The Thicket at State Legislatures

Safire's Political Dictionary

by Karl Kurtz

The new 2008 edition of William Safire's Political Dictionary, first published in 1968, is a great resource for political junkies--legislative or otherwise--and just plain fun reading.  Here are three things I learned from a randomly selected page:

• hizzoner--This jocular word/phrase likely to be applied to any big city mayor first became popular in New York in reference to Fiorello H. La Guardia.  Chicago added its own twist when Mayor Richard Daley (the first one) came to be called "Hizzoner duh Mare."
• Hobson's choice--I had always thought that this referred to any difficult political choice involving a tradeoff and that it was probably derived from some obscure philosopher.  But no, Safire says that Hobson's choice in politics only refers to a situation in which you vote for one candidate or do not vote at all and that it is improper to use it to refer to a general political dilemma.  And it is derived not from philosophy but from a 16th century stable owner in London, Tobias Hobson, who required that all customers who wanted a horse could take only the one closest to the stable door.  By this means he could assure equal use of each horse.  "From whence it became a proverb, when what ought to be your election was forced upon you, to say Hobson's Choice," in the words of Sir Richard Steele in The Spectator, No. 509.

More Detective Novels Set in State Capitols

by Karl Kurtz

My posting two years ago, "The Fly on the Wall and Other Novels," about mysteries that are set in state capitols generated a number of contributions from readers.  In that story I referred to correspondence that I had had many years ago with two fellow legislative junkies in California and Hawaii about this subject but could no longer find.  Rummaging through some old files recently, I found their letters and am delighted that they add substantially to the list of detective novels set in state capitols.

From a 1994 letter from the late Yen Lew, then the ombudsman for the Hawaii Legislature (hyperlinks added):

Two recent books to include in the listing are Running Mates by John Feinstein [who covered the Maryland Statehouse for the Washington Post for two years before becoming a sports reporter] and The Texas Capitol Murders by Bill Crider.

The Sean Hanlon book I would include is Deep Freeze where the hero works for the speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives. This book is part of a series.  I haven't read all the others, but I think this is the only one with a legislative backdrop.

Alabama Capitol Bursting at the Seams

by Doug Farquhar

The Alabama Legislature adjourned yesterday, leaving one issue unresolved: where to build a new home for the Legislature.

When legislative committees hold hearings on hot issues in Montgomery, people are often not able to fit into the meeting rooms and spill out into the halls where they cannot hear.  The state fire marshal is getting strict because of overcrowding in meeting rooms.

During a renovation of the capitol in 1986, the legislature temporarily moved across the street to the state transportation building, and never moved back.  Now neither the capitol nor the transportation building meets the needs of the legislature.

"It just tears me up to see the media and especially constituents who traveled from all over the state from 200 or 300 miles to see legislation debated that they're interested in and there's not enough room," says Rep. Richard Laird, the chair of a legislative committee studying the possibility of creating a new facility for the Legislature.

The building is "antiquated and cramped," says Sen. Roger Bedford, the committee vice-chair.  The state has to repair the current State House weekly and spends millions on maintenance, Bedford said. 

Two options are being studied.  One is to add a new wing to the transportation building specifically for the legislature.  The second is to build a new capitol building at the lower end of Dexter Avenue opposite the capitol, having these two government buildings act as anchors for a new pedestrian mall for the city of Montgomery.  And that's where the local controversy begins.  For the full story, see the Montgomery Advertiser.

Doug Farquhar covers agriculture and trade policy and is NCSL's liaison with the Alabama Legislature.

Delawarisms

by Karl Kurtz

Body Parts People. A collection of organizations like the heart association, lung association and cancer society that join forces to lobby for health measures, such as the smoking ban. Their selling point is their virtuousness, which is second only to Mom and apple pie.

Leg Hall. Legislative Hall [photo], the center of Delaware's political universe in Dover. Its shorthand name is pronounced the way the Body Parts People would.

