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Contents Set Editor's Foreword, 000 Preface and Acknowledgments, 000 1 Fundamentals of State Legislatures, 000 A Note on the Importance of State Governments, 000 Why Legislatures Matter, 000 The Will of the Constituency, 000 The Collective Will of the People, 000 The Interests of the People, 000 Institutional Balance, 000 Consensus out of Conflict, 000 The Common Characteristics of State Legislatures, 000 Bicameralism, 000 Partisanship, 000 Hierarchical Leadership, 000 Decentralized Committee Structures, 000 What State Legislatures Do, 000 Lawmaking, 000 Budget-making, 000 Representation, 000 Education, 000 Oversight, 000 The Nature of Legislative Influence, 000 Opportunity, 000 Capacity, 000 Leadership, 000 The Historical Development of State Legislatures, 000 Colonial Legislatures: Limited Opportunity, Capacity, and Leadership, 000 The "Supreme" Legislature (late 1770s-1840s): Opportunity, but Limited Leadership and Capacity, 000 The Declining Legislature (1850s-1900): Minimal Opportunity, Capacity, and Leadership, 000 The Potential Legislature (1900-1960s): Potential Opportunity, Increasing Capacity, and Sporadic Leadership, 000 The Professional Legislature (1960s-Present): Increasing Opportunity, Capacity, and Leadership, 000 The Legislature Today: Opportunity, Capacity, and Leadership under Siege, 000 The Modern Legislature and its Opportunities to Lead, 000 Powerful Governors, 000 Increasing Use and Effect of Initiatives, 000 Increasing Mandates and Financial Obligations, 000 The Modern Legislature and Legislative Capacity, 000 Legislative Term Limits, 000 More Partisan and Less Nonpartisan Professional Staff, 000 Restricted Legislative Sessions, 000 Leadership in the Modern State Legislature, 000 Increasing Leadership Turnover, 000 Increasing Partisan Competition, 000 Growth of Candidate-Centered Campaigns and Independent Members, 000 Conclusion: A Dynamic Institution, 000 References, 000 2 Powers and Responsibilities of State Legislatures, 000 Introduction, 000 What Power and Authority do State Legislatures Have?, 000 The Power of Institutional Regulation, 000 The Power to Propose Legislation, 000 The Power of Removal, 000 The Power of Taxation, 000 The Power of Creation, 000 What a State Legislature Does and How It Does It, 000 Representation, 000 How Do Legislators Learn the Views of Those They Represent?, 000 Other Components of Representation, 000 Lawmaking, 000 How a Bill Becomes a Law, 000 Categorizing Bills, 000 Budgeting and Appropriations, 000 How the Budget Process Works, 000 Variations in Budgeting and Appropriations Processes, 000 Legislative Oversight, 000 Educating the Public, 000 Traditional Communication Tools, 000 Modern Methods of Communication, 000 Resources of State Legislatures, 000 Membership Diversity, 000 Committee Structure, 000 Centralized Leadership, 000 Information Resources, 000 The Limitations of Legislative Influence, 000 Membership and Leadership Instability, 000 The Free-Agent Legislator, 000 A Complex and Slow Legislative Process, 000 The Loss of Community and Comity, 000 Conclusion: Evaluating State Legislatures, 000 Institutional Resources, 000 The Legislative Process, 000 The People, 000 Legislative Performance, 000 References, 000 3 Structure and Process, 000 Legislative Structure, 000 Leadership of the Legislature, 000 Leadership Hierarchy, 000 Presiding Officers: Presidents, President Pro Tempores, and Speakers, 000 Floor Leaders: Majority Leaders and Minority Leaders, 000 Second Echelon Leadership: Deputy and Assistant Leaders and Whips, 000 Committee Chairpersons, 000 Leadership Selection, 000 Leaders Elected by the Public, 000 Leaders Elected by the Chamber or Their Caucus, 000 Leaders Appointed by Other Leaders, 000 Leadership Style and Management, 000 The Qualities of an Effective Legislative Leader, 000 Legislative Committees, 000 The Variety of Legislative Committees, 000 Committee Structure and Organization, 000 Committee Size and Membership , 000 Committee Procedures, 000 Committee Hearings , 000 Committees as a Tool for Oversight of the Executive Branch, 000 Legislative Staff, 000 A Functional Breakdown of Legislative Staff Services, 000 The Legislative Process, 000 The Bill-Consideration Process, 000 Formal Rules and Procedures, 000 Rules Governing the Consideration of Legislation, 000 Legislative Ethics and Conflicts of Interest, 000 Informal Rules of the Legislative Process, 000 Factors that Influence Legislative Decision-Making, 000 Conclusion: An Effective State Legislature Makes an Effective State, 000 Bibliography, 000 4 The People Who Serve, 000 An Overview of State Legislative Elections, 000 The Context of State Legislative Elections, 000 The Political Environment, 000 The Legal Environment, 000 The Structural Environment, 000 The Electoral Environment, 000 The Election Process, 000 Stage 1: Candidate Recruitment, 000 Stage 2: Candidate Nomination, 000 Stage 3: The General Election, 000 The Legislative Life, 000 How Much Compensation and Logistical Support Do State Legislators Receive? 