Legislatures

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Legislatures Public Policy
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Questions

• How good are legislatures in representing public
  interests?
• How good are legislatures at acquiring and using
  information?
• How good are legislatures at conflict resolution
  among (a) claimants and (b) members in taking
  collective policy making action?

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Role of Legislatures in Policymaking

• policy entrepreneurs
• policy support via money allocation/distribution
• policy investigation oversight

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Structure of US Legislative Bodies

• Bicameral with different forms of representation
  terms
• Geographic/Winner-take-all representation
• not proportional representation
• Standing Committees Subcommittees with core
  Areas of Responsibility
• House
• Senate
• Party Control
• Leadership power

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Sources of the Legislative Agenda

• recurring matters
• amendments, reauthorizations, adjustments,
  spending bills)
• chief executive President/Governor
• jaw-boning, bully pulpit
• direct submission through friendly legislators
• public pressure
• Events/crises
• Issue Networks

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State Legislatures
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Legislators Salaries 2000Top Five/Bottom Five
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Professionalism in State Legislatures
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Occupations of State Legislators 1993
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Massachusetts House Committees

• Rules
• Ways Means
• Bills in the 3rd Reading
• Ethics
• Personnel Admin
• Post Audit Oversight

• Counties
• Science Technology
• Long-Term Debt Capital Expend.
• Steering, Policy, Scheduling

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Massachussetts Senate Committees

• Rules
• Ways Means
• Bills in 3rd Reading
• Ethics
• Post Audit Oversight
• Administration

• Steering Policy
• Science Technology

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Massachusetts Joint Committees (selected)

• Banks Banking
• Commerce Labor
• Criminal Justice
• Education, Arts, Humanities
• Energy
• Health Care
• Government Regulations

• Housing Urban Development
• Local Affairs
• Natural Resources Agriculture
• Public Safety
• State Administration
• Taxation

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How Laws Are Made
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Subcommittee Setting
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The Legislative Maze
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Final Steps
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Implications
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Implications for Policy-Making

• Widely dispersed power within and between
  legislative houses bargaining compromise
• Legislators must balance geographic (electoral)
  constituency against interest (issue)
  constituency in policy making
• Public rational ignorance gives legislators
  considerable discretion in meeting special
  interest claims
• "Haves" favored over have-nots
• Middleclass favored over Lowerclass

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Implications for Policy-Making

• Organized favored over unorganized
• Low risk-taking/incremental policies
• Legislature delegates authority to bureaucracy to
  solve problems
• Honest Complete Deliberation is Difficult