These are two of the delightful legislative localisms you can learn about by reading Delaware Grapevine's "Legislative Lingo."  Many of the terms in this article, like "just housekeeping," "player" or "wired," are not localisms but part of legislative parlance everywhere.  But many others like "body parts people," "Big Head," or "Thurman's office" are unique to legislative life in Dover.  We're delighted to add these to our own collection of legislative localisms.

We continue to welcome readers' contributions of their own legislative lingo.

Legislative Junkie in Boise

by Karl Kurtz

Gary Moncrief--a professor of political science at Boise State University, legislative junkie, friend, and collaborator--is interviewed by the Boise Weekly about his fascination with American legislatures. He has some interesting things to say about the Idaho and Texas legislatures and the role of women in the two political parties.

A rose from The Thicket to Tom Clapper in Oklahoma.

Using Technology to Improve Constituent Communication in Algeria

by Meagan Dorsch

I am excited to be in Algeria with an NCSL delegation to share experiences with members of parliament and staff on how to use technology to communicate better with the public and the media.

One of the challenges of cross-cultural communication about legislative strengthening is figuring out what ideas work best in different countries.  For example, Virginia Delegate Kristen Amundson and Ric Cantrell of the Utah Senate staff gave an overview of the technology tools they use in their legislatures. Both highlighted features like blogs and podcasts, tools that parliament members were familiar with but had never used. Ric did a terrific interactive session with the Algerians on how to set up and begin writing a blog from beginning to end.  The audience was really engaged and enjoyed these sessions, but they expressed concern that if they offered this type of technology to the public, it would not be used.

We learned that of Algeria's 34 million people, only about 1.9 million own a computer. But 28 million Algerians own a cell phone. And it is projected that by the year 2010, Algeria will have 36 million mobile phones--more phones than people! This is why Ric's second presentation on "text blasting" resonated so well with our audience.

Ric and the Utah Senate started "text blasting" five months ago with a small Utah company, Vox Partners. Anyone can sign up as a subscriber to receive a short text message sent out by Ric's office about things that are going on in the legislature. Ric demonstrated this process by importing the cell phone numbers of everyone in our NCSL delegation into his Vox website. He typed in a message, sent it off, and 8 seconds later we all received his message. When our ringers went off inside the workshop, the Algerians' eyes lit up! Ric told the crowd that Utah is beginning a movement by using this form of technology, but if Algeria picks it up, they could truly become a pioneer!

You can read all about the members of our delegation and our experiences--even how I regretted my choice of shoes to take on the trip--in a blog that we set up specially for our delegation, Algiers 2008. But I also want to share a few other highlights here in The Thicket.   

Changing Perceptions of Public Access

by Gene Rose

State governments are often accused and criticized in the media for blocking access to records and information. A pair of legislative staffers in Oklahoma are doing their best to change that perception.

Oklahoma Senate Communications Director Malia Bennett and Senate Department of Information Systems Director John Warren earned a special public award for innovations that give the public greater access to the activities of the Senate. The award, given by Freedom of Information Oklahoma, recognizes organizations that enable and thwart public access to records. The winners of this year's awards were summarized by this article in the Oklahoman.

Bennett and Warren were given high marks for the Senate's Web site, streaming proceedings of Senate deliberations and posting votes in real time.

In a press release issued by the Oklahoma Senate, Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan said, "Our communications and information systems departments have been proactive and innovative in developing a variety of features to provide the public with greater access to the business of the Senate. This is a well-deserved honor for our staff." Senate Co-President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee echoed those remarks, said, "We are proud that they have been honored with this award. The Senate will continue working to find new and innovative ways to provide the public with government information.”

Photo of Oklahoma Capitol dome by Eric Oxendorf.

No Legislative Web Site? Back to the Stone Age

by Pam Greenberg

Asked what it would be like if his Legislature's Web site went out of business, Utah Senate Majority Leader Curtis Bramble said, "It would be back to the stone age."

You don't often see news articles focusing on legislative websites or the staff behind them, but a recent Salt Lake Tribune article praises the Utah Legislature's Web site and gives credit to the legislative staffers behind it.  The article calls Utah's website "inexorably essential to the lawmaking process" with its "live audio of every committee meeting in the building…e-mail updates for anyone who wants to follow a bill on its way to becoming a law…and cross-referenced hyperlinks to every bill, every legislator, every hearing, every vote."   