000 What Do Legislators Do?, 000 Conclusion: The Unique World of State Legislative Elections, 000 References, 000 5 The Politics of the Legislature, 000 The Four Basic Principles of U.S. Government, 000 The Other Branches of the Government, 000 The Governor and the Executive Branch, 000 Judges and the Judicial Branch, 000 Nongovernmental Groups, 000 Interest Groups, 000 Political Party Organizations, 000 The News Media, 000 Agents of the Federal System of Government, 000 Other States, 000 The National Government, 000 Conclusion: State Legislatures Caught in the Middle, 000 References, 000 6 The Legislature: State by State, 000 Alabama, 000 Alaska, 000 Arizona, 000 Arkansas, 000 California, 000 Colorado, 000 Connecticut, 000 Delaware, 000 Florida, 000 Georgia, 000 Hawaii, 000 Idaho, 000z Illinois, 000 Indiana, 000 Iowa, 000 Kansas, 000 Kentucky, 000 Louisiana, 000 Maine, 000 Maryland, 000 Massachusetts, 000 Michigan, 000 Minnesota, 000 Mississippi, 000 Missouri, 000 Montana, 000 Nebraska, 000 Nevada, 000 New Hampshire, 000 New Jersey, 000 New Mexico, 000 New York, 000 North Carolina, 000 North Dakota, 000 Ohio, 000 Oklahoma , 000 Oregon, 000 Pennsylvania, 000 Rhode Island, 000 South Carolina, 000 South Dakota, 000 Tennessee, 000 Texas, 000 Utah, 000 Vermont, 000 Virginia, 000 Washington, 000 West Virginia, 000 Wisconsin, 000 Wyoming, 000 Glossary of Common Legislative Terms, 000 Annotated Bibliography, 000 Index, 000 Foreword Most Americans have some familiarity with the role and structure of the federal government. At an early age, we are taught in school about the president of the United States and the roles performed by the three branches of the federal government: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. In civics classes, we are often given a skeletal picture of how the nation's government works; we are told that Congress writes the laws, the president executes them, and the Supreme Court acts as the interpreter of the U.S. Constitution. Outside of the classroom, the media repeatedly remind us of the important duties that all three branches play in the nation's political system. Through television news, radio talk shows, newspapers, magazines, and web blogs, the media draw our attention to the major political battles in Washington, D.C., building our knowledge of the president, Congress, and the U.S. Supreme Court. While most Americans have some familiarity with the federal government, they tend to have far less knowledge about state governments. Our schools frequently teach us about the governments in our own states, yet what we learn about state government does not become as deeply ingrained as what we learn about the federal government. The media do little to improve our knowledge about the states. With their attention primarily drawn to conflict in the nation's Capitol, the media tend to devote little attention to the politics in our state capitols. The lack of knowledge about state government is unfortunate because state governments today play a major role in American politics. Certainly, one cannot dismiss the importance of the federal government. The president, Congress, and the Supreme Court routinely address some of the most vital political issues confronting the nation today, from the health of the economy to the advancement of civil rights to whether the nation will go to war or seek peace. Yet on a day-to-day basis, the state governments may have an even greater effect on our lives, for they tend to be directly responsible for establishing most of the laws under which we live and for providing the everyday services that we need to survive. The importance of state governments can be seen by simply noting three facts. State legislatures produce more laws than the U.S. Congress. Combined, more than 20,000 new laws are passed each year across the states, with an average of more than 400 new laws per state. Congress tends to adopt fewer than 300 laws in a given year. State laws are essential because they constitute most of the rules governing criminal behavior in the nation and help shape such things as the character of our schools, the strength of the states' economies, the type of help that is provided to the needy, the quality of our roads, and the health of the environment. State governments are large and growing.Their growth has been outpacing that of the federal government for the past several decades. In fact, the expansion of government bureaucracy over the past three decades has come primarily at the state and local level, while the number of federal employees has seen little change. As of 2004, more than 5 million people were working for state governments compared with 2.7 million for the federal government. Another 11 million people are employed by local governments, many of whom handle responsibilities determined by the state government. Far more cases are heard in state courts each year than in the federal courts. In an average year, more than 93 million cases are filed in state courts. This compares with approximately 2.6 million cases filed in the federal courts. Not only does state politics matter, but state governments are in many ways different from the federal government. The three branches of government are common to both the national and the fifty state governments, yet beyond this rather cosmetic similarity, significant differences exist. One of the most central is that while the executive branch of the national government is led by one individual-the president-the executive branch of state governments is led by several executives. Beyond the governor, who is the state's chief executive, the fifty states have other elected executives who have their own independent responsibilities and sources of power, including such figures as the lieutenant governor, the secretary of state, the attorney general, the treasurer, and the superintendent of public instruction. The state legislatures also vary considerably from Congress. Some of them, most notably the California and New York legislatures, look a lot like Congress, meeting year-round, with full-time staff and well-paid members. Yet other legislatures, such as those in Wyoming and South Dakota, meet only briefly every year or every other year, have minimal staff support, and pay members very little. The legislature in Nebraska, unlike Congress or any other state, has only one chamber andis the only nonpartisan