Blog – Page 3 – Center for Effective Lawmaking

Meet our Faculty Affiliate: Andrew Ballard

Meet our Faculty Affiliate: Andrew Ballard The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) is excited to announce one of our newest faculty affiliates, Andrew Ballard. Professor Ballard serves as an assistant professor of Political Science at Florida State University. He studies American politics with a particular interest in legislative institutions, political parties, and the interplay between legislators and the public. Some of the overarching topics he investigates are the influence of minority parties over legislation, how party goals drive legislative behavior, why some legislators and citizens are more willing to compromise…

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August 5, 2024

(C)H.Dodge,L.Lamsa

Center Affiliates / Faculty Affiliates / Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Effectiveness Scores / Legislative Research

Effective Lawmaking Behind the Scenes

Effective Lawmaking Behind the Scenes In this Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) working paper, Co-Directors Craig Volden (University of Virginia) and Alan Wiseman (Vanderbilt University), and Faculty Affiliates Mary Kroeger (University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill), Erinn Lauterbach (Villanova University), and Kelsey Shoub (University of Massachusetts-Amherst) demonstrate how behind-the-scenes lawmaking has become much more common in the U.S. Congress in recent years, with numerous bills embedded in must-pass legislation. Building on previous political science research, they offer a methodology to identify all bills that are substantially embedded in all laws in both…

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July 16, 2024

About the CEL / State Legislative Effectiveness Scores

CEL Receives Grant From the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation

CEL Receives Grant From the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation recently committed a three-year $1.5 million grant to the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) for our State Legislative Effectiveness Initiative.Since its founding in 2017 as a joint venture between the University of Virginia (UVA)'s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and Vanderbilt University, the CEL has studied and promoted lawmaking effectiveness in the United States. The overwhelming majority of our research and engagement activities to date have been focused on the U.S.…

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July 11, 2024

Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Effectiveness Scores / Legislative Research

Legislative Effectiveness: The Elements of Success

Legislative Effectiveness: The Elements of Success The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) co-directors Craig Volden and Alan Wiseman recently wrote an essay titled “Legislative Effectiveness: The Elements of Success” which was published in the Summer 2024 issue of the quarterly political journal Democracy as part of the symposium “Revitalizing Political Leadership.” The article examines the role of state legislatures in developing effective lawmakers at both the state and federal levels, based on the analysis of the CEL’s Legislative Effectiveness Scores (which measure lawmaking effectiveness of members of Congress) and the…

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June 25, 2024

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

The CEL’s 2024 Award for Best Publication on Effective Lawmaking

Ju Yeon “Julia” Park (r) being presented with the CEL’s Best Publication award by co-director Craig Volden (l) (Photo by Jenna Huber, Batten School). The CEL's 2024 Award for Best Publication on Effective Lawmaking The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) was pleased to announce the recipient of the 2024 Award for the Best Publication on Effective Lawmaking at our Sixth Annual Research Conference, at the University of Virginia on Monday, June 10, 2024. The recipients of this year’s award are Pamela Ban (UC San Diego), Ju Yeon “Julia” Park (The Ohio…

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June 18, 2024

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

Inside the 6th Annual Research Conference at the Center for Effective Lawmaking

Group photo outside the UVA Rotunda (Photo by Jenna Huber, Batten School). Inside the 6th Annual Research Conference at the Center for Effective Lawmaking The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) hosted its Sixth Annual Research Conference on Monday, June 10, 2024 at the University of Virginia (UVA) in Charlottesville, VA. Nearly 40 attendees from a wide range of research institutions and organizations came from across the country to discuss and evaluate the ideas connected with effective lawmaking, specifically the three main research areas of the CEL: identification of the characteristics of those…

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June 17, 2024

Events

CEL presentation to the Regional Reporters Association

CEL presentation to the Regional Reporters Association On May 13, 2024, the Regional Reporters Association hosted a webinar featuring Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) co-directors Craig Volden and Alan Wiseman. The Association represents local news outlets covering Washington, D.C. from their hometown perspectives, bringing insights from inside the Beltway to their local constituents and communities. Professors Volden and Wiseman offered an overview of the CEL, highlighting the Legislative Effectiveness Scores of members of Congress, how these scores undergird CEL’s larger research agenda, as well as how this research can be…

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May 21, 2024

Conversations with Lawmakers

Discussing Effective Lawmaking with Representative Mark Takano

Discussing Effective Lawmaking with Representative Mark Takano Representative Mark Takano has represented California in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2013, and currently serves the 39th congressional district. He has been identified by the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) as being the fifth-most and sixth-most effective Democratic lawmaker in the House in the 116th and 117th Congress, respectively (which convened from 2019-2021 and 2021-2023). He was also identified as being the most effective Democratic House member in these congresses in advancing Defense policy. In addition, he was the most effective…

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May 14, 2024

Conversations with Lawmakers

Discussing Effective Lawmaking with Representative Don Bacon

Discussing Effective Lawmaking with Representative Don Bacon Representative Don Bacon has served as the U.S. Representative for Nebraska’s 2nd congressional district since 2017. He has been identified by the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) as being the most effective Republican lawmaker in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 117th Congress (2021-2023) and the fourth-most effective lawmaker, overall, in the House during the 117th Congress, despite being a member of the minority party at the time. He was also the most successful member of the House in terms of incorporating…

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April 24, 2024

Board of Advisors

Tom Wickham: Motion To Vacate Explained

Tom Wickham: Motion To Vacate Explained On March 22, 2024, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene took procedural steps toward removing Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. This activity comes just six months after Speaker Kevin McCarthy was removed from the Speaker’s post in the House and Representative Johnson was elected Speaker. To provide insights, Tom Wickham, former Parliamentarian of the House who now serves as Senior Vice President at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a Center for Effective Lawmaking Advisory Board Member, has given the following overview of where the…

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March 25, 2024