ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the limits on the ability to make generalizations about the legislative process not only generally, but even just in the American context. The simple view of the legislative process, often held by the public and students, is that when a majority of legislators support a bill, that bill will pass. There were over a dozen bills introduced in Pennsylvania in the 2007-08 legislative session that had over 102 sponsors, which is more than half of all legislators in this chamber. As the Arkansas Parliamentarian notes about the former chamber, hostile amendments are rarely pursued, and most amendments are designed to either improve a bill or garner more support. Moncrief, Thompson and Cassie define the norms in the state legislative setting as "rules which establish the boundaries of accept able legislative behavior" and find that there are norms in state legislatures relating to specialization, courtesy, reciprocity, institutional loyalty, and apprenticeship.
