In the past few decades political scientists have been looking at ways to categorize different patterns which have emerged during their in depth study on why certain issues shoulder their way onto the calendar, and why others are left in the trashcan. John Kindogon is one such political scientist, his perceptive on agenda formation suggests that there are interactions between three streams of society: Problem stream, Policy stream and Political stream. His model proposes that these individual streams intersect through what he calls policy windows, opportunities for advocates to push attention towards their problem. From the clever usage of these streams policies are able to become passable legislation. This paper will use Kingdons Streams model to explain how different aspects of the community, government and media brought Florida House Bill 0991 onto the docket. In order to better comprehend Kingdons theories of agenda setting and their correlation to the proposal of Florida House Bill 0991, the basic model of policy formation must be explained; a general sketch of this model is: Private problem Public Problem Makes the Agenda Formulation Adoption Budgeting Implementation Evaluation Termination. A private problem, which only affects a small percentage of people, arises. This problem can exists between two private groups or between government and a private group of citizens. Through the use of a catalyst, like the media or interest groups, more people become aware that this specific problem exists and might one day affect their everyday lives. Thus, the private problem is catapulted into the public arena becoming a public problem. Public problems are those which affect a large percentage of the population. Once the public is aware of a situation they generally demand for action to be taken. Government takes action by selecting public or social issues which cause concern among the electorate and make an effort to amend them. ...
