Chapter 7: Legislatures

Chapter 7: Legislatures

Objectives Explain the role and activities of the legislature. Discuss how the legislatures are organized and how they operate. Identify the characteristics of the state legislators. Describe the relationship between the legislators and public opinion. Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 2

Introductions This chapter will discusses state legislatures and how legislative processes vary among the states. Noting the tactics employed by individual legislators motivations and strategies as state legislators. While legislatures share a distinct set of functions lawmaking, representation, oversight, and constituent service legislators tend to respond in ways that work best with their local environmental conditions, political history, political culture, and, most important, constituent interests. Beyond legislative service, state legislatures also vary according to institutional structure and composition. Legislative composition and the relationship between rank-andfile members and legislative leadership have changed dramatically over the decades. Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 3

Introductions Not only are legislatures becoming more diverse; individual legislators are also more likely to pursue policy agendas independent of their party s leadership. Party leaders, meanwhile, view the redistricting process as the best way to achieve partisan control. Lastly, we will discuss the rise of the professional legislatures. Legislators are now privy to a variety of resources, including significant increases in legislative staff and salary. All of this has led to an increase in the overall complexity of the governing process. As legislators become more career-oriented politicians, however, public sentiment and approval of legislative activities has eroded. Consequently, numerous states have responded with citizen-initiated provisions limiting the length of legislative service. Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 4

Variation Legislature are the board of directors of their states who are empowered to set policy that benefits the state, and that is are then enforced by the governor and the other departments of the executive branch. Legislatures are not designed to be simple, instead they are institutions designed to prevent new laws and policies from being implemented that have not been properly considered and debated by every entity in the state. Gov departments, people, institutions, etc. Most legislature share the same basic bicameral structure as the U.S. Congress, with a lower chamber called house of representatives and an upper chamber called a senate, and in which each must pass a bill before it goes to the governor to be signed into law. Florida has 120 representatives / 40 senators Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 5

Legislative Functions The job of the legislator is to set policy for the state, in consultation with the governor. Control of the legislative branch is determine by the numerical majority of each party in their respective chambers. For example Republicans may control the house of representatives, but Democrats control the Senate. Whoever has the majority will usually get their way. Legislator cannot please every body all the time and they have to balance competing interest. They have to choose between the desire of their party, or their constituents/ state as express in public opinion polls. If the legislative priorities are different than those of the governor, then they have to be able to have sufficient votes in each chamber to override a governor s veto. Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 6

Legislative Functions All state legislature share four basic interrelated and often overlapping functions Lawmaking- Representation Constituent service Oversight Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 7

Legislative Functions Lawmaking Pass laws and create policy for their state Representation- provide a means for the various groups and individuals to have their interest represented in state policymaking. Constituent service- offer personalized service to help residence within their district resolve any problem they may have with state government. Oversight- They oversee the activities of the other branches of governments and some private entities to ensure that they laws are followed and faithfully executed. Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 8

Lawmaking Legislature tend to be the most reactive institution. When ever an issue becomes prevalent in the state, the legislature is always the first to act, thus demonstrating to their constituencies that they are concern about their issues. While legislators do not go out looking for issues to champion, they typically introduce bills for several reasons: It is a bill that must be considered on an annual basis like the budget. It is a bill that is dealing with a common problem ie, gun control, eminent domain. It is an issue that an individual or a group outside the legislator, such as constituents, governor, lobbyist, wants considered. Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 9

Lawmaking The governor and the executive branch are also powerful players in the legislative process. They usually promote ideas and issues they want the legislature to work on. Lobbyist represent clients that have an interest in promoting a certain issue or cause before the legislature. As the role of government has increased, so has the number of lobbyist in state capitals. For lobbyist they either want legislation that will favor their business or will do no harm to their business. Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 10

Legislative Tactics Legislators usually react most strongly to bills that they have a personal state in or will affect their constituents directly. They will move the legislation using: Coalition building or assembling an alliance of groups to pursue a common goal or interest. Logrolling or trading your vote on a colleague s particular bill in return for that colleague voting on another bill. Filibustering is a senate rule that allows for continuous debate in order to prevent final action on an objectionable bill. Riders are amendments to a bill that have noting to do with the bill being considered. Compromise is when legislators find a central point they can agree to that allows legislation to go forward. Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 11

