Legislative Research – Page 4 – Center for Effective Lawmaking

Advancing Our Understanding of State Legislative Effectiveness

Advancing Our Understanding of State Legislative Effectiveness Thursday, February 27th, 2025 On Friday, February 21st, the Center for Effective Lawmaking hosted the Effective Lawmaking in American State Legislatures conference at Vanderbilt University, bringing together faculty and doctoral students from across the country to explore the complexities of policymaking at the state level. With attendees presenting and discussing their latest findings, the event served as an important platform for advancing our understanding of what drives legislative success in state governments. Reflecting on the broader mission of the Center for Effective Lawmaking,…

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February 27, 2025

Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research / State Legislative Effectiveness Scores / State Legislatures

Legislative Effectiveness in the American States (Published Paper)

Legislative Effectiveness in the American States (Published Paper) The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) is excited to announce that our "Legislative Effectiveness in the American States" paper has been published by the American Political Science Review. This paper, written by CEL Co-Directors Craig Volden (UVA Frank Batten School) and Alan Wiseman (Vanderbilt University), and research consultant Peter Bucchianeri, serves as the basis of our State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES) used to analyze state legislators across 97 legislative chambers over recent decades, based on the number of bills that they sponsor,…

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February 12, 2025

Center Affiliates / Faculty Affiliates / Legislative Anaylsis

Hearings on the Hill: The Politics of Informing Congress

Hearings on the Hill: The Politics of Informing Congress How do legislators, who are not policy experts, gather the information needed to make informed decisions? In a highly partisan environment, the flow of information in Congress is shaped by political competition, party leaders, and interest groups. Committees and hearings play a critical role in acquiring and disseminating this information, ultimately influencing the development of public policy in a democracy. In this new book, Assistant Professor Pamela Ban of the University of California, San Diego, Assistant Professor Ju Yeon Park of…

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February 4, 2025

Conference / Events / Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research / State Legislatures

CEL at the Legislative Leadership Program

CEL at the Legislative Leadership Program Monday, February 3, 2025Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) Co-Director Alan Wiseman recently presented at Michigan State University’s Legislative Leadership Program (LLP). Residing under the Michigan State University’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research College of Social Science (IPPSR) since its 1994 inception, the LLP invites new members of Michigan’s House of Representatives and Senate to engage in interactive small-group sessions with university faculty in the brief time between their election and their first legislative sessions. The program is built upon a series of…

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January 31, 2025

Center Affiliates / Faculty Affiliates / Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research

Credit Claiming and Accountability for Legislative Effectiveness

Credit Claiming and Accountability for Legislative Effectiveness Wednesday, January 29, 2025 In this Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) working paper, Associate Professor Elizabeth Simas of Texas A&M University, Assistant Professor Michael Kistner of the University of Houston (and CEL Faculty Affiliate), Instructor of International Affairs David Hilden of West Point Military Academy, and Jamie Wright, Senior Survey Scientist at Morning Consult, examine why effective legislators struggle to convey their legislative accomplishments through credit claiming. Despite survey research showing that voters value legislative effectiveness, constituents often lack awareness of their legislator's…

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January 29, 2025

Center Affiliates / Faculty Affiliates / Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research

How Modern Lawmakers Advertise Their Legislative Effectiveness to Constituents

How Modern Lawmakers Advertise Their Legislative Effectiveness to Constituents Tuesday, January 28, 2025 In order to be re-elected, lawmakers must inform their constituents on what their intentions are in Congress. Effective representation in Congress goes beyond the traditional metrics of lawmaking. It encompasses a broader range of activities, including advocacy and direct engagement with constituents. Understanding how legislators communicate their multifaceted roles is essential to evaluating their strategies for maintaining public support and securing reelection. But how are lawmakers supposed to showcase their legislative effectiveness to the general public? What…

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January 28, 2025

Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research

Deployed to the Hill: Military Experience and Legislative Behavior in Congress

Deployed to the Hill: Military Experience and Legislative Behavior in Congress Military service is often touted as an important benefit for legislating in Congress. With fewer military veterans serving in Congress, candidates with military experience, along with their supporters, argue that electing more veterans could help reduce dysfunction and gridlock. They claim that military values, such as duty and teamwork, translate into differences in legislative behavior. But are veteran lawmakers more effective than those without military experience? Are they more bipartisan?In this paper published in Political Research Quarterly and based on a…

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December 16, 2024

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

2024-2025 Small Grant Awards Announced

2024-2025 Small Grant Awards Announced Wednesday, December 4The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) is proud to present its 7th 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 and…

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December 4, 2024

Legislative Anaylsis / State Legislatures

The Concentration of Legislative Effectiveness in the American States

The Concentration of Legislative Effectiveness in the American States Wednesday, November 13 In this Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) working paper, Professor Todd Makse of Florida International University and Jacob Lollis of the University of Virginia examine how effective lawmaking is distributed among legislators within a chamber. While legislative effectiveness scores for individual lawmakers are often emphasized, this paper highlights the frequently overlooked importance of evaluating how effectiveness is spread across all members of a legislative body. Through analyzing legislative effectiveness data, the authors develop new measures to assess the…

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November 13, 2024

(C)H.Dodge,L.Lamsa

Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research

Where Bills Die in the U.S. Senate

Where Bills Die in the U.S. Senate Friday, November 8, 2024To advance their policy goals in the second Trump administration, Republicans are considering how best to organize Congress. One natural obstacle is the Senate, commonly described as “where bills go to die.” The Senate floor, in particular, presents a significant hurdle – with the possibility of legislative holds and the need for either unanimous consent or a lengthy process of filibusters and securing 60 votes for cloture, barring budget reconciliation procedures.To determine how much of a challenge the Senate poses…

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November 8, 2024