One of my favorite aspects of the site is how you can look up a bill and then listen to or watch the relevant excerpts from archived debates.  They're also offering subscriptions to downloadable podcasts.

The article quotes a local ISP provider who also praises the site, but urges that they provide more opportunities for direct democracy features, such as allowing citizens to comment on a bill (something the Nevada legislature does in its online opinion polls).  But the Utah Legislature also has already done some ground-breaking work in this area: one example is the online town meeting it held back in August 2007. 

The article ends by noting that the state will be hosting a group from Montana to see their system that provides for push-button publishing of audio files.  That's typical of Mark Allred, who is quoted in the article, and who is always generous in sharing his time and considerable expertise with other states. 

Poll Results: Increased Partisanship in Legislatures

Our poll about the causes of increased partisanship in legislatures, which was based on the posting, "Things Ain't What They Used to Be and Never Were,"  was probably the most complicated question that we have posed in The Thicket.  The question read, "Many believe that partisanship in legislatures has increased, and civility and camaraderie have declined.  What is the primary cause of this in your state?"

Seventy-six readers responded to the question. Thirty-five (46%) of you said that the cause was increased partisanship nationally, 12 (16%) chose ethics laws/term limits, 8 (11%) picked general changes in social relationships, 7 (9%) blamed the media, and 4 (5%) clicked on greater diversity/complexity of society and government.  The remaining 10 (13%) respondents disagreed with the premise of the question, presumably because they don't believe that partisanship, civility and camaraderie have declined in their state's legislature.

How Cuddly is Your Legislature?

by Brian Weberg

The New York Times ran an interesting story last week in its lifestyle section titled "Who's Cuddly Now? Law Firms."  It described a movement in some law firms, both large and small, to adapt their organizational culture to "embrace the mantra of work-life balance," reporting that despite being an "unbending, tradition-bound profession," that "law firms have been forced to rethink long-standing ways of doing business, if they are to remain fully competitive."  Hmmm.  Unbending and tradition-bound.  It sounded a little familiar.  Some firms, the article said, are actually doing away with the age-old concept of the billable hour.  Wow.

One key reason cited for this unexpected challenge to tradition in law firms is generational change in the workplace.  "On the one end of the spectrum are baby boomers, nearing retirement and mindful of the flexible schedules that did not exist at the start of their careers.  At the other end are Gen Y workers, some nearing 30 and want a life."  Something was really starting to sound familiar to me. 

In a recent post to The Thicket, I pondered the coming "gully washer" of staff retirements, the need for state legislatures to prepare for a new regime of staff leaders and raised questions about how a new generation of employees will fit into the existing culture of the legislative workplace.  It interests me that, as the Times reports, that "even accounting firms, of all places" are attempting internal cultural shifts to accommodate generational change. 

What about state legislatures?  Are they in the same boat?

Of course, it may not be fair to compare accounting or law firms to legislatures.  Indeed, it's not uncommon for lawyers to leave the pressure of traditional law firms to work for the legislature, citing a trade-off of income for work-life relief.  Still, legislative employment is an unusual occupation, and there are plenty of bill drafting lawyers out there who have not had much of a Christmas holiday in a few years.  And there is no shortage of legislators and staff who reach a point of exhaustion at the end of a long session, sacrificing time with family, friends and careers...and perhaps their health. 

Many legislative staff agencies are becoming concerned about the impending loss of their staff leaders to retirement.  It seems there should be similar attention and perhaps concern directed toward the traditions, practices and culture of these workplaces (and the legislative processes that drive them) with reflection on how they impact work-life balance and the needs and expectations of the Gen Y staffer and legislator. 

What, if anything, is your legislature doing to address the work-life balance issue?  Tell The Thicket about your innovations and whether you think they are working by adding a comment below or clicking on "Contact us" in the right column.  How cuddly is your legislature?

