Blog – Center for Effective Lawmaking

Policy Agendas, Effective Lawmaking, and Women’s Issues in State Legislatures

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Policy Agendas, Effective Lawmaking, and Women’s Issues in State Legislatures

Policy Agendas, Effective Lawmaking, and Women’s Issues in State Legislatures Tuesday, August 4, 2026 State legislatures introduce roughly 100,000 bills a year, far outpacing Congress, yet scholars have long lacked a reliable way to sort that volume into policy areas, making it hard to ask basic questions about which issues get attention, which stall, and who succeeds where. In this Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) working paper, the authors take on that challenge directly. It was written by Andrew M.O. Ballard, Associate Professor at Florida State University (and CEL Faculty…

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August 3, 2026

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

Legislative Anaylsis / Media / Podcast / Video

CEL on 1440 Explores

CEL on 1440 Explores Wednesday, July 29, 2026Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) Co-Director Craig Volden of the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia was a guest on 1440 Explores to discuss why Congress has become dysfunctional and unpopular over the years – and how the reality of passing legislation is far different from the Schoolhouse Rock! “I’m Just a Bill” cartoon.In the video titled “How America Broke Congress,” hosted by 1440 Editor-in-Chief Sony Kassam, Professor Volden gives a brief history of Congress and…

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July 29, 2026

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Events

Roadmap to the Budget Process

Craig Volden, Alan Wiseman, Johnnie Kaberle, Chris Bertram, Bettina Poirier, Tom Kahn, and Chad Chirico (from left to right). Photo by Andrew Colford. Roadmap to the Budget Process Monday, July 27, 2026On Thursday, July 16, the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) co-hosted a panel discussion on Capitol Hill with American University’s Program on Legislative Negotiation (PLN) and the Partnership for a Secure America (PSA) entitled “Roadmap to the Budget Process.” Panelists highlighted core budget issues and their role in the authorization and appropriation processes. The importance of negotiation in budgetary matters was also a…

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July 27, 2026

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

Blog / Legislative Research / State Legislatures

How Do Women and Men Respond to More Women in the Legislature? A Study of Bill Introductions and Effectiveness

Wednesday, July 8, 2026 In this newly published paper in Political Research Quarterly, Emma Schroeder (Texas Christian University) examines how increasing numbers of women in state legislatures influence the legislative behavior of women and men, using bill introduction data and legislative effectiveness scores from 49 U.S. state legislatures. She finds that in upper chambers with more women, women serve as the primary sponsors of fewer bills than men. However, when both primary sponsorship and cosponsorship are considered, women contribute to more bills than men in both chambers. This relationship varies…

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July 8, 2026

The CEL’s 2026 Award for Best Publication on Effective Lawmaking

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About the CEL / Center Affiliates / Conference / Faculty Affiliates / Legislative Anaylsis

The CEL’s 2026 Award for Best Publication on Effective Lawmaking

The CEL's 2026 Award for Best Publication on Effective Lawmaking Wednesday, July 1, 2026The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2026 Award for the Best Publication on Effective Lawmaking. The recipients of this year’s award are Charles R. Hunt (Boise State University) and Kristina C. Miler (University of Maryland and CEL Faculty Affiliate) for their article in the Journal of Politics, “How Modern Lawmakers Advertise Their Legislative Effectiveness to Constituents.”In the paper, the authors explain how in a complex information environment, members of…

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July 1, 2026

Advancing the Study of Effective Lawmaking: Highlights from CEL’s 8th Annual Research Conference

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About the CEL / Center Affiliates / Conference / Events / Faculty Affiliates

Advancing the Study of Effective Lawmaking: Highlights from CEL’s 8th Annual Research Conference

Group photo outside the UVA Colonnade Club (Photo by John Robinson, Batten School). Advancing the Study of Effective Lawmaking: Highlights from CEL’s 8th Annual Research Conference Tuesday, June 30, 2026Charlottesville, VA – On Monday, June 22nd, 2026, the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) hosted its 8th annual research conference at the University of Virginia (UVA). The conference brought together researchers and practitioners from around the country to share their latest research findings and to discuss trends in effective lawmaking in the U.S. Congress and state legislatures. The morning opened with remarks…

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June 30, 2026

State Highlights / State Legislative Effectiveness Scores / State Legislatures

Announcing the Release of the 2024-2025 Virginia General Assembly’s and the 221st New Jersey Legislature’s (2024-2025) State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES)

Announcing the Release of the 2024-2025 Virginia General Assembly’s and the 221st New Jersey Legislature’s (2024-2025) 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 2024-2025 Virginia General Assembly and the 221st New Jersey Legislature 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 scores capture lawmaking effectiveness by tracking the number of…

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June 25, 2026

State Highlights / State Legislative Effectiveness Scores / State Legislatures

Announcing the Release of the 67th Wyoming Legislature’s (2023-2024) and the 33rd Alaska Legislature’s (2023-2024) State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES)

Announcing the Release of the 67th Wyoming Legislature’s (2023-2024) and the 33rd Alaska Legislature’s (2023-2024) 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 67th Wyoming Legislature and the 33rd Alaska Legislature 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 scores capture lawmaking effectiveness by tracking the number of bills that legislators sponsor,…

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June 18, 2026