About the CEL – Center for Effective Lawmaking

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

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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. Miller (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 Congress…

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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

About the CEL / Center Affiliates

Meet our Program Specialist for State Legislatures: Caroline Clements

Meet our Program Specialist for State Legislatures: Caroline Clements The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) is pleased to introduce Caroline Clements as our new Program Specialist for State Legislatures. In this role, she will work to discover ways to promote good governance at the state level. Prior to joining the CEL, Caroline worked at a boutique public affairs and communications firm in Nashville. In 2023, Caroline graduated magna cum laude from Swanee: The University of the South, where she studied political science with a focus on law, justice, and national…

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February 24, 2026

About the CEL

2025: A Year in Review

2025: A Year in Review As 2025 draws to a close, we at the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) wanted to take the time to reflect on our accomplishments this year. These included, but were not limited, to the following:Updating our Legislative Effectiveness Scores for the 118th Congress (including for issue areas) and sharing our congressional New Member Guide with every newly elected member of the House and Senate, as well as at regularly held briefings and sessions with congressional staff.Announcing the release of our State Legislative Effectiveness Scores, with individual reports on California, Georgia, Illinois, Montana,…

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December 19, 2025

About the CEL

Center for Effective Lawmaking 2025 Annual Report

Center for Effective Lawmaking 2025 Annual Report The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) is celebrating another successful year with the release of our annual report. Founded in 2017 as a joint venture between the University of Virginia’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and Vanderbilt University, the Center’s trusted methodology and analyses have been cited in hundreds of news articles and widely used by lawmakers and their staffs, scholars, and many others around the country who care about effective lawmaking.Highlights over the last year include:Updating our Legislative Effectiveness Scores for…

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November 24, 2025

About the CEL / Interest & Legislative Effectiveness Scores / Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Effectiveness Scores / Legislative Research

Highlights from the New 118th Congress Interest & Legislative Effectiveness Scores

Highlights from the New 118th Congress Interest & Legislative Effectiveness Scores By Craig Volden and Alan Wiseman, Co-Directors, Center for Effective LawmakingWednesday, November 19, 2025The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) is pleased to announce the release of the Interest & Legislative Effectiveness Scores (ILES) in each of 21 different issue areas for the 118th Congress (2023-25). These categories are based on issue area codes from the Comparative Agendas Project with bill issue codings drawn from www.congress.gov. The methodology that we employed to construct these issue-based scores is the same as…

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November 19, 2025

About the CEL / Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research

2025-2026 Small Grant Awards Announced

2025-2026 Small Grant Awards Announced Thursday, November 13, 2025The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) is proud to present its 8th annual small grant awards and recipients. The awards are given to scholars who are researching topics that connect to the mission of the CEL to advance the generation, communication, and use of new knowledge about the effectiveness of individual lawmakers and legislative institutions. This group of scholars will join previous grant recipients who have made insightful contributions to the study of lawmaking effectiveness. We are honored to support the awardees…

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November 13, 2025

About the CEL / Board of Advisors

Meet our new Advisory Board Member: Jill Tolles

Meet our new Advisory Board Member: Jill Tolles Monday, October 13, 2025The Center for Effective Lawmaking is excited to welcome Jill Tolles to our Board of Advisors.Tolles is the Executive Director of the Kenny Guinn Center for Policy Priorities. She has taught at the University of Nevada since 2005, where she received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Communication Studies. She is also on the faculty of the National Judicial College, where she teaches courtroom management, collaborative decision-making, and procedural fairness to judges from around the nation and the world.Prior to…

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October 13, 2025

About the CEL / Legislative Research

Call for 2025-2026 Small Grant Awards

Call for 2025-2026 Small Grant Awards Proposal deadline: September 30, 2025Awards announced by: November 15, 2025The 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 especially interested…

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August 26, 2025

About the CEL / Board of Advisors / Conversations with Lawmakers

The CEL on “The Weekly” and “Staffer” Podcasts

The CEL on "The Weekly" and "Staffer" Podcasts Tuesday, August 12, 2025Tom Wickham and Shuwanza Goff, two members of the Center for Effective Lawmaking’s (CEL) Board of Advisors, were recently featured on leading political podcasts, C-SPAN’s The Weekly and Staffer, offering their expert insights into the inner workings of Congress and public service.Tom Wickham is the former Parliamentarian of the U.S. House of Representatives, and currently serves as Senior Vice President of state and local policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. On this episode of The Weekly podcast -…

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August 12, 2025