Is Anybody Watching?

by Pam Greenberg

Last week, Governing's Management Letter asked "a simple question:"

"A bunch of states are considering requiring audio or video recordings of government meetings. But who's watching? …all we want to know is whether states that put in the effort measure the number of people who actually look at the recordings afterwards."

For state legislatures, the answer is that many do have the numbers on how many people watch legislative proceedings on the Internet, and the numbers are interesting.  Barry LaGrave, Director of Public Information Services for the Minnesota House of Representatives provided me with these figures:

For calendar year 2007, the Minnesota House had:

• 111,754 combined hits to the live and archive webcast streams, averaging 306 hits per day.
• 11,652 "distinct visitors"  (This means the number of unique IPs. Each one could have watched one or 111 clips.)
• Average play duration of live and archive streams was 29 minutes, 27 seconds
• A relatively even usage pattern Monday-Friday, with a slight increase on Thursdays.

Barry notes that their top "hit" day was April 26, 2007 (6,024 hits), when they had a two-part, 10-hour floor session debate of the omnibus tax bill and the statewide smoking ban bill. The last day of the 2007 regular session also generated a ton of hits: 5,836.  Minnesota's House Television Services and Senate Media Services televise and webcast the legislative proceedings.

Some numbers from other states:

Washington's TVW televises and webcasts government proceedings.  TVW produces more than 2,000 hours of original programming annually, of which about 40 percent is legislative coverage.  TVW reports that "2006 and 2007 statewide polls of registered voters by Elway Research show that 22 percent of registered voters in Washington State, some 800,000 people, had watched TVW within the last 2 weeks."

The Virginia Senate has about 70-100 daily users of its streaming video coverage (not including staff and others in the Senate, House of Delegates and Legislative Agencies who watch on the Capitol Campus).  Jonathan Palmore of Senate Information Services also reports that the Senate has an audio only stream that has about 20 users daily.

Maine provides video coverage of legislative proceedings.  Paul Mayotte, Director of the Office of Information Services, was able to report that from the beginning of January 2008 through January 24, the Maine Senate registered more than 700 connections, had close to 200 unique viewers, and averaged more than 30 daily viewers.  Average play duration was close to 20 minutes.  Keep in mind that Maine is early in its session--these statistics cover just eight floor sessions that did not average more than an hour. 

We won't compare these numbers to the Nielsen ratings for The Oprah Winfrey Show, but all the same, the numbers seem pretty impressive to me.   NCSL's list of states that webcast and televise legislative proceedings is at http://www.ncsl.org/programs/lis/webcasts.htm.

Morality in a Digital Age

by Gene Rose

Two journalists' thoughts on morality and communications return me to a reoccuring question I struggle with -- are state legislatures prepared to meet the challenges of communicating in the Web 2.0 age?

The New York Times columnist David Pogue was astonished recently when he couldn't find a question to college students about copyright protection that "would trigger these kids' morality alarm." By asking questions ranging from making safety copies of DVDs to downright illegal downloads of movies, he found that students living in the new digital age are used to acquiring free content and have few qualms about getting the digital content they want by any means necessary.

Los Angeles Times columnist David Lazarus asked some similar questions to students, but focused more on online newspaper content. Again, he found that students are so used to getting free online news articles that paying a fee for them struck the students as a crazy idea. His larger point is that journalism needs a better business model to guarantee its future.

These columns raise several questions that legislatures should consider about how they communicate on the Internet. Is the content being provided able to compete with other digital content students are downloading? Is information being provided in a format that is easy to obtain and update? Are enough resources being put in place to generate content people will use and become more involved? Is the media -- where most people say they get information about legislative actions -- reacting fast enough to these changes?

There are public information officers in the states who are paying attention to these trends and working on ways to make sure they are adapting to the changes in journalism and the new ways that people are sharing information. Legislatures that don't adapt are at risk of others controlling their messages for them.

