Author: Malcolm E. Jewell
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
ISBN: 9780472105175
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 250

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Book Description
A pioneering study of leadership styles at the state level

Author: Peverill Squire
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1442247487
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 249

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Book Description
A concise and provocative introduction to State Legislative Politics, State Legislatures Today is designed as a supplement for state and local government courses and upper level courses on legislative politics. The book examines 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. Many things have happened in the five years since the popular first edition. Significant developments addressed in the new edition include: 1. The rise of the Tea Party Movement, which has contributed to the stalemate in Congress and greatly influenced legislative politics in many states. Indeed, the Tea Party’s greatest impact has been in state capitals, not in Washington, DC. 2. A marked increase in one-party government, resulting in greatest number of states with one-party government in at least fifty years. One-party government, of course, allows for dramatic policy shifts. Thus, governors and state legislatures have been able to make significant policy decisions while Congress and the President have been gridlocked. 3. A dramatic increase in the use of recall elections (Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin) and referenda to challenge legislative policy decisions (Idaho, South Dakota, Ohio, and Washington), signaling a growing frustration with legislative policies in some states. Recall elections and referenda only occur at the state level. 4. Changes in term limits and budgeting laws in California directly affecting the work of the legislature in the largest state in the Union. 5. Highly visible state legislative policies on hot-button issues such as gun control, taxation, public employee benefits, teachers’ unions, taxation, abortion, immigration and education reform. The conflicts generated by these debates have produced incidents that captured national attention, perhaps most notably when Democrats in the Wisconsin Senate fled to Illinois to break quorum and prevent the Republicans from passing a measure limiting public unions in the state. 6. Efforts to profoundly alter the structure of some state legislatures, such as a measure to substantially reduce the number of legislative seats in Pennsylvania and a proposed initiative to radically increase the number of seats in California. 7. The culmination of a redistricting cycle in 2012 which alters the nature of many legislative districts and the course of politics and policy over the next decade. 8. A rare and historic “wave election” in 2010 that saw the Republican Party gain more than 700 seats in state legislatures.

Author: Craig Volden
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521761522
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 261

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Book Description
This book explores why some members of Congress are more effective than others at navigating the legislative process and what this means for how Congress is organized and what policies it produces. Craig Volden and Alan E. Wiseman develop a new metric of individual legislator effectiveness (the Legislative Effectiveness Score) that will be of interest to scholars, voters, and politicians alike. They use these scores to study party influence in Congress, the successes or failures of women and African Americans in Congress, policy gridlock, and the specific strategies that lawmakers employ to advance their agendas.

Author: Cindy Simon Rosenthal
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0195115406
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 255

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Book Description
This is a study of the different leadership styles of men and women in American politics. Providing close studies of key state legislatures, Professor Rosenthal provides an insight into the workings of the largest cohorts of women in institutional leadership roles. Her work represents a contribution to understanding gender, organizational leadership, and legislatures.

Author: United States. Congress
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 1380

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Book Description
The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published daily when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record began publication in 1873. Debates for sessions prior to 1873 are recorded in The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States (1789-1824), the Register of Debates in Congress (1824-1837), and the Congressional Globe (1833-1873)

Author: Alan Rosenthal
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 1483304876
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 552

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Book Description
What makes for a "good" legislature? In Heavy Lifting, Alan Rosenthal traveled to five states, interviewing and shadowing legislators to find out the answer. Through this engaging narrative, the author first establishes the most important aspects of American state legislatures--what they are and how they do their jobs--and then graduates to the book’s central thesis: Rosenthal argues that, on the whole, the American legislature must be evaluated on the basis of its processes, not its products. He breaks down the legislative process into three principal functions: representing, lawmaking, and balancing the executive, and covers each in turn in the remainder of the book.

