Chapter 7 – Legislatures: The Art of Herding Cats

Legislatures

the boards of directors of their states

Legislatures Core Functions

• Lawmaking Function

• Representative Function

• Constituent Service Function

• Oversight Function

Lawmaking Function

pass laws and create policy

Representative Function

channel citizens’ interests into policy

Constituent Service Function

help citizens navigate state agencies

Oversight Function

monitor the executive branch and bureaucracy

The majority party

controls the agenda

Supermajorities

can override vetoes

Polarization has increased

leaders now “drive a particular agenda and punish colleagues who break with the party.”

Tools of Legislative Politics

• Coalition Building & Logrolling

• Filibuster

• Riders

Coalition Building & Logrolling

trading votes or aligning interests for passage

Filibuster

 “endless debate,” limited or banned in most states

Riders

amendments added to bills to alter their fate

What Legislatures Do

• Lawmaking

• Budget Power

• Oversight

• Constituent Service (Casework)

Reactive institutions

Legislatures often responding to crises or public attention

Where bills arise from

constituents, governors, interest groups, or national trends

How many bills pass

Only 20–25%

Legislative procedure

“designed for delay and killing bills,” favoring the status quo

Budget debates

revisit core policy questions: education, health care, taxes

Nearly every state must

balance its budget by law

Legislative oversight

call governors and agencies to account through hearings, investigations, and audits

Oversight

uneven and often “episodic and punitive.”

Constituent Service (Casework)

When legislators assist citizens with personal problems such as obtaining licenses, benefits, or resolving issues with government bureaucracy.

Incumbency Advantage from Constituent Service

The advantage legislators gain by providing personalized help to constituents, which strengthens voter support and increases reelection chances.

Dual Roles

Legislatures face “an inherent conflict between representative function and lawmaking role.”

Wholesale politics

lawmaking for the state

Retail politics

serving constituents locally (pork & casework)

Descriptive Representation

Legislators mirror their constituents’ demographics

Substantive Representation

They represent constituent interests through policy advocacy and communication channels (parties, interest groups, media)

Citizen Legislatures

State legislators are “closer to the ideal of citizen legislators”—often part-time with outside careers

Over 75% of State Legislatures

have college degrees and are disproportionately drawn from business, law, and real estate

Apportionment

allocation of legislative seats based on Census population

Redistricting

redrawing boundaries every 10 years

Malapportionment

unequal representation across districts — ended by Baker v. Carr (1962) → “one person, one vote.”

Gerrymandering

drawing districts to favor a party or group

Partisan Gerrymandering

legal but controversial (Rucho v. Common Cause, 2019)

Racial Gerrymandering

negative is illegal (VRA), affirmative may create minority “opportunity districts.”

Bicameral Structure

Every state except Nebraska is bicameral

Lower House (Assembly/House of Reps)

larger, shorter terms, “people’s house.”

Senate

smaller, longer terms, deliberative body

Lower House & Senate

Both must approve identical bill versions before they go to the governor

Legislatures Leadership

• Speaker of the House (chosen by majority party caucus)

• President or President Pro Tem of Senate

Leadership controls

committee assignments and the legislative calendar

Committees

“The workhorses of the legislature.”

Division of labor

20–30 standing committees by subject area

Committees allow

specialization but also strengthen lobby influence

Legislative Process

1. Introduction

2. Committee Assignment

3. Committee Hearing

4. Calendar Placement

5. Floor Action

6. Governor’s Desk

First Step: Introduction

Bill filed by sponsor or requested by governor / interest group

Second Step: Committee Assignment

Leadership decides committee; many bills “pigeonholed.”

Third Step: Committee Hearing

Public testimony allowed (“real citizens can testify”)

Fourth Step: Calendar Placement

Determines floor priority

Fifth Step: Floor Action

Debate & amendment; both chambers must pass identical bills

Sith Step: Governor’s Desk

Sign, veto, or line-item veto (most states)

Legislative Process Favors

status quo; legislatures are arbiters, not initiators

Professionalization of State Legislatures

• Citizen (Lay)

• Professionalized (Full-time)

• Hybrid

Citizen (Lay)

Part-time, low salary, short sessions, few staff. Ex: Wyoming, Montana.

Professionalized (Full-time)

Long sessions, high salary, career politicians, large staff. Ex: California, New York

Hybrid

Mix of both; moderate pay and session length (e.g. Texas or Florida).

Professionalization affects

expertise, institutional memory, and incumbency

State legislatures

organized on partisan lines; leaders are party leaders

Supermajorities exclude

minority party from the process

Growing ideological cohesion

within parties and distance between them

Party control

shapes committee chairs and agenda access

Gerrymandering reinforces

partisan entrenchment and limits competitiveness

Majority Rule

Legislative decisions follow party with numerical advantage.

Logrolling

Trading votes between legislators to secure mutual support.

Bicameralism

Two-chamber legislature (House & Senate).

Caucus

Party meeting to select leaders and set agenda.

Committee System

Division of labor by subject area within legislature.

Professionalization

Extent to which legislature is full-time, well-paid, and staffed.

Apportionment & Redistricting

Periodic redrawing of districts based on population.

One Person, One Vote

Baker v. Carr (1962) — equal representation principle.

Line-Item Veto

Governor power to strike specific bill items (most states).

Institutional Memory

Knowledge and experience retained by veteran members.

Legislative Culture

Informal norms, rules, and traditions guiding behavior.

Shelby County v. Holder (2013)

ended preclearance for “covered states.”

Allen v. Milligan (2023)

reaffirmed VRA §2 protections against vote dilution

Reform via independent commissions

gained traction in some states to reduce partisan abuse.

Formal Legal Rules for Redistricting 

• Equality of population

• Contiguity

• Protected groups

• District shape

Equality of population

“one person, one vote”

Contiguity

All parts of the district must touch

Protected groups

• Voting Rights Act protections of minority representation

• Can’t draw map to dilute minority votes

District shape

• Can be “odd” but not “bizarre” (legally undefined terms)

• “Odd-looking” districts may preserve communities of interest

Redistricting Principles for State Legislative Districts

• Compactness

• Contiguity

• Maintaining “communities of interest”

  • Common political, social or economic interests

• Respect for political boundaries

  • I.e. Minimize splitting of counties, towns, precincts, etc.

LULAC v. Perry (2006)

S.C.O.T.U.S. undercuts partisanship & frequency arguments