Innovative Legislatures: An Oxymoron or a Tautology?

by Karl Kurtz

Brian Weberg began his post from NCSL's Senior Management Leadership Seminar yesterday with, "Innovative state legislatures.  An oxymoron some might say."  In doing so he was drawing on a common image of legislatures as stodgy institutions bound by inertia to the status quo and likely to make only incremental changes in public policy.  But as I sat through the day-long session with Lisa Bodell, CEO of futurethink, I had just the opposite thought: Legislatures meet the very definition of innovation and therefore are a tautology, not an oxymoron.  Let me explain.

Lisa and futurethink define innovation as "something new, useful, and valuable for an organization and its constituents."  She defines four elements of a framework for innovation:

1. Ideas: Develop a stream of original ideas tied to real business needs.
2. Strategy: Set a foundation that defines innovation objectives and mobilizes effort.
3. Process: Create a streamlined and flexible approach to shepherd innovative ideas to market.
4. Climate: Build a thriving work environment that drives innovative behavior across the organization.

Let's think about these four elements in the context of the American system of representative democracy.  First, ideas: Legislatures are in the business of public policy ideas far more than any other institution or organization that I can think of.  Ideas take the shape of bills--hundreds (even thousands in some states) of them every year.  Legislators get these ideas by listening to their constituents, trying to help their local communities or the state as a whole solve problems, or hearing from the many legitimate, often conflicting, interests that come before them in the form of lobbyists.

Hawaii Capitol Ghost Stories and Other Halloween Foolery

by Karl Kurtz

During the Halloween season, the relatively new Hawaii House Blog from the majority office of the House of Representatives is carrying a series of capitol ghost stories that have been collected from members and staff of the Hawaii Legislature. Of the five that have been posted so far, the one I like the best is about the Hawaiian spirit with no feet floating through the air and intruding on the office of a senator who was napping in her office.

Who else has capitol ghost stories?  Add your stories in the comments below or click on "Contact us" in the top right column.

NCSL has its own Halloween tradition.  For the last 12 years we have had a potluck lunch Chili Cookoff and costume contest in which prizes are given for the best red, green and white chili and the best individual and group costumes.  In a blind taste testing by three judges, Sharon Randall and Leann Stelzer, both editors in our communications department, won the white and red categories.  Our executive director, Bill Pound, won the green chili category.  (I swear, it really is a blind test!)  The fact that Bill's was the only green chili entered this year doesn't detract from his win: he has won this category every year in which he has entered.  His chili is that good.  Like a strong incumbent in a legislative election, maybe he has scared off the competition. 

Our health care program won the group costume contest, appearing as drug-resistant staph (staff--get it?).

[Photo by moorz8r courtesy of Flickr.]

New Study of the Effects of Term Limits Published

by Karl Kurtz

Department of shameless self-congratulation and -promotion: The 23 academic political scientists and staffers for NCSL, the Council of State Governments and the State Legislative Leaders Foundation who participated in the four-year Joint Project on Term Limits are pleased that our book, Institutional Change in American Politics: The Case of Term Limits, reporting the results of our research has now been published by University of Michigan Press.  The book was edited by Bruce Cain of University of California, Berkeley, Richard G. Niemi of University of Rochester and myself.

You can find a summary and table of contents for the book here and nice blurbs about it here (we especially liked the one by Bernard Grofman). And if you prefer, you can read Coping with Term Limits: A Practical Guide, a 30-pp. condensed version of the book (which is 230 pp.) aimed at practitioners rather than academics.  We blogged about the release of Coping with Term Limits a year ago.

Institutional Change in American Politics is #436,005 on Amazon.com's best-seller list.  Don't look for an authors' tour at a bookstore near you anytime soon.

Lights, Camera...Capitol

by Tim Storey

One brutally hot summer day a few weeks ago, I decided to take the kids and seek relief in the air conditioned confines of the local movie house.  I let my kids (ages 5 and 6) choose the movie, so we set off to see the summer's most talked about canine-oriented flick--Underdog.  I spent most of the movie trying to figure out what state capitol provided the filming location for Underdog's heroic exploits.  The credits revealed that it was filmed in and around the Rhode Island state capitol and capital.  Rhode Island's legislative leaders, Speaker William J. Murphy and President of the Senate Joseph A. Montalbano, were formally thanked in the credits.  Apparently, Rhode Island lawmakers offered tax credits that helped attract the Underdog filmmakers, and legislators and staff worked around the inconvenience of having a film crew swarming through the building for several days.   

