ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book analyzes the ways in which the legislative context matters by examining the legislative process in ten US state lower chambers in the 2007-08 sessions. It examines the existing research about the legislative process and then turns to how the context in which legislating takes place may condition the results of past research. The book explores how context influences the first step in the legislative process: the introduction of legislation. The book then focuses on how all of these factors ultimately come together to shape the fate of legislation, by looking at why some legislators are more successful in this endeavor than others and why some bills are passed while others die. Factors like limits on bill introductions, leader tools, legislative professionalism, term limits, and party control all significantly shape legislator activity and success, committee actions, and bill processing.
