FIFTY YEARS OF THE COMMONWEALTH GRANTS COMMISSION*

Abstract: The Commonwealth Grants Commission was established in 1933 to inquire into the payment of special grants to the States. It has retained this function to the present day, and has also conducted inquiries into grants to local government, the distribution of general revenue assistance to the States, and the financial position of the Territories. Although special grants had been paid for over twenty years before the establishment of the Commission, the principle upon which grants should be based had not been determined. The first members of the Commission, after debating the merits of grants based on financial need and grants based on disabilities due to federation, adopted in their third report the principle of fiscal equalization which the Commission still follows. Under this principle grants are assessed that enable each State to provide a standard level of service to its residents so long as it levies taxes at standard rates. The Commission operates as a semi-judicial body, receiving written submissions and conducting public hearings at which witnesses from the States and the Commonwealth Treasury are examined on oath. It also conducts an extensive analysis of State government finances and other information in arriving at its conclusions. Over the years many distinguished Australians have served on the Commission, and their work has contributed to the high reputation enjoyed by the Commission in carrying out its task of maintaining a balance in the fiscal position of the States.     

THE HEARTLANDS OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE US STATES

Abstract: Over recent years the American states have re-emerged as centres of policy innovation and reasserted themselves within the federal system. In contrast, at least until Bill Clinton's accession to the presidency, the federal government has lost the initiative. Indeed, Clinton's accession from what in the past would have been regarded as an obscure southern governorship symbolises the shift of the states to the centre stage of American politics. This article considers the reasons for this shift, stressing the generational change among the governors, the new economic and social challenges faced by the states and the increasing withdrawal of the federal government from the state sphere. In terms of the prospects for the future of American federalism, federal government is likely to withdraw further under Clinton, reversing the trend of earlier Democratic presidencies. Indeed, thanks to the efforts of governors like Clinton, state governments are now better equipped than ever before to shoulder new responsibilities. Their tax base has widened, though many states have faced difficult budgetary situations in the early 1990s. The organisation and structure of most state governments have been modernised, if slowly given the obstacles inherent in the separation of powers. The new breed of governor has a more managerial approach than earlier generations, and contemporary governors have sought to centralise their power within the executive branch. As state legislatures have also asserted their influence over the executive branch, gubernatorial influence has usually been enhanced at the expense of other power centres within the executive.     

THE POLITICS OF MICROPOLICY: INNOVATION AND INDUSTRIAL POLICY IN THE UNITED STATES

The author compares the origins and prominence of efforts in the U.S. to initiate innovation policy and industrial policy. Efforts to develop innovation policy have proven t o be obscure, episodic, relatively noncontroversial, and confined to a narrow political arena. They typically resulted in short-lived spending programs. In contrast, in less than four years the industrial policy proposals introduced have been far more ambitious, generated broad interest groups support and opposition, and sparked vigorous, widely publicized controversy. These differences cannot be explained by differences in analytical difficulties or in the uncertainty of benefits derived. They derive from the failure and success of the two issues to engage politically active constituencies and from the corresponding roles of Congress and the bureaucracy.     

FIFTY YEARS LATER: THE LEGACY OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964

This paper assesses the legacy of the Civil Rights Act over the past 50 years, reviewing its history, scope, and impact on wage, employment, and segregation outcomes of the Act's five protected classes. In addition to improving outcomes for protected classes, the Act launched a period of expanded civil rights legislation and established a framework that allows expansion of coverage through judicial interpretation without requiring passage of new laws. Applications include prohibiting sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination and protection against color discrimination separately from race discrimination, which may be increasingly salient with increased immigration and with a multirace population.