I started wondering how often legislatures have allowed Hollywood to use the capitol as a set.  A couple of years ago, filmmakers spent 10 days filming All the Kings Men, starring Sean Penn and Anthony Hopkins, in Louisiana's towering state capitol.  I believe some Louisiana legislators and staff appeared in the film as extras.  Of course, we've devoted a great deal of virtual ink here in the Thicket talking about the documentary Legislature filmed in the Idaho state capitol (see here and here).  I imagine that other capitols have served as the backdrop for major motion pictures, so post a comment if you know of any other flicks filmed in legislative chambers.

And by the way, I wouldn't race out to see Underdog unless maybe you're under eight years old or you want to marvel at the beauty of the Rhode Island Capitol building. 

The Knight Cap

by Brian Weberg

What do The Knight Cap, Doe's Eat Place and Smoky's Club all have in common?  Think state capitals.  Think authentic.  Think restaurants.  Think meat. 

Many of us at NCSL have been lucky enough to travel to most of the nation's state capitals, and when we're out there doing our work we like to eat. There's nothing more disappointing than ending the day at another Outback Steakhouse (with apologies to my brother who works at one…they do a FINE job…but that's not what we're after here).  Anyway, what we often look for is something that seems less common each year…the authentic, local, quirky, friendly, unique and often legendary local steakhouse. 

Now, some of us here are vegetarians and you may be too, but I have yet to discover a legendary vegetarian restaurant associated with any state legislature.  I'm sure that day will come (probably on the coast somewhere), and it will be a good day.  But for now it is about meat and potatoes.

You may be asking, what does he mean by "legendary?"  Here's my favorite example.  A couple of years ago at an NCSL meeting in DC, I stood in a line to shake hands with then-President Bill Clinton after he spoke at one of our meetings.  As he approached me, I realized I had only a second to connect to this guy.  I had just been in Little Rock the week before.  We shook hands and I cleverly mentioned I had just dined at Doe's Eat Place in Little Rock.  His eyes widened into a big smile and off he went into a discourse on the wonders of a little hole in the wall joint located in a not-so-pretty part of town.  That's legendary. 

Ask any Arkansas legislator (or staffer for that matter) who pre-dates term limits down there.  They all have Doe's stories.  Ask them about gatherings they've been to in the back room.  You may or may not get all the details.  Now, it's true that the Doe's in Little Rock is not the original Doe's, which does subtract a bit on the authenticity factor.  But you can't argue with history.  This place has paid its dues.  Order a tamale appetizer and get ready for the huge chunks of meat to arrive.

The Knight Cap is another personal favorite.  Located just blocks from the capitol in Lansing and down the street from the home of the minor league Lansing Lugnuts, The Knight Cap is tucked into a tiny space that's so dark inside that you have to pause to adjust your eyes if you walk in during daylight hours.  But once in you are transformed.  We're talking authenticity to burn….a combination of elegance and informality that is at once engaging and comforting.  Here is a place that cares for its customers and for the food it serves.  And don't plan on an anonymous dining experience.  The place is so tiny and the tables so compact that you'll be next to your neighbor.  Only the darkness veils your identity.

When in Madison, it's Smoky's Club.  This is a hard core steakhouse.  Now, I have to admit I have not been there for many years, but their website suggests that the place is alive and well.  My friend and former NCSL colleague Scott Mackey once ordered a gigantic porterhouse steak that was the largest single chuck of beef I have seen on a plate.  He ate the entire thing and walked out under his own power.  Smoky's current web site menu doesn't include this colossal offering.  Maybe the times have changed.  Scott will be sad at the news.  Smoky's is not a refined place but it is authentic, has a place in local legend and serves up a memorable meal.  Be sure to order the hash browns.  Oh my. 

So what about your capital city?  I think it's time to create the first ever directory of capital city restaurants for the traveling legislative junkie.  Just one per city.  It should be authentic, have a place in local and legislative legend, serve something that most people might want to eat and that they would want to return to with a couple friends.   

