American State Legislatures

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

PPOL 660: AMERICAN STATE LEGISLATURES: AN INSIDER’S ANALYSIS. The 50 State Legislatures across America are praised as the “laboratories” of American government, testing out innovative policies while the U.S. Congress is mired in partisan gridlock. In fact the earliest State Legislatures predate Congress by a hundred years, and Adams, Jefferson and Franklin, all drew on their experiences in their assemblies of Massachusetts, Virginia and Pennsylvania, when they designed the role of Congress in the U.S. Constitution. Despite their important historic and continuing role in American government, State Legislatures are arguably the least studied and understood element in the U.S. political landscape. This course will look at the pressures and tensions driving individual members of the various Legislatures around the nation. For example, how can a candidate shift from attacking his opponent in the other party to building consensus to pass legislation? What balance should a Representative strike between responsibility to constituents, the entire population of the State and personal judgement and conscience? We will also look at the challenges behaving ethically, while being forced to raise ever larger campaign war chests. In the second part of the course, we will look at the various State Legislatures throughout the nation, and consider why these institutions have developed structures and traditions so differently from one another. For example what is it like to be a New Hampshire State Representative working in a Chamber with 399 other members, as opposed to the Alaska Senate with only 19 others? That same New Hampshire House member represents only 3,350 constituents, while a California House member represents 493,750 people. While most states struggle with often bitter partisan battles and tension between House and Senate members, Nebraska organizes on a non-partisan basis and dispenses with the House altogether, with a 49 member Senate as its sole legislative body. Finally, in the third section of the course, we will look in detail at creating, negotiating and enacting legislation from a practical point of view. Where do lobbyists, staff and legislative leaders fit in? Why is it so difficult to pass a bill? What are the secrets to successfully fighting through to getting a bill passed and signed? I will be drawing on my 20 years experience as a State Representative in the PA House and with the Council of State Governments, which provides a forum for those legislators from around the country to share best practices. I will also be inviting a variety of guests to join us in-person or by video link. The course will rely on discussion rather than lectures, so your participation is important. There will be two graded papers of about 5 pages each, and three in-class role-playing simulations where the class will be divided into teams to negotiate an issue, a redrawing of legislative districts and a recreation of the actual issues surrounding the 2015/16 PA budget impasse.