Center for Effective Lawmaking

Center for Effective Lawmaking

University of Virginia
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Vanderbilt University

Call for 2026-2027 Small Grant Awards
About the CEL / Legislative Research

Call for 2026-2027 Small Grant Awards

Call for 2026-2027 Small Grant Awards Proposal deadline: October 15, 2026Awards announced by: November 15, 2026The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) welcomes applications for grants to fund research consistent with the mission of the Center. The Center advances the generation, communication, and use of new knowledge about the effectiveness of individual lawmakers and U.S. legislative institutions. See our website (www.thelawmakers.org) for more on the CEL.The research receiving support must focus on effective lawmaking and must be designed to make an original scholarly contribution, generating and communicating new knowledge. We are…

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September 15, 2026
Discussing Effective Lawmaking with Alaska Congressman Nick Begich
Conversations with Lawmakers

Discussing Effective Lawmaking with Alaska Congressman Nick Begich

Discussing Effective Lawmaking with Alaska Congressman Nick Begich Congressman Nick Begich represents Alaska’s at-large congressional district. Before entering Congress, he built a career as a technology entrepreneur and business executive while serving in numerous civic and policy leadership roles in Alaska. His work in Congress has focused on energy development, transportation, Alaska Native issues, election administration, and emerging technologies.Congressman Nick Begich was born and raised in Anchorage, AK, until he moved to Florida to attend high school. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Baylor University in Texas and…

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September 8, 2026
The Center for Effective Lawmaking Attends the 2026 NCSL Summit
Blog / Events / State Legislatures

The Center for Effective Lawmaking Attends the 2026 NCSL Summit

The Center for Effective Lawmaking Attends the 2026 NCSL Summit Chicago, IL – Last week, thousands of state lawmakers, legislative staff, researchers, and advocates were in Chicago for the 2026 National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Summit, and the Center for Effective Lawmaking was excited to attend for the first time. The Summit provided the opportunity to connect directly with lawmakers and their staff who can apply our research to improve legislative effectiveness in their chamber. We shared information about the CEL’s mission and research and handed out our newly-published…

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August 13, 2026
Discussing Effective Lawmaking With Alabama Senator Arthur Orr
Conversations with Lawmakers / State Legislatures

Discussing Effective Lawmaking With Alabama Senator Arthur Orr

Discussing Effective Lawmaking With Alabama Senator Arthur Orr Senator Arthur Orr is a sixth-generation Alabamian, who grew up in Danville, Alabama, where he worked on the Alabama Sheriff’s Boys Ranch. He attended Wake Forest University, and as a student he served as chairman of the university Honor Council, received several academic honors, and held numerous leadership positions throughout the university. This pattern of leadership continued when he attended law school at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where he earned leadership and academic honors while teaching freshman English and volunteering…

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August 3, 2026
The Center for Effective Lawmaking Is Proud to Present Our New Guidebook for New State Legislators
Legislative Research / State Legislatures

The Center for Effective Lawmaking Is Proud to Present Our New Guidebook for New State Legislators

The Center for Effective Lawmaking Is Proud to Present Our New Guidebook for New State Legislators NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) is pleased to announce the release of our new guidebook, Being An Effective Lawmaker From Day One, a resource designed to help newly elected state legislators become more effective lawmakers from the start of their legislative careers.Drawing on several years of research, the guide provides practical, research-based strategies for navigating the legislative process and building a foundation for effective lawmaking before legislators begin serving in…

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July 23, 2026
Discussing Effective Lawmaking with Michigan Senator Sarah Anthony
Conversations with Lawmakers / State Legislatures

Discussing Effective Lawmaking with Michigan Senator Sarah Anthony

Discussing Effective Lawmaking with Michigan Senator Sarah Anthony Senator Sarah Anthony has been representing District 21 in the Michigan Senate since 2023. Previously, she served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2018 to 2022. Senator Anthony was the first African American woman elected to both the Michigan House of Representatives and Senate in the Lansing area. In 2023, she became the first African American woman to chair the Senate Appropriations Committee in the Michigan Senate. She also served as the first Vice-Chairperson of the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus and…

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June 8, 2026
Announcing the Release of the 65th Utah Legislature’s (2023-2024), the 108th Nebraska Legislature’s (2023-2024), and the 2023-2024 South Dakota Legislature’s State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES)
State Highlights / State Legislative Effectiveness Scores / State Legislatures

Announcing the Release of the 65th Utah Legislature’s (2023-2024), the 108th Nebraska Legislature’s (2023-2024), and the 2023-2024 South Dakota Legislature’s State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES)

Announcing the Release of the 65th Utah Legislature’s (2023-2024), the 108th Nebraska Legislature’s (2023-2024), and the 2023-2024 South Dakota Legislature’s State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES) The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) is proud to announce the release of our State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES) for the 65th Utah Legislature (2023-2024), the 108th Nebraska Legislature (2023-2024), and the 2023-2024 South Dakota Legislature. This initiative is part of our broader effort to measure the lawmaking effectiveness of individual legislators in all 99 state legislative chambers in the United States.These scores capture lawmaking…

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May 14, 2026
Legislative Effectiveness, Progressive Ambition, and Electoral Success
Blog / Legislative Research / State Legislatures

Legislative Effectiveness, Progressive Ambition, and Electoral Success

Legislative Effectiveness, Progressive Ambition, and Electoral Success Wednesday, May 6, 2026In this newly published paper in the American Political Science Review, Co-Directors Craig Volden (University of Virginia) and Alan Wiseman (Vanderbilt University), and Faculty Affiliates Danielle Thomsen (University of California-Irvine) and Sarah Treul (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) examine the question of whether effective state lawmakers are more likely than ineffective state lawmakers to be elected to Congress. The authors draw on the CEL’s dataset of State Legislative Effectiveness Scores from 1993 to 2018 to examine the relationship between lawmaker effectiveness…

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May 6, 2026
Announcing the Release of the 2023-2024 Kentucky Legislative Session, 94th Arkansas General Assembly, and the 59th Oklahoma Legislature Legislative Session State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES)
State Highlights / State Legislative Effectiveness Scores / State Legislatures

Announcing the Release of the 2023-2024 Kentucky Legislative Session, 94th Arkansas General Assembly, and the 59th Oklahoma Legislature Legislative Session State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES)

Announcing the Release of the 2023-2024 Kentucky Legislative Session, 94th Arkansas General Assembly, and the 59th Oklahoma Legislature Legislative Session State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES) The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) is proud to announce the release of our State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES) for the 59th Oklahoma Legislature (2023-2024), the 2023-2024 Kentucky General Assembly, and the 94th Arkansas General Assembly (2023-2024) legislative sessions. This initiative is part of our broader effort to measure the lawmaking effectiveness of individual legislators in all 99 state legislative chambers in the United States.These…

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April 16, 2026
Announcing the Release of the 113th Tennessee General Assembly State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES)
State Highlights / State Legislative Effectiveness Scores / State Legislatures

Announcing the Release of the 113th Tennessee General Assembly State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES)

Announcing the Release of the 113th Tennessee General Assembly State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES) The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) is proud to announce the release of our State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES) for the 113th Tennessee General Assembly (2023-2024) legislative session. This initiative is part of our broader effort to measure the lawmaking effectiveness of individual legislators in all 99 state legislative chambers in the United States.These scores capture lawmaking effectiveness by tracking the number of bills legislators sponsor, how far those bills advance through the legislative process, and…

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April 9, 2026

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