ABSTRACT
Reformers generally agree that a viable legislature requires, at a minimum, the requisite organizational resources and procedures that allow legislators to perform their lawmaking, oversight, and representation tasks in a timely, coherent, and ethical fashion. Five sets of changes seem particularly important—institutional reforms, the emergence of a new legislative career, term limits, an increase in the number of women and minorities serving in state legislatures, and greater legislative assertiveness. This chapter reviews the broader consequences of these and other changes on the ability of the states to govern. Today, legislatures contend on a nearly equal basis with the governor and state agencies over budget issues, policy development, and increasingly, the day-to-day management of state government. Implicit in most discussions of legislative reform is the assumption that changes in membership, structures, and procedures will impact on how legislatures perform various functions including representation, policymaking, and legislative oversight.