legislature in the nation. With 400 representatives, the house of representatives in the state of New Hampshire has almost as many members as the 435-seat U.S. House. The boundaries for all state senate districts in the nation are based on population so that each district in a given state has approximately the same number of residents, whereas population does not affect the number of members each state elects to the U.S. Senate. All states elect two U.S. senators, even though the states vary widely in population. The state courts are similarly distinctive. One of the most significant differences between the state and federal courts is that all state court judges are selected through some type of election, whereas federal judges are appointed by the president with senate approval. Thus, state court judges are more directly beholden to the public. State courts are also affected by variations in state constitutions, some of which grant more extensive rights and liberties than what is set forth in the U.S. Constitution. Thus, important differences may exist across the states in what the state supreme courts will consider constitutional and unconstitutional. These differences across the states and between the states and federal government affect how politics is practiced, who wins and who loses, the substance of state laws, the extent to which government pays attention to voters, the ability of government to fulfill its responsibilities, the types of rights and liberties we enjoy, and the type of people who are elected to public office. Learning about state government provides a means for understanding different ways in which democratic government can be structured and how those differences affect us. Part of the reason that Americans know so little about state government is likely a result of the strong emphasis placed on the federal government by the media and the schools, but some of it also reflects the lack of available resources on state governments. Numerous books are devoted to the national government generally and to each of the three branches of the national government, yet there are very few places where you can turn to find information about the structure and character of state governments. If you want to understand how government and politics works in the states, it is just not easy to do so. The few scholarly books available on state governmentscan be difficult to locate, narrow in scope, or hard for someone unfamiliar with government studies to understand. A few general reference books on American politics touch on topics related to state government, but these often provide only a bit of the picture of how state government works. You can also find books on the governments of individual states, but these tell you little as to how the structure of government and character of politics in those states compare with the government and politics in other states. Simply put, there is no reference work available that focuses solely on explaining the workings of state government across the nation. About State Government is designed to help fill this gap by providing a comprehensive source of information on state government for high school students, college undergraduates, and the general public. The About State Government reference set consists of three volumes, with each volume devoted to a different branch of state government: the legislative, the executive, and the judiciary. All three volumes provide general information about the states, explaining major trends found across the states, while also pointing out important differences that make some states unique or unusual. The books explain how each branch of state government has changed over time, what roles the three branches play in state politics, how the three branches are structured, who serves in them, and how these individuals are selected. The books also describe the character of politics in the states today, the relationship among the different branches of government, some of the major problems confronting state government, and modern proposals for political reform. Each volume also includes a lengthy chapter providing information on the governments state by state, including a description of how each state government is structured, an overview of how the elected officials are selected, and some insights into the character of politics in each state. All three books include a glossary of terms, a comprehensive index, and an annotated bibliography to provide direction for further study. This set will not make everyone in the nation as familiar with state government as they are with the federal government. But it should provide a good starting place for those who have questions about government in the nation's fifty states and are looking for a book to provide them with answers. Richard A. Clucas Portland State University Preface and Acknowledgments State governments are the linchpin of American democracy. They were around long before there was a national government, the Virginia General Assembly having been first called to order more than 150 years before the national government was created. Today, state governments propose, consider, debate, and pass most of the laws that determine how we live, the safety of the food we eat, the quality of the education our children receive, and the content of the air we breathe. While the political leaders in Washington get the bulk of the press coverage, it is the people in state capitols across the United States who develop most of the policies that address the challenges we face today and will be facing tomorrow. State governments are important, and state legislatures are the central part of those governments. It is because of their importance-and the unique