Representation The primary responsibility of a legislator is to represent their constituents interest before state government. They must address the citizens interest even if that interest is not in the best interest of the state. For example, in Florida many big city urban areas calmer for free health care. Providing such a service will require increases in taxes, which will affect the state, the legislator is representing his constituents by proposing a bill to provide free health care to all. They must contend with outside pressure from lobbyist and various other groups looking to have their issues brought before the state government. I.e., uber, taxis, etc Finally, legislators have to contend with internal changes to the legislative branch itself. Whenever one or both chambers change hands, it changes the legislative priorities of the state government. Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 12

Constituent Service Aside from passing laws and representing the interest of their constituents and desperate groups looing to have their issues addressed by the state government. Legislators spend a lot of time and energy devoted to constituent services. They help clear up problems their constituents may have with public agencies by acting as a liaison between the citizen and the unelected parts of government and its bureaucracy. Legislators provide constituent services via casework, which is the means a legislator uses his power as an incumbent to help individuals sort through the regulatory requirements of a particular issue, and ultimately resolve the problem. I.e., dead beat dads and child support, health care, etc. Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 13

Oversight Under the U.S system of checks and balances, the legislature has the responsibility for oversight, ensuring that the governor and the executive branches of government are functioning properly. Legislators have the authority to hold executive branch agencies to account for their activities by holding hearings, conducting investigation, and auditing departments. Legislators will investigate agencies that have been reveled to have been pursuing policies that hurt their constituents. In general, legislators tend not to go out looking for scandals because there is little political reward in it. Also, there is little support for conducting cost-benefit analysis of how current programs are working. Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 14

Legislative Structure Under the U.S. system of representative democracy, each state has a constitution that describe the body that can pass laws on behalf of the citizens of the state. In every state the constitution describes a unicameral or bicameral legislature. Bicameral The legislature is divided into two houses, one is the house of representatives with members elected for a shorter term and representing less people, and the other is the senate which represent more people with a longer term. Florida house - 120 representative elected for two year terms and represents 157,000 people. Florida Senate 40 members elected for two years terms representing 470,000 people. Unicameral- contains only one chamber that passes law. Nebraska the only state with one chamber. Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 15

Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 16

Legislative Organization Legislative leadership At the beginning of each session the house of representatives selects its speaker. The Speaker of the House presides over the daily sessions, refers bills to the appropriate committee, appoint committee chairs and signs the legislation that is making its way to the governors desk. In the senate the leader is know as President of the Senate. Each house also has a Majority and Minority Leader. Rank-and-file members- Are those legislators who provide the leaders with their vote. If they are not informed on a particular issue, they usually rely on their staffers, other legislators, executive branch officials, lobbyists, etc, to inform them on how to vote. Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 17

Committees Legislative Organization Regardless of which party controls the legislature, all work is done via committee. The committee is where bills get sent to be debated, amended, or die, before they get sent to the floor for a vote by the full house and senate. Being on a particular committee can mean a great deal of power and prestige for the individual legislator. The Florida house has 15 committees Appropriation, education, judiciary, etc. The Florida Senate has 18 committees - Appropriation, education, judiciary, rules, transportation, etc. Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 18

Apportionment A state constitutional duty that the legislature has is apportionment. Every 10 years after the completion of the nation wide census the state are required to redraw their congressional, as well as their state legislative district. This is done to accommodate the changes in populations. The redistricting process requires that each district be roughly even in population and taking into account that all the current groups are represented. Any district that is oddly shaped in order to link disparate communities is said to be gerrymandered. Malapportionment is when you have districts that violate the principle of equal representation. Majority-minority districts-members of one minority group make up the majority of the population. Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 19

State Legislators, cont. Professional background The Constitution requires a Representative / Senator to be at least 21 years of age, a resident of the district from which elected, and a resident of Florida for two years prior to election. Lawyers Businessmen Other business that allows you the time to serve. Demographic diversity Women-increased since the 1970s Racial minorities- Blacks / Latinos / Asians/ etc. Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 20

