Rent 9780136033554 | State Legislatures Today : Politics under the Domes | Squire, Peverill; Moncrief, Gary @knetbooks.com

Summary Table of Contents

Drawing on the pulling together a massive amount of data, state-specific examples, and the most current scholarship, State Legislatures Today examines the theoretical and practical roles of the state legislature as both a policymaking institution and a historical foundation for the United States Congress. Squire and Moncrief examine the myriad differences amongst state legislatures while utilizing the United States Congress as a touchstone for additional comparison and contrast.

A concise and provocative introducti... MORE

Preface	p. xi
99 Chambers and Why They Matter	p. 1
State Legislatures in Historical Context	p. 2
State Legislative Evolution in the Nineteenth Century	p. 5
State Legislative Evolution in the Twentieth Century	p. 7
State Legislatures Today	p. 8
Number of Houses	p. 8
The Nebraska Exception	p. 13
House Name	p. 14
... MOREMembership Size	p. 15
Politics Under the Domes 1-1: The Legislative Representation and Efficiency Tradeoff	p. 17
Bicameral Size Differences	p. 19
Terms of Office	p. 19
Term Limits	p. 20
Constituency Size	p. 22
Geographic Size	p. 26
Multi-member Districts	p. 27
Differences with Congress	p. 30
Politics Under the Domes 1-2: Domes?	p. 29
Further Explorations of State Legislatures	p. 31
Endnotes	p. 32
State Legislative Campaigns and Elections	p. 36
Differences in Electoral Rules	p. 38
District Magnitude	p. 38
Type of Primary Election	p. 39
Politics under the domes 2-1: When Residency Requirements Bite	p. 40
Timing of Primary Election	p. 45
Redisricting Practices	p. 45
Case Law and State Redistricting	p. 47
Campaign Finance Laws	p. 49
Term Limits	p. 51
The Candidates	p. 51
Candidate Type	p. 52
Recruitment Agents	p. 53
Self-Starters	p. 55
The Recruitment of Women and Minorities	p. 55
How Campaigns Are Run	p. 58
Politics Under the Domes 2-2: The Art and Science of Doorbelling	p. 60
Turnover, Party Competition, and Elections	p. 63
Term Limits and Turnover	p. 64
Competitive versus Noncompetitive States	p. 66
The Effect of Region	p. 67
Conclusion	p. 69
Endnotes	p. 69
The Changing Job of State Legislator	p. 74
Legislative Professionalization	p. 75
What Difference Does Professionalization Make?	p. 77
Professionalization Levels in Current State Legislatures	p. 78
Examining the Components of Professionalization: Salary and Benefits	p. 78
Politics Under the Domes 3-1: The Pennsylvania Pay Raise Fiasco	p. 84
Examining the Components of Professionalization: Time Demands	p. 92
Examining Each of the Components: Staff and Facilities	p. 94
Who Serves?	p. 94
Women	p. 95
African Americans	p. 95
Hispanic Americans	p. 98
American Indians	p. 98
Explaining the Number of Women and Minority Legislators	p. 98
Diversity by Other Measures	p. 100
Occupations	p. 101
The Job of State Legislator	p. 104
Ethics	p. 107
Legislative Careers and Legislature Career Opportunity Types	p. 109
Conclusion	p. 115
Endnotes	p. 115
Legislative Organization Across the States	p. 122
Legislative Parties	p. 123
Legislative Leadership	p. 125
Politics Under the Domes 4-1: The Battle over the Gavel in the Alabama State Senate	p. 127
Politics Under the Domes 4-2: Leadership Retribution in State Legislatures	p. 137
Committees	p. 140
Career Opportunity Types and Committee Membership and Leadership	p. 149
Where are Decisions Made in State Legislatures?	p. 153
Conclusion	p. 154
Endnotes	p. 154
The Legislative Process in the States	p. 160
Variation Across the States	p. 161
The Three Tracks of the Legislative Process: Bills that Die, Bills that Fly, and Bills that Crawl	p. 166
Steps in the Legislative Process	p. 168
Introduction and First Reading	p. 168
Politics Under the Domes 5-1: "There Ought to be a Law" or Why Legislators Introduce Bills	p. 169
Referral to Standing Committee	p. 173
Committee Hearings	p. 175
Committee Action and Second Reading	p. 176
Third Reading, Debate and Floor Vote	p. 177
Politics Under the Domes 5-2: Fun with Quorums	p. 178
Same Steps in Second Chamber	p. 182
Potential Conference Committee	p. 182
The Governor's Desk	p. 183
Legislative Time	p. 184
The Budget Process	p. 186
Influences on Legislative Decision Making	p. 188
Politics Under the Domes 5-3: "I Voted for that Bill Before I Voted Against It": Why Floor Votes Don't Necessarily Tell the Whole Story	p. 189
Conclusion	p. 193
Endnotes	p. 193
The Legislative Context	p. 197
Public Opinion, Constituency, and the Representational Role	p. 197
Representational Roles	p. 198
Different Views of Constituency	p. 200
Public Opinion, Organized Interests, and Lobbying	p. 201
The Lobbyists	p. 201
Politics Under the Domes 6-1: Lobbying Outside the Box	p. 204
What Lobbyists Do	p. 203
Interest Groups and Campaign Financing	p. 207
Public Opinion and Direct Democracy	p. 208
The Recall	p. 209
The Popular Referendum	p. 210
The Initiative	p. 211
The Governor and the Legislature	p. 213
Setting the Agenda	p. 213
Budgets	p. 214
Veto Power	p. 215
Politics Under the Domes 6-2: Vanna White, Frankenstein, and the Partial Veto in Wisconsin	p. 216
Other Gubernatorial Weapons	p. 219
The Bureaucracy	p. 220
The Courts	p. 222
State Courts and Policy Mandates	p. 223
Politics Under the Domes 6-3: The Courts, the Legislature, and Gay Marriage in Iowa	p. 224
State Courts, Direct Democracy, and Policymaking	p. 227
The Fiscal Factor	p. 227
The Federal Factor	p. 228
Conclusion	p. 230
Endnotes	p. 231
Are State Legislatures Representative Institutions?	p. 235
What Do Election Results Tell Us About Evaluations of State Legislative Performance?	p. 235
How Highly Do Citizens Rate Their State Legislatures?	p. 237
How Much Do People Know About Their State Legislatures and Legislators?	p. 240
How Much Information about State Legislatures is Available?	p. 241
Do State Legislators Represent Their Constituents?	p. 244
Politics Under the Domes 7-1: When Politics and Policy Collide in the State Legislature	p. 250
The Dynamics of Representation at the State Level	p. 253
The Components of Representation	p. 253
The Changing Dynamics of the Job	p. 255
A Final Assessment	p. 256
Endnotes	p. 257
Index	p. 260
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