Author: Charles F. Ritter
Publisher: Greenwood
ISBN: 0313239436
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
It was a time of civil war and economic shift from an agrarian to an industrial society for the 1,390 speakers of state houses of representatives profiled in this unique biographical dictionary. The political climate and characteristics of the politicians as a group are surveyed in introductory material. This is followed by biographical entries which include a list of sources. The cumulated bibliography, arranged by state, is valuable. . . . There is no other such directory. Library Journal On the whole it is a useful compilation, providing a starting point for research into the lives of a cross-section of legislators in this period. . . . A necessary purchase for research libraries; recommended to all academic libraries with strong collections in state history. Choice During the years 1850-1910, the United States evolved from an agrarian to an industrial political economy. By the end of the century, industrialization has shifted the entire political system toward national government power, beginning a trend that continues today. An understanding of the importance of state government and, in particular, of the lower houses of the legislatures at this time is crucial to an understanding of how American politics was transformed in the second half of the nineteenth century. This study compares the speakers of these influential nineteenth-century American political bodies and focuses on the legislative issues of the period. The largest collection of biographical data of its kind to date, the book profiles the 1,390 speakers in the period from 1850 to 1910. The collective career analysis of the individuals covered provides an unprecedented exploration of the socioeconomic issues, the governmental processes, and the political behavior of the times to allow a more thorough understanding of the transition from an agrarian to an industrial state. This comprehensive study of state political power will provide fresh insight into the American legislative system of the latter half of the nineteenth century and will be of special value to scholars of American political history and political science.

Author: Malcolm E. Jewell
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 602

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Book Description

Author: Thomas H. Little
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 185109766X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 512

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Book Description
This comprehensive volume examines the historic and contemporary role of the state legislatures and assemblies of all 50 states, offering insight into important details of how each of these legislative bodies functions. The Legislative Branch of State Government: People, Process, and Politics is one of three titles in ABC-CLIO's About State Government set, offering comprehensive coverage of contemporary American politics at the state level. Each of the three volumes focuses on a specific governmental branch, providing both general information and comparative details on how that branch operates in each state. Ranging from colonial times to the present, this volume takes a broad look at how the nation's state legislative institutions have evolved and operate. Combined with the other two volumes in the set, a clear overview of state government emerges. The Legislative Branch of State Government covers the historical, constitutional, and political environment in which state legislatures exist, then focuses on their functions and processes, the people who serve in them, and their interaction with other key political institutions. A concluding chapter looks at characteristics that make each of the 50 state legislative bodies fascinating and unique.

Author: George W. Scott
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1450043895
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 547

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Book Description
Praise for A Majority of One: "By far the best description of a state legislature's real operation in print from a legislator who knew what was happening and why" Slade Gorton (R) Former and Majority Leader Washington State House of Representatives, Washington State Attorney General and U.S. Senator "Senator George Scott has provided us with a warm, insightful appreciation of the legislative process that few outsiders can offer. This is a must read for students of state government" Phil Talmadge (D) Former Washington State Senator and State Supreme Court Justice. "Legislative leaders are activists. George Scott is also a trained historian. Majority is a unique, inclusive insider's firsthand look at legislating, documented in depth. It is the place to start for students of the process, campaigners, legislators and those who care about politics" Jeannette Hayner (R) Former Member of the House. Minority, and Majority Leader, Washington State Senate. "Anyone who cares about representative government must read this book. George Scott captures the essence of legislative action with the knowledge only an insider can bring. He does it with perception, wit and humor." Daniel J. Evans (R) Former State House Majority Leader, Governor, and U.S. Senator. "Rarely, and I am tempted to say never, do we find an insider's political savvy combined with the scholarly analysis that George Scott devotes to A Majority of One. Scott is unmatched in his command of the voluminous archival source materials involved here and his use of firsthand experience in weaving them into an absorbing account. This book is a practical guide for understanding the grassroots politics and placing these practices in the bigger picture of local, state, and national affairs. A Majority of One is a must read for both the concerned citizen and the political pro." David H. Stratton Professor Emeritus of History Washington State University.