Why States Enact Environmental Legislation: An Examination of Renewable Portfolio Standards in Massachusetts, Minnesota and Texas

Abstract

In light of the failure of the federal government to enact substantial environmental policies, many states have passed their own legislation addressing these concerns. One common policy is a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), which requires retail electric utilities within a state to produce a certain percentage of their electricity from renewable energy sources. However, not all states have enacted an RPS or other form of environmental legislation. Three theories have emerged to attempt to explain why this is the case; these three theories can be referred to as political ideology, regional diffusion and internal determinants. This paper explores the political factors that led to RPS programs in Massachusetts, Minnesota and Texas in hopes of revealing which of these three theories is most convincing. The discovery is that political ideology does play a role in environmental legislative success at the state level, while regional diffusion does not emerge as a significant factor in these three cases. What appears to be most telling are the unique internal determinants of each state that interacted during the legislative process of RPS development.