qualities that define state legislatures-that this book is dedicated to exploring the fifty state legislative bodies of the United States, and the people, processes, policies, and powers that compose them. While all state legislatures are similar in structure (except for that of unicameral Nebraska) and objective, each bears unique traits and qualities that set it apart from the others-and even more so, from the U.S. Congress. Some state legislatures are small; others are large. Some legislators are paid a full-time salary; others are not paid enough to cover even a small apartment during session. As in the U.S. Congress, in some state legislatures seniority is the primary factor in determining a senator's influence. In others, decisions are made more on the basis of relationships with leadership than upon seniority. In a few states, legislators have a full-time professional staff, similar to that of a member of the U.S. Congress; most, however, make do with only one or two staff people, who may work only when the legislature is in session. While politics in the U.S. Congress has been, of late, defined almost exclusively by partisanship, dissension in some state legislatures is more a reflection of regionalism, ideology, and economic differences. In some states a campaign for the state legislature can cost as much as a contested congressional race, while in others it is still possible to win a contested seat with less than $10,000. Lobbyists are important in all state legislatures, whether they are a primary source of information or of campaign support. In the end, each state legislature is unique; each is different from that of every other state body, and each is uniquely different from the U.S. Congress. Chapter 1 of this volume is dedicated to an exploration of the fundamental qualities that define state legislatures and to a brief history of these legislatures, including a look at their evolution, the general functions they perform, and the challenges they face in the modern world. Chapter 2 examines the particular functions and responsibilities associated with the legislative branch of government (lawmaking, budget-making, education, and oversight). While each legislature is responsible for performing all of these functions, the priority given to the various functions and the methods used to achieve them vary significantly from state to state. In Chapter 3, we turn to the structures and processes that state legislatures use to achieve their goals. While all state legislatures have similar structures (leadership, party organizations, committees, staff, and so forth), the importance and specific qualities of those structures may vary greatly from one state to the next. Chapter 4 focuses on the people who make up the legislature. Who runs for the legislature? Why do they run? What qualities do they possess? How and why do certain people win, and others lose? In Chapter 5 we examine legislatures in the context of the other branches of government (the judicial and executive), nongovernmental groups (interest groups, political parties, and the news media), and federal players (the national government and other state governments). In the case of each, we examine the nature of the relationship, the sources of influence or interaction, and the current balance between those entities and the legislature. We also look at the conditions under which that relationship may vary from state to state. Finally, while all state legislatures share common responsibilities, powers, institutions, and organizations, no two state legislatures are exactly alike. Chapter 6 is dedicated to providing a summary description of each state legislature in the United States. It includes a section on each state, explaining important characteristics of the membership, organization, leadership, campaign practices, and political environments that define the state and its legislature. This section allows the reader to see how each differs from its neighbors. In short, Chapters 1 through 5 focus on what makes state legislatures similar, while Chapter 6 brings attentions to what makes each state legislature unique. This book would not have been possible without the diligent efforts of many people. First, our thanks go to Richard Clucas, set editor and the person who came up with the idea for this volume. Without him, the project would never have gotten off the ground. Second, we want to thank several students who gathered data for the project, including Jessica Pjelan, Andrew Weisbecker, Justin Outling, and Ben Anderson. Our gratitude also goes to the folks at ABC-CLIO, especially Peter Westwick and Alicia Merritt, whose patience in working with authors not too good at meeting deadlines we applaud. This book took a great deal of time that might have been spent doing other things. For letting us dedicate time to this project, we thank our colleagues at the State Legislative Leaders Foundation, especially President Stephen G. Lakis, who signs the checks. We also thank our families, who put up with the late nights and early mornings we spent at the word processor or poring over websites or the Book of the States. Finally, we must thank the many members of the legislature and staffers who took time to read parts of this manuscript, correcting our mistakes and sharing insights and stories that help bring this volume to life. Without the support of all these people there would be no book, and we thank them all, reserving to ourselves any blame that may be due for omissions or errors. Thomas H. Little David B. Ogle
Library of Congress Subject Headings for this publication:
Legislative bodies -- United States -- States.
Legislation -- United States -- States.
Legislators -- United States -- States.