Submit your nominations in the comments to this post, or click on "Contact us" at the top right and send us an email message.

[Photo by Heraldk, courtesy of Flickr.]

Pistols at Five Paces or a Punchout?

by Karl Kurtz

Oklahoma House members Randy Terrill and Richard Morissette worked out their frustrations from the recently concluded legislative session by engaging in an old-fashioned duel, first with rapiers and then with pistols.  For the rapiers they had safety equipment and the pistols were paintball, so there was no actual mayhem.

Terrill, a Republican, was the loser each time in four rounds of combat.  Here is an excerpt from the Oklahoma Journal Record story, "En Garde! Opposing legislators try their hand at dueling" (sorry, no link to the full story because the Journal Record allows access only to subscribers):

“This is harder than it looks,” [Terrill] said, wiping sweat from his forehead after his first experience with a rapier. “I actually had a very enjoyable time. I just can’t believe I lost the duel to a Democrat.

"Considering the number of victories I’ve had in committee and out on the floor, I guess I can live with that,” he said.

The men recently faced off in Will Rogers Park, armed with unfamiliar weapons and their own good natures, under the guidance of sport fencing coach and stage combat instructor Jerry Benson. Benson, owner of Redlands Fencing Club, had offered the opportunity for the men to represent their political parties on the public’s behalf to clarify any remaining unresolved issues following the conclusion of the first session of the 51st Legislature.

The stunt was aimed more at promoting fencing than it was at resolving legislative conflict.  But it makes us grateful that our legislatures have more peaceable ways of settling disagreements, at least if you're not in the last day of session in the Alabama Senate.

[Photo by Ordinal Malaprop courtesy of Flickr.]

Changes in the Louisiana Legislature

by Karl Kurtz

The Louisiana Legislature, especially the House of Representatives, is undergoing rapid change in at least two areas. First, 12-year term limits in each chamber, enacted in 1995, are taking full effect for the first time in the elections of 2007.   Of the 105 members of the Louisiana House, only 52 are running for reelection, so at least 53 members will be freshmen after the 2007 elections.

Second, Republicans, long a small minority in the legislature, have been making significant gains in the last decade and expect to make more in the 2007 elections, turning a traditionally one-party legislature into a competitive two-party system.  The current party lineup in the House is 61 Democrats, 43 Republicans and one independent.  Since passage of many bills (changes to expenditure limits, taxes, general obligation bonds) require a two-thirds majority (70 votes), Republicans now have the power to block action and are using it.

The Louisiana Legislature has Long (pun intended) been dominated by one of the most powerful governors in the country.  They have operated under what is called "the cult of the governor."  Among other things, this means that governors have historically "anointed" the speaker and the senate president, even when the governor was of the opposite party of the majority in the legislature, and then consulted with the presiding officers on the appointment of committee chairs.

Now, at least some Louisiana legislators believe that these changes may offer the opportunity for the legislature to assert itself and to balance the power of the executive more effectively.

In anticipation of these challenges, the Louisiana House set up a Special Committee on Preparing for Term Limits.  At the request of this committee, NCSL this past weekend put together a workshop for a bipartisan group of six potential legislative leaders to discuss how the House can most effectively adapt its procedures and traditions.  We brought in a group of current and former legislators from other states to brainstorm and consult with the Louisiana team.

Given the off the record nature of this workshop, I can't report in detail on the discussions that were held.  However, I think I can safely share a few nuggets of legislative lore and procedure that came out of the discussion:

Poverty, Politics and Harry Potter

by Nicole Moore

Poverty in America has something in common with Lord Voldemort, Harry Potter's notorious foe, says Ralph Smith, a vice president at the Annie E. Casey Foundation. It's "the thing that can't be named," Smith told an audience of state legislators and legislative staff members on Monday at the NCSL Opportunities for Working Families meeting in Denver.

