by Morgan Cullen
New data on legislator occupations show significant changes in the makeup of state legislatures.
Over the past 30 years, attorney legislators have made up the largest occupational category of legislators in the country. In 1976, attorneys constituted nearly 25% of our nation's legislative bodies, but that number has decreased steadily over the last three decades to about 15 percent today.
At the same time, legislators who classify themselves as full-time legislators increased over the last three decades from three percent in the mid-1970s to over 16 percent today, making it the largest single occupational category in the country. Over the last two decades, we have also seen an increase of four percent in the number of retirees serving in legislatures. In fact, full-time legislators make up approximately 29 percent of state lawmakers nationwide, if you also take into account legislators classified as retirees, homemakers, and students.
The single largest reason for the steady increase in state legislators who serve without other sources of earned income is the increasing professionalization and time demands of legislative life that has occurred over the past quarter century. Legislative sessions have grown longer, and other time commitments to session-related activities have increased. The number of interim committee assignments has increased significantly. As the U.S. population has grown larger while the number of legislators has remained static, legislative districts have grown larger and more diverse, generating more demand for constituent service.
The bottom line is that as legislative service demand more time, lawmakers are finding it more difficult to pursue a career outside the legislature.
For more information on state legislator occupations please visit the NCSL demographics web page.
Morgan Cullen tracks legislative demographics for NCSL's Legislative Management program.
Comments