What makes for a “good” legislature? In Heavy Lifting, Alan Rosenthal traveled to five states, interviewing and shadowing legislators to find out the answer. Through this engaging narrative, the author first establishes the most important aspects of American state legislatures--what they are and how they do their jobs--and then graduates to the book’s central thesis: Rosenthal argues that, on the whole, the American legislature must be evaluated on the basis of its processes, not its products. He breaks down the legislative process into three principal functions: representing, lawmaking, and balancing the executive, and covers each in turn in the remainder of the book.

Tables and Figures
Preface

1. Looking at What Legislatures Do

What Legislatures Look Like
What Legislatures Do and How Well They Do It
Figuring Out How They Do What They Do

2. Representation: Serving the District’s Interests

Legislators and Their Districts
Constituency Service
How Service Counts

3. Representation: Expressing Constituency Views

Who They Hear From
How They Figure Out Where People Stand
Delegate versus Trustee
Constituency versus Conviction
The Electoral Connection
Collective Representation

4. Lawmaking: Challenges of the Legislative Process

What Is Required
Handling the Workload
Where Does It Come From?
Controversial and Consensual Bills
Time Constraints
The Nature of the Enterprise

5. Lawmaking: Obstacles to Overcome

Diversity and Individualism
Interest Group Agendas
Intraparty Division
Partisans and Partisanship
Committee Disputes
Senate-House Differences
The Scarcity of Resources

6. Lawmaking: Putting It Together

Hearing the Arguments
Studying the Problem
Deliberating
Building Support
Deliberation and Support

7. Lawmaking: Managing Majorities

Strategizing toward Enactment
Political Ramifications
Working It Out
Compromise
Reaching Agreement

8. Balance: The Executive’s Upper Hand

The Power of Unity
The Power of Agenda Setting
The Power of Budget Formulation
The Power of Provision
The Power of Denial
The Difference That Party Makes

9. Balance: How Governors and Legislatures Deal with One Another

How the Governor Sees the Legislature
The Governor’s Style and Techniques
The Governor’s Engagement
Relating to Legislative Leaders
The Governor as Negotiator
The Legislature’s Balancing Act
The Range of Legislative Influence
Working over the Budget
Gubernatorial Success
Duking It Out

10. Does Legislative Leadership Make a Difference?

Varieties of Leadership
Leadership Resources
Collaborating in the Shaping of Legislation
The Leadership Agenda
Getting the Job Done
Holding up under Fire

11. What Is a “Good” Legislature?

The Legislature’s Job Performance
“First, Do No Harm”
“Second, Tell It Like It Is”

Index

“Heavy Lifting is the best overview of state legislatures I have seen so far. Alan Rosenthal is a seasoned and astute observer of legislatures. Using colorful stories, he presents a balanced view of legislatures that ranges between cynical and worshipful. His study is comprehensive, covering almost every conceivable aspect of legislatures, and he gives wonderful insight as to what makes for successful legislative leadership.”

“Heavy Lifting is vintage Alan Rosenthal, doing what he does best -- developing a theme and an argument and supporting it with the kinds of examples and quotations that make the students feel they've gotten behind the scenes. It makes timely and much-needed points about how state legislatures really operate, and why we should appreciate them.”

“Heavy Lifting by Alan Rosenthal continues Rosenthal's spirited defense of representative democracy by focusing in detail on the lawmaking process. Using in-depth interviews, surveys, and observation, Rosenthal offers us a unique in-depth view of state legislators as they represent their constituents, negotiate the law making process, and interact with other political officials. Heavy Lifting will be a valuable addition to the bookshelves of anyone interested in state lawmaking.”

Alan Rosenthal is Professor of Public Policy and Political Science at the Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University. He has collaborated in activities with the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), the Council of State Governments (CSG), and the State Legislative Leaders Foundation (SLLF) and worked on projects and studies for legislatures in about 35 states. Currently, he is working with NCSL, the American Political Science Association (APSA), and the Center for Civic Education on the development and communication of a new public perspective on representative democracy.

In New Jersey, he chaired the Ad Hoc Commission on Legislative Ethics and Campaign Finance in 1990, was selected as the independent member and chair of the Redistricting Commission in 1992, and in 1993 received the Governor's Award for Public Service. In 1995 Rosenthal received APSA's Charles E. Merriam Award, which honors a person whose published work and career represent a significant contribution to the art of government through the application of social science research.

His recent books include Republic on Trial: The Case for Representative Democracy (Rosenthal et al., 2003) and Heavy Lifting: The Job of the American Legislature (2005).