State and Local Governments
• Provide most services
•
•
•
•
Schools
Transportation
Land use
Social services
• Make most decisions
• Regulate driving, occupations, families
• Criminal behavior to be tried
The Legislative Branch
•What do State Legislators Do?
o Lawmaking
o Oversight
o Approve all appropriations
o Ombudsmen
o Committees
•Who Are the State Legislators?
o The nation has 7,382 state legislators who are
mostly business persons or lawyers.
•What do Legislative Committees Do?
•What Influences State Legislators?
o Political Parties
o Lobbyist and Interest Groups
o Other Influences on State Legislators
Government in Typical State Constitutions
• State constitutions
follow this general
outline having many
officers.
• States have to deal with
a much wider range of
functions, educational
provisions, and criminal
codes than the U.S.
Constitution.
• For that reason, state
constitutions would be
so much longer than the
national constitution.
State Constitutions & Number of Amendments
The Diversity of State Legislatures
Type 1: Full-time, High-Pay, Large-Staff “Professional Legislatures”
California
Florida
Illinois
Michigan
Massachusetts New Jersey
New York
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Wisconsin
Type 2: In-Between Hybrid
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Hawaii
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
North Carolina
Oklahoma
Oregon
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
Washington
Type 3: Part-Time, Low-Pay, Small-Staff “Citizen Legislatures”
Arkansas
Georgia
Idaho
Indiana
Maine
Mississippi
Montana
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Mexico
North Dakota
Rhode Island
South Dakota
Utah
Vermont
West Virginia
Wyoming
How a Bill Becomes Law
A Profile of State Legislatures
Women in
State
Legislatures
Women in
Statewide
Elected Offices
24%
16%
1988
24%
13%
2008
1988
2008
Source: Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University
Current Percentage of Women in State Legislatures
Party Control of State Legislatures
The Legislative Branch
•What Influences State Legislators?
o Political Parties
• Only Nebraska has a nonpartisan, unicameral
legislature
• Candidates for state legislatures are nominated
by political parties and are elected as party
members. The role of parties varies widely from
state to state.
o Lobbyist and Interest Groups
• Interest groups are a significant and growing
source of influence on state legislatures through
the use of lobbying.
o Other Influences on State Legislators
Modernization and Reform
•Legislative Term Limits: Problem or Solution?
o Higher professionalism’s gains wiped out by term limits
o Promotes the ideal of “citizen” legislators
•Legislative Leaders
•Assembly Speaker
•Majority Leader
•Minority Leader
Term Limits in the States
The Politics of Drawing Legislative
District Lines
•Redistricting
•Gerrymandering
•Malapportionment
•One Person, One Vote
•No Majority-minority Districts
•New Rules for Redrawing the Districts
• In California, Citizen Redistricting Committee
o Proposition 11 by voters in November 2008
o Proposition 20 in 2010
Direct Legislation: Policy Making by
the People?
•Initiative
•Referendum
•Recall
•The Debate over Direct Democracy
o 58% were approved in 2008
o Stimulates voter turnout, civic engagement,
political efficacy
o Can target minorities
o Allows interest groups much influence
Citizen-Initiated Initiative and Referendum at
the State Level
States That Provide for Citizen-Initiated Recall of Elected State Officials
The California Legislature
 Eligibility – At least 18 years of age
 Residency – California resident for three years, at least one
year in the district.
 Term Limits – Two, four-year terms for the senate (8 years)
and three, two-year terms (6 years) for assembly.
 Senate seat rotation – 20 seats each even-numbered years.
 Assembly seat rotation – All 80 seats even- numbered years.
 Code of Ethics – Binds both houses, may expel a member
by two-thirds vote.
 Compensation - $99,000 salary and $121 per day living
expenses when in session; telephone and gasoline expense
allowance for a state-licensed automobile; limited health
and retirement benefits.
The Functions of the California
Legislature
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Make State Laws
Establish Taxes
Confirmations
Redistricting
Can Place Constitutional Amendments on the Ballot
Spend State’s Money (Appropriations)
Oversight
State
Expenditure
Comparison
California
&
Massachusetts
California Political Parties
American Independent
Democratic
Green
Peace and Freedom
Natural Law
Reform
Republican
Libertarian
www.aipca.org
www.cadem.org
www.cagreens.org
www.peaceandfreedom.org
www.natural-law.org
www.reformpartyca.org
www.cagop.org
www.ca.lp.org
California Interest Groups
1. Business
2. Agriculture
3. Labor Unions
4. Professional Associations
5. Education
6. Government
7. Ideological Organizations
8. Racial, Ethnic, or Religious Organizations
9. Public Utilities
10.Miscellaneous