health Sciences Education California State Legislature Sacramento, California 2Consultant Subcommittee on Health Personnel California State Legislature Sacramento, California The authors are familiar with new health professional re imbursement policies in California as both observers and participants from their positions as full-time consultants to legislative health committees.

Paul Wallace Gates, Historian of Public Land Policy

Research Article| July 01 1977 Paul Wallace Gates, Historian of Public Land Policy Joseph M. Petulla Joseph M. Petulla Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar California Historical Quarterly (1977) 56 (2): 170–174. https://doi.org/10.2307/25157703 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Joseph M. Petulla; Paul Wallace Gates, Historian of Public Land Policy. California Historical Quarterly 1 July 1977; 56 (2): 170–174. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/25157703 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentCalifornia History Search This content is only available via PDF. Copyright 1977 California Historical Society Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.