State Legislatures Today: Politics Under the Domes

A concise and provocative introduction to State Legislative Politics, "State Legislative Politics Today "is designed as a supplement for State and Local courses and upper level courses on legislative politics. The bookexamines state legislatures and state lawmakers, putting them in historical context, showing how they have evolved over the years, and differentiating them from Congress. It covers state legislative elections (including the impact of redistricting, candidate recruitment, etc.), the changing job description of state legislators, legislatures as organizations, the process by which legislation gets produced, and the influences upon legislators. "

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: 99 Chambers and Why They Matter             State Legislatures in Historical Context             State Legislative Evolution in the Nineteenth Century             State Legislative Evolution in the Twentieth Century             State Legislatures Today                         Number of houses                         The Nebraska exception                         House name                         Membership size Feature: Politics Under the Domes 1-1: The Legislative Representation and Efficiency Tradeoff             Bicameral size differences             Terms of office             Term limits             Constituency size             Geographic size             Multi-member districts             Differences with Congress             Feature: Politics Under the Domes 1-2: Domes?             Further Exploration of State Legislatures Chapter 2: State Legislative Campaigns and Elections             Differences in Electoral Rules                         District magnitude                         Type of primary election                         Timing of primary election Feature: Politics Under the Domes 2-1: When Residency Requirements Bite Redistricting practices                         Case law and state redistricting                         Campaign finance laws                         Term limits             The Candidates                         Candidate type                         Recruitment agents                         Self-starters                         The recruitment of women and minorities             How Campaigns Are Run             Feature: Politics Under the Domes 2-2: The Art Science of Doorbelling             Turnover, Party Competition and Elections                         Term limits and turnover                         Competitive versus non-competitive states                         The effect of region             Conclusion Chapter 3: The Changing Job of State Legislators             Legislative Professionalization                         What difference does professionalization make?                         Professionalization levels in current state legislatures                         Examining the components of professionalization: salary and benefits             Feature: Politics Under the Domes 3-1: The Pennsylvania Pay Raise Fiasco                         Examining the components of professionalization: time demands                         Examining each of the components: staff and facilities             Who Serves?                         Women                         African Americans                         Hispanic Americans                         American Indians                         Explaining the number of women and minority legislators                         Diversity by other measures                         Occupations             The Job of State Legislator             Ethics             Legislative Careers and Legislature Career Opportunity Types             Conclusions Chapter 4: Legislative Organization across the States             Legislative Parties             Legislative Leadership Feature: Under the Domes 4-1: The Battle over the Gavel in the Alabama State Senate             Feature: Under the Domes 4-2: Leadership Retribution in State Legislatures             Committees             Career Opportunity Types and Committee Membership and Leadership             Where are Decisions Made in State Legislatures?             Conclusion Chapter 5: The Legislative Process in the States             Variation Across the States The Three Tracks of the Legislative Process: Bills That Die, Bills That Fly, and Bills that Crawl Steps in the Legislative Process             Introduction and first reading Feature: Under the Domes 5-1: “There Ought to Be a Law” or Why Legislators Introduce Bills             Referral to standing committee             Committee hearings             Committee action and second reading             Third reading, debate and floor vote Feature: Under the Domes 5-2: Fun with Quorums             Same steps in second chamber             Potential conference committee             The governor’s desk Legislative Time The Budget Process Influence on Legislative Decision-Making Feature: 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 Conclusion Chapter 6: The Legislative Context             Public Opinion, Constituency, and the Representational Role                         Representational roles                         Different views of constituency             Public Opinion, Organized Interests, and Lobbying                         The lobbyists             Feature: Politics Under the Domes 6-1: Lobbying Outside the Box                         What lobbyists do                         Interest groups and campaign financing             Public Opinion and Direct Democracy                         The recall                         The popular referendum                         The initiative             The Governor and the Legislature                         Setting the agenda                         Budgets                         Veto power Feature: Politics Under the Domes 6-2: Vanna White, Frankenstein, and the Partial Veto in Wisconsin                         Other gubernatorial weapons             The Bureaucracy             The Courts                         State courts and policy mandates                         State courts, direct democracy, and policymaking             The Fiscal Factor             The Federal Factor             Conclusion Chapter 7: Are State Legislatures Representative Institutions? What Do Election Results Tell Us About Evaluations of State Legislative Performance? How Highly Do Citizens Rate Their State Legislature? How Much Do People Know About Their State Legislature and Legislators? How Much Information about State Legislatures is Available? Do State Legislators Represent Their Constituents? Feature: Politics Under the Domes 7-1: When Politics and Policy Collide in he State Legislature The Dynamics of Representation at the State Level             The components of representation             The changing dynamics of the job A Final Assessment