Professionalized Legislatures Professional vs. citizen legislators. Should legislature meet all the time, or should they meet for a short period every year Full-time vs. part-time legislators. Depend on the size of the state and its economic resources. Can pay full time salaries or part time. Population. The bigger the population, means more issues to be addressed and thus requiring a full time legislature. CA and PA meet year round. Political culture (trust in government). Distrust in government means that a legislature will meet for less time, allowing local governments to deal with issues that may arise. TX meets only part time. Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 21

State Legislatures and Public Opinion Professional legislatures and public approval. Legislature sometime seen as secretive, highly partisan, wasteful and uninformed. Negative perception of politicians. All politicians are crooks. Beholden to special interest and lobbyists. Low level of knowledge about state legislatures. Seen as uninformed as to what really is going on. Role of the media. Media is more concerned about sensationalizing conflicts than explaining what is really going on. Partisan commentary. Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 22

Term Limits Fail to increase citizen legislators Only people that have the personal drive and financial resources always run. Fail to increase women and minority legislators. Mixed results for lobbyists. No consistency / loss of relationships. More power to executive branch Popular with the public. Get rid of the bums. Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 23

Conclusion 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. Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 24

Conclusion 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. Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 25

Discussion 1. How has the trend toward professionalized legislatures increased their visibility and affected public trust? Do term limits undermine existing political relationships necessary for legislative effectiveness? Do term limits quell public disapproval of career-oriented politicians or perpetuate existing beliefs regarding an inefficient legislature by encouraging legislative individualism? 2. Do interest groups and lobbyists serve increasingly influential roles in the state legislative process. Given the rise of professionalized legislatures, what role do you foresee for lobbyists? Will legislative power decline as external actors become more influential due to a lack of legislative coordination? Do you think that legislative term limits will prevent legislators from acquiring the policy expertise necessary for successful legislative action? 3. What are some of the indirect effects of term limits on the behavior of individual state legislators? Given the lack of political incentive for legislators to engage in coalition building, have term limits promoted legislative individualism? Are legislators pursuing individual policy agendas rather than following party leadership? What are the potential positive and negative effects of term limits over time? Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 26

Discussion 4. What are some of the effects of more professionalized state legislatures on the behavior of individual state legislators? Since professionalization results in an increase in legislative staff, salary, and resources to be used at the discretion of the individual legislator, are legislators likely to become more focused on winning office as opposed to responding to constituent interests? Are legislators becoming more focused on campaigning as opposed to providing quality representation? Will this lead to increased or decreased partisanship among party members? 5. State governments are increasingly working together on a number of issues. Given this, should there be a uniform structure for state legislatures? Should all state legislatures have the same leadership structure, the same committees, and so on? Should all state legislatures strive to become professionalized? Should all state legislatures meet year-round? Would the effectiveness of state legislatures improve if all legislatures were highly professionalized? 6. The public tends to have less knowledge of state legislatures than of the U.S. Congress. Yet state legislatures are more likely to affect the day-to-day activities of citizens. Is this a problem for the political system? What can be done to increase knowledge and attention of state legislative activities? Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 27

Key Terms Apportionment-The allotting of districts according to population shifts completed every ten years after the national census is completed. Committee- A group of legislator who have the task of writing bills in a particular issue area. Constituent service- The work done by legislators to help the residents in their voting district. Districts- The geographical area represented by members of the legislature. Filibuster- A debate that under senate rules can drag on, blocking final action on a bill that is under consideration, or prevent other bills from being debated. Gerrymander- Districts that are drawn to give the voting advantage to one party or another. Incumbent- The individual that currently holds the office. Majority-minority districts- Districts in which members of a minority group make up the majority of the electorate. Majority rule- The process where the decisions of the numerical majority is made binding on a group. Oversight- The process by which the legislature ensure that the governor and the executive branch agencies are properly implementing the laws passed by the legislature. Redistricting- The redrawing of congressional and legislative districts following the decennial census. Representation- Individual legislators acting as the voices of their constituents within the house and senate. Veto- The governors rejection of legislation passed by the legislature. Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 28

Florida House of Representative Chamber Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 29

Florida State Senate Chamber Smith, K. Greenblatt, A. Governing States and Localities 6e 30