Local officials engage in activism by passing laws in defiance of state and/or federal authority. Their intent is to stimulate policy change or, at least, to force a higher government response. What effect, if any, do their actions have? This study employs event history analysis, seeking to determine whether there is a relationship between local activism and state response as it pertains to the local Bill of Rights movement. In this movement, some localities and states passed resolutions or ordinances in opposition to the USA PATRIOT Act. While legislative professionalism is related to state resolution activity, the stronger predictor is the breadth of diffusion among localities.
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