ASLCS - The Journal - The Evolution of Legislative Institutions: An Examination of Recent Developments in State Legislatures and NCSL

The Evolution of Legislative Institutions: An Examination of Recent Developments in State Legislatures and NCSL

By:
William T. Pound
Executive Director
National Conference of State Legislatures

Volume 4, Number 1 Spring 1998

We have seen state legislatures, institutions rooted in the histories of the United States and of the English Parliament, evolve and change in many ways over the last twenty-five years since the legislative modernization movement came to maturity, and the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) was created to link our legislative bodies and to represent their interests nationally. NCSL's primary mission when it was created remains constant today - to support and improve the legislative institution, to share information among the states, and to represent legislatures in national policy-making. A brief examination of legislative modernization and the developments of the past decade will provide perspective on how state legislatures and NCSL have changed.

In the 1950s, state legislatures were characterized by limited sessions and facilities, small staffs (often only temporary employees), limited legislative compensation, and few specialized information resources. The executive branch of state government and the federal government were the dominant forces in public policy. The move to modernize state legislatures, occurring at the same time as the "one man, one vote" court-ordered changes in our representation system, created bodies that are much stronger institutions with enhanced capacity to make policy and play an effective, independent role in our governmental system.

By the late 1970s, many legislatures had removed or expanded limitations on session length, had established permanent legislative staffs with much greater specialization - fiscal, audit and evaluation, research and committee, and information services - had expanded and upgraded facilities, and had eliminated or relaxed constitutional limitations on legislative authority and compensation. Legislatures spent more time at their work, and legislative committees became more effective and powerful. Legislative bodies became more representative of society, as reflected by the growing numbers of women and minorities serving for the first time.

During this time, NCSL initiated many of its legislative staff professional development programs and the online information system added Legisnet. Staff professional development programs had been pioneered by the American Society of Legislative Clerks and Secretaries, which predates NCSL by 40 years. These programs have become more numerous and more sophisticated over the years with the development of the Legislative Staff Management Institute and other staff training efforts. Information sharing has likewise expanded both in quantity and quality. When NCSL was created in 1975, its staff responded to about 2,000 information requests from legislators and staff. In 1997, that number exceeded 30,000. The development of e-mail, the Internet, and NCSLNet has also vastly changed the ability of legislatures to share information and to access each other's data bases. Legislative staff, working together through the Legislative Staff Coordinating Committee (LSCC), have been instrumental in these developments as well as in assisting legislatures in developing nations. Over the years, NCSL has developed a considerable capacity to assist the legislatures of other nations. ASLCS and its members have played a key role in these efforts.

Legislatures have also come to play a more influential role in national policy development over the past two decades. This has happened in two ways. First, legislatures have utilized their increased capacity to incorporate programs in virtually all areas of activity. Federal programs today nearly always build upon the experience and experimentation of the states, whether in welfare, health, education, or corrections. Second, through NCSL, legislatures have become an influential force affecting national policy. NCSL's federal lobbying efforts have become more sophisticated and rely heavily on the involvement and efforts of state legislators and legislative staff advice.

Today state legislatures are linked as never before, due to the creation of NCSL and its programs, technological advancements, and changes in intergovernmental relations in our federal system. But despite these changes, our legislatures still vary widely in their state of development, staffing patterns, and operations. These variations make them interesting and diverse institutions, ranging from the full-time professionalized institutions of the largest states to the part-time, traditional legislatures in the less populous states. However, they are all linked by trends evident in the past several years.

New developments are placing more responsibility and more demands on state government, both from the federal government's devolution of certain programs and federal financial problems, and from states assuming more local responsibilities to achieve equity or to confront issues lacking solutions on a local basis. We have moved from a Washington-centered federalism to a more balanced system where the role of states is more important, and opportunities for legislative creativity are greater. Recent decisions of the United States Supreme Court have enhanced state authority and their field of action while putting more limitations on Congress.

These trends have placed greater demands on legislatures and on the time commitment of legislators. It is clear that serving in a legislative body, whether it is full-time or part-time, requires a greater commitment from members than it did twenty years ago. Legislative lobbying and group activity at the state level have intensified. The numbers of lobbyists have multiplied by several hundred percent. Groups that heretofore concentrated their efforts in Washington, DC, now find that they must work in many, if not all, state capitols. The age of the contract lobbyist representing multiple interests has dawned, and many of this expanded number are former legislators or staff members. We also experience much greater attention by organized interests to NCSL policy positions and activities, whether they are the deliberations of NCSL committees, the activities of the nine legislative staff sections, or meetings of legislative leaders and committee chairs.

Coupled with technological change, this has led to an information explosion in legislatures. A premium is placed on the ability to communicate concisely and clearly and to make sense of the mass of information available. No longer is it likely that leadership, the executive branch, or a few groups will have a monopoly on information. The legislatures' own deliberations and information are now widely available to the public.

Other developments are impacting the legislative institution. Partisan competition for control of state legislatures is more intense and more evenly spread across the country than at any recent time. The national political parties now pay much greater attention to redistricting and to providing assistance for the drawing of district lines and for the operation of legislative campaigns. In many ways, we are experiencing a nationalization of legislative campaigns. There has also been an increase in ideological issues and commitment, which is less susceptible to compromise within the legislature.

While legislatures went through a period of expansion in the 1960s and 1970s, contrary trends are now evident. Public support for all institutions is generally in decline, and this is certainly evident in legislatures. While the current period of economic prosperity and of state budget surpluses has temporarily raised public approval of legislatures, the longer-term trend has been the opposite. In a number of states, limitations have been placed on legislative sessions, expenditures, or taxing authority. Term limits, currently effective in nineteen states, are a prime example of this. At a time when demands on the legislature have grown, we see a number of attempts to reduce its ability to be an independent, creative policymaking institution. The increased use of the Initiative Process in the states that allow it is another example of how public policy is adopted outside the legislative arena. The Initiative Process bypasses the legislature and its process of compromise and has an effect far beyond those states that use it. To a great extent, the Initiative has become a "table setter" for other states, and is being used by organized groups to give credibility to, and develop apparent public support for, ideas that will then quickly be introduced as bills in non-initiative states.

Another aspect of this is increased legislative-executive tension in many states. Limits on the legislature and an enhanced state policy role lead to greater gubernatorial power and will increase budget and oversight demands on the legislature if it is to remain effective. At the same time, we are experiencing a decentralization or fragmentation of power within legislatures. Strong leaders are fewer in number. Staff resources, once highly centralized, are more likely to be directed by chamber, caucus, committee, or individual member today.

The rate of turnover among members and staff specialists is growing. These developments create a greater need for staff training and for legislator informational programs both by each legislature and through the resources of NCSL. An understanding of legislatures and work toward the advocacy and improvement of the legislative institution become even more essential for all those involved with state legislatures.

For more information about ASLCS, write or call:

Sally Kittredge
National Conference of State Legislatures
1560 Broadway, Suite 700
Denver, CO 80202
Phone: 303/364-7700
FAX: 303/863-8003
E-mail: sally.kittredge@ncsl.org