Many policymakers and others are wary of even discussing poverty, Smith says, for fear that they'll be labeled liberal. Part of the solution, he believes, is talking about this issue and finding common ground. Smith says Republicans and Democrats have already agreed that the pathway out of poverty should be work, and that personal responsibility is part of the solution. Listen to highlights from Smith's comments about poverty. (4:24)

Smith understands that coming to a consensus is not easy. You don't win an election with the slogan: I agree with everything my opponent says; I'm just better looking, he said. Politics forces candidates to make a big deal out of what might be small differences. Then policymaking demands the opposite. Listen to Smith's comments about politics and policy. (1:51)

You can hear Smith's entire speech, and other highlights from the NCSL Opportunities for Working Families meeting at State Legislatures magazine online.

What Can Be Said When Heads Are Bowed?

by Gene Rose

Are there limits on what can be said when legislators are asked to bow their heads in prayer? An article today in the Columbus Dispatch raises this question. Jim Siegel reports about an incident that prompted Ohio House Clerk Laura Clemens to issue a memo to all members reminding them of guidelines and, "more specifically the increasing tendency of our guest invocators to use language referring to a particular deity," she wrote.

Prayers, and the Pledge of Allegiance, are traditional ceremonies legislatures use to start their sessions daily, but it's a rare day when the execution of these ceremonies are questioned. The article points out a concern, not only with "referring to a particular deity," but also having ministers comment, in the prayer, about legislation before the legislature.

You can watch a video of the prayer that prompted this discourse in Columbus. The article allows you to vote on the issue and provides the guidelines guest ministers are supposed to use when addressing the Ohio House.

PG 13

by Tim Storey

The last days of a legislative session are like (insert your favorite metaphor.  I'll go with...) a pressure cooker.  Almost everybody is tired and stressed to the breaking point.  And sometimes, tempers flare.  As the session nears the end in Montana, House Republican leaders are taking a decidedly strong stand in opposition to the Democratic governor.  See this story from the Billings Gazette. 

Poll Results: Full-time Legislators

Based on Nicole Moore's post, "Conflicts of Interest are Part of the Process," we posed the question, "Should state legislators be full-time (with a full-time salary to match) in order to avoid conflicts of interest?"  This question was up for about a week and drew relatively few responses.  The ones that we received were nearly evenly divided: 11 respondents favored having full-time legislators and 10 were opposed.

Crossing State Lines to Commit Public Service

by Karl Kurtz

Yesterday's The Oklahoman has an interesting story, "Lawmaker's service spans Oklahoma, New Hampshire," about Oklahoma state Rep. Richard Morissette, who earlier in his career served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives.  As a Democrat, Morissette has served in the minority in both legislatures, and he has some interesting comments on the role of the minority party in those two very different house chambers.

We at NCSL contributed to the story, but there's more to it than the reporter, Jennifer Mock, chose to include.  First of all, the other two current legislators we know about who have served in more than one state are two former North Carolina legislators: Rep. David Balmer who now serves in the Colorado House and Alaska Rep. Peggy Wilson.  This is not a comprehensive list but rather the product of the collective knowledge of half a dozen NCSL staff.  Add a comment below or send us an email if you know of other legislators who have served in more than one state.

Second, the article doesn't say much about why it's a relatively rare occurrence.  I think one reason is that legislators, by the nature of their desire to do community service, are people who are very rooted in their communities--more likely than the average person to have grown up in the same state/city/town that they represent and more likely to stay there. 

Another factor is that having the time to serve in the legislature and the ability to get elected are related to age: the older you are, the more time, resources and credibility in the community you are likely to have.  Thus, the great majority of state legislators are in their 40s and 50s and older.  People of that age are less likely to move from state to state.

Here's another example of legislative life in two different states: Steve Maviglio, the deputy chief of staff to California Speaker Fabian Nuñez, previously served three terms in the New Hampshire House of Representatives.  Of course, state legislators often move onto other positions of distinction, including Congress and President of the United States.  And staffers often become legislators in their home state, just as legislators occasionally become staffers.  But this instance is noteworthy because a legislator in one state became a staffer in another.

Idaho Legislature Adjourns

by Karl Kurtz