States as Policy Laboratories

It has often been noted by scholars that the fifty states are policy laboratories that craft and implement public policies that are very specific and relevant to their state populations. In many cases, these experiments sometimes rise to the level of becoming a national policy because Congress will use them as model legislation. Describe any specific policies within your state that have been crafted in response to unique circumstances in your state. For example, Louisiana has fashioned many new policies involving emergency responsiveness since Hurricane Katrina, and California has many unique policies concerning the environment that are not found in other states. Provide a brief review of one policy in your state that you find interesting.

Text: Cropf, R. (2008). American public administration: public service for the 21st century (1st ed.) New York, NY: Pearson Longman.