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• 1. Introduction: They Tax Dogs in West Virginia, Don’t They?
• 2. Federalism: The Power Plan
• 3. Constitutions: Operating Instructions
• 4. Political Attitudes and Participation: Venting and Voting
• 5. Parties and Interest Groups: Elephants, Donkeys, and Cash Cows
• 6. Legislatures: The Art of Herding Cats
• 7. Governors and Executives: There Is No Such Thing As Absolute Power
• 8. Courts: Turning Law into Politics
• 9. Bureaucracy: What Nobody Wants but Everybody Needs
• 10. Local Government: Function Follows Form
• 11. Metropolitics: The Hole Government Problem
• 12. Finances: Filling the Till and Paying the Bills
• 13. Education: Reading, Writing, and Regulation
• 14. Crime and Punishment
• 15. Health and Welfare Policy: State, Heal Thyself!
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Chapter 6: Legislatures

Study

Chapter Summary
Legislatures tend to serve a common purpose and perform a set of core functions, although legislative organization and activities generally reflect the existing political culture of a state. While lawmaking and oversight consume a significant amount of time and resources, constituent representation is the primary responsibility of state legislators. Elected officials and their staffs spend the vast majority of their time answering constituent requests through casework and other forms of constituent service.

The structure and composition of state legislatures have changed dramatically in the last forty years. The rise of professionalized legislatures has significantly increased the power of legislatures and the authority of individual legislators. It also has resulted in a significant increase in career-oriented legislators. This contributes to variation in legislative composition and organization. As the degree of professionalization has increased, however, public approval of legislative activity has decreased. Thus, despite improving efficiency and effectiveness, state legislatures remain unpopular with the American public. For this reason, states with highly professionalized legislatures also tend to have term limits in place for incumbents. These states often provide for direct citizen influence in the form ballot initiatives and referendums as well.

Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should understand…

• the procedures available to legislators for blocking legislation
• why the legislative process can be extremely slow
• the core functions of state legislatures
• which groups affect the legislative process and why
• the role of constituent service
• the structure of state legislatures
• the redistricting process and the potential problems with this process
• the demographic and professional composition of state legislatures
• how professional and part-time legislatures differ
• how the public and individual legislators view the effectiveness of term limits
  

Study Questions

1. Discuss the following legislative terms: logrolling, coalition building, filibusters, and riders.


2. What are the lawmaking, representation, and oversight functions of state legislatures?

3. What is constituent service, and how does it affect the legislative process?

4. What is the difference between redistricting and apportionment? Gerrymandering and malapportionment? What are majority-minority districts?

5. How do professional and part-time legislatures differ?

6. What is the nature of public opinion on state legislatures? Has an increase in the professionalization of state legislatures improved the public's perception of them?

7. According to the public, are term limits effective? According to individual state legislators, are term limits effective?