Meeting Notes
Joint Term Limits Project
Project Management Team
September 20-21, 2001
Denver, Colorado
Attendees at the meeting included Gary Moncrief, Dick Niemi, Alan Rosenthal, David Ogle (State Legislative Leaders Foundation), Bob Silvanik (CSG), and NCSL staff Karl Kurtz, Rich Jones, Brian Weberg, Kate Rooney, and Jennie Drage.
The topics covered were:
1. Status of the demographics database -
We have identified a company called Capitol Advantage, which already gathers most of the data we are looking for. NCSL is negotiating to purchase their data for one year, with three updates during the year. We have not yet decided what we would do at the end of the year - negotiate a new contract with Capitol Advantage, or update the data for new members ourselves. We hope to time the purchase and updates so that we receive data reflecting the results of the 2001 elections, and we receive an update after the 2002 elections. You can look at the Capitol Advantage database at http://capwiz.com/usatoday/dbq/officials/.
2. Case study states -
a) Term limits states - We selected California, Colorado, Maine, and Ohio as the first four term limits states for our study. We have identified investigators in each of the states who are interested in being a part of the project. We are also contacting potential investigators in Florida and Arkansas, and it is likely that they will be added as the other two term limits states. Arizona was discussed as a second choice if Florida doesn't work out, and South Dakota and Montana as alternatives for Arkansas. At present our grant will cover honoraria of $2,500 for the first year for investigators in the term limits states. Investigators will be hired with the understanding that funds will have to be raised in order to pay honoraria in the second and third years. NCSL is in the process of contacting legislative leadership in all of these states to seek their approval and assistance in raising additional funds.
b) Non-term limits states - It was decided that we should wait until the second year of the project before beginning case studies in the non-term limits states. Reasons for postponing the non-TL state case studies include the availability of both demographic and survey data at the end of the first year, and the development of propositions from the TL states in the first year for testing in the non-TL states during the second and third years. States that were discussed as good possibilities include Kansas, Wisconsin, Illinois, Vermont, and Georgia.
3. Development of research strategies/protocols for case study states -
The group developed a long list of questions that we would like to investigate in the case study states. They are broadly grouped into the following categories:
- representation (composition, elections, identification with district, constituent services)
- organization (leadership, committees, staff, caucuses)
- law-making process (workload, learning, expertise, deliberation & negotiation, inter-chamber relations, conflict, media, policy)
- executive-legislative power balance (role in budget, appeal to public, oversight, role of state agencies)
- institutional maintenance (identification of members with the institution, campaigning for/against the
institution, etc.)
NCSL staff is currently working to refine this document, and it will be circulated sometime next month.
4. National questionnaire -
We discussed the Carey, Niemi, Powell 1996 survey questions, and the modifications that were made to this by the group that met at APSA. NCSL staff is currently creating a new draft of the questionnaire, which will be circulated in October. We are also talking with the company that did the survey for Carey, Niemi and Powell, and investigating other companies that could handle the survey for us. We anticipate sending out the survey in late January, accompanied by a letter from NCSL, CSG and SLLF.
5. Meeting of investigators -
This meeting will be held in Denver, November 30 - December 1, with all investigators and the project management team in attendance. The meeting will focus on the strategies/protocols document that was drafted in Denver on September 20-21. That document will be circulated to this group in plenty of time for comment and additional refinement prior to the meeting for investigators.
Jennie Drage Bowser tracks term limits, and may be reached at 303-364-7700 or elections-info@ncsl.org.
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