Legislatures - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Legislatures

Representation & Policy MakingSlide2

Legislative Organization

All but one of the state legislatures are

bicameral bodies

… like the US Congress

Nebraska

is the exception … it has a unicameral, nonpartisan legislature

The

size of the legislature

ranges from 49 in Nebraska to 424 in New Hampshire (one legislator per 3400 people).

The

Arkansas General Assembly

has 135 legislators … 100 in the

House of Representatives

and 35 in the

Senate

The

Texas legislature

has 31 Senators and 150 members in the House of Representatives …Slide3

Legislative Leadership

The

Speaker of the House

presides over the House of Representatives

Generally selected by the

majority party caucus

& then elected by the whole body

Typically, the Speaker is the

administrative and political leader of the House

…

Supervising staff

Presiding over House sessions

Referring bills to committees

Appointing committee chairs

May even help in other legislator’s campaigns in some states

In Arkansas,

Rep. Robert Moore

is the Speaker of the House

Arkansas Speakers are limited to

one

two-year termSlide4

Leadership, Continued

--The

President Pro Tem

(or President Pro Tempore) is the leader of the Senate

--Usually the

Lt. Governor presides over the Senate

… like the VP presides over the US Senate

--

Mark Darr

is the current Arkansas Lt. Governor … he has an office & small staff, but not much to do

--

In Texas, on the other hand, the Lt. Governor has real power

… appointing committee chairs, determining the order of business in the Senate, etc.

--In most states,

presiding officers are chosen by partisan votes

… as are committee chairs … this has not happened yet in Arkansas (for instance, the co-chairman of the Joint Budget Committee is a Republican)Slide5

Legislative Operation

The work of the legislature is

mostly done in committees

… usually about 15-20 per chamber

The most prestigious committees are the ones dealing with

budgets and taxes

.

Sometimes these are referred to as

“appropriation committees”

or “

Revenue” committees

In Arkansas, the

Joint Budget Committee

is the committee that prepares the final version of the state budget … and prepares the

Revenue Stabilization Act

to keep the state within its budget. It does this by allocating state revenues into “allotments” … Allotment A is funded first, then “B” if funds are sufficient

An important committee for educators is the

Education Committee

… but you’ll find Agriculture Committees, Insurance and Commerce Committees, as well as othersSlide6

Committees in Arkansas Legislature

Standing Committees, such as:

AGING, CHILDREN AND YOUTH, LEGISLATIVE & MILITARY AFFAIRS- HOUSE

,

EDUCATION COMMITTEE- HOUSE

, and

REVENUE & TAXATION- HOUSE

Joint Committees, such as: ALC-JBC BUDGET COMMITTEE,

ARKANSAS LOTTERY COMMISSION LEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE

, and

LEGISLATIVE JOINT AUDITING

Special Committees, such as:

BLUE RIBBON COMMITTEE ON HIGHWAY FINANCE

and

LEGISLATIVE TASK FORCE ON ATHLETIC TRAINERSSlide7

Rank-and-File Members

Nobody can keep up

with all the bills that are introduced in a legislative session … especially not a part-time legislator that has

no staff

(like in Arkansas)

Are legislators “trustees” or “delegates?”

A trustee tends to use his/her own judgment on how to vote on a bill. A delegate attempts to directly represent the wishes of his/her constituents.

Legislators are very interested in

winning re-election

to office … and maybe an even higher office …

term limits

affect their prospects

They must, however,

rely on information provided by others:

legislators, staff, lobbyists, executive branch officials, etc. … they simply cannot “know it all.”

Ethics rules

limit the interactions that lobbyists and legislators may have … like dinners, events, trips, etc.

Many legislatures are now made up of

“professional” legislators

… people who earn their living as a legislator … they usually have considerably more resources to draw upon than “part-time legislators”

Who serves in the legislature: See:

http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2011/2011R/Pages/LegislatorSearchResults.aspx?member=&committee=All&chamber

=

What about the Texas legislature: See:

http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/Home.aspxSlide8

Apportionment

Apportionment

refers to the division of the state into districts that are approximately equal in population … compact, contiguous, & equal … though practice falls short of principle

So the state must engage in redistricting

every ten years

… after the census … so this will be happening soon in a state near you

The goal of incumbents is to draw their district lines in such a way to ensure their reelection

Gerrymandering

refers to drawing district lines to benefit or limit some group (party, race, etc.)

Creating districts that are

“majority-minority”

ensures that black legislators are elected … but it also has strengthen Republican legislative districts in some states.

Protecting the incumbent

is the general rule of redistricting.Slide9

State Legislators

Typically …

white, male, 40-50 years old

, some college, middle income, moderate/conservative …

Professional background has been common

… especially lawyers … winning office might be good for business

Teachers/college professors

are sometimes members

Retired people

have the time to run and serve … they make up about 15 percent of legislators

Fewer lawyers now …

more businessmen/women

Women and African-Americans are more common

as legislators now … about 24 percent of legislators are women and about 10 percent are African American

Women tend to focus more on issues such as education, healthcare, and the environment

… more than men

Women are

more effective legislators

now than 20 years ago … Slide10

Professional vs. Citizen Legislators

Most legislatures now meet annually

… even Arkansas now has a mid-term session to deal with the budget … that session is going on now!

That, along with frequent meetings of

interim committees

, means legislators are spending much more time as legislators now than in the past … that tends to push them toward

greater professionalization

(Interim Committees meet between legislative sessions)

Professional legislatures

… meet full-time, pay members high salaries, employ large staffs … think Illinois, California, New York …

Amateur legislatures

… meet part-time, have members who earn their livings some other way, and have small staffs … think Arkansas, Texas, Mississippi …

Most

larger states

(excluding Texas) have highly professional legislatures

Sometimes the State Constitution

limits the length

of the legislative session … causing members to “stop the clock” to finish their work (literally … as the session nears the midnight hour when all business must be compete, members “turn back the clock.”Slide11

Legislatures are not held in high

public esteem …

Though individual legislators often are held in high esteem

Legislators

do a better job now

than in past

It is interesting that, as they have become more professional, they have become

greater targets of public disdain

The

press

pays some attention to the legislature … but often

oversimplifies

complex issues

Term limits

is an indication that the public wanted to limit legislative power …

Increased turnover

15 states have it …

Arkansas has term limits

Probably has

increased the power of the Governor

and other executive officials … six years to learn it all and get it done?