The Thicket at State Legislatures

The Real Meaning of 41

by Michael Bird

During Massachusetts State Senator Scott Brown's successful campaign for the U.S. Senate, the chant among his supporters--and in the media--was "41, 41, 41," meaning, of course, that his victory would give Republicans their 41st vote in the Senate. 

But to state legislative advocates, the beauty of #41 is that Sen. Brown becomes the 41st member of the U.S. Senate to have previously served in a state legislature. Like President Obama and a handful of others, he made the jump to the U.S. Senate directly from the Massachusetts State Senate.

As we have previously reported, the proportion of former legislators in Congress as a whole is 51%, higher than for the Senate alone.

Oregon Voters Approve Tax Increases

Oregon voters yesterday approved two bills passed by the Legislature last session to raise personal income taxes on high income earners, and minimum corporate and business taxes.  The votes were triggered by a popular referendum, a process that allows citizens to petition to demand a popular vote on bills passed by the Legislature.  See "Oregon voters pass tax increasing measures by big margin" in The Oregonian.

California Capital Fellows Program Ranked as Top Internship Program

by Karl Kurtz

Forbes Magazine recently reported that California's Capital Fellows program, in which recent college graduates work in the California Assembly, Senate, executive agencies and state courts, is the top internship program in the country for 2010:

The 64 interns in the Sacramento, Calif., Capital Fellows Program do no less than help draft state laws. They also write speeches, conduct policy briefings and take part in graduate-level seminars in government and public policy. So steeped are they in the work of real-life policymaking that many get offered full-time jobs in California's state government when they finish the 10-month program, which runs from October to September. In addition, they get paid a handsome $1,972 a month, receive academic credit and get health insurance that includes dental and vision benefits.

That combination of meaningful work experience, pay, perks and career opportunities lands the Capital Fellows Program on a new list of the nation's top internships, put out by career Web site Vault.com.

When I went to the Web site that produced this ranking, Vault.com, a couple of days ago, the top 10 list and all 785 other internship program listings were available online.  Now, though, to see the listings you have to purchase the Vault Guide to Top Internships, 2010 for $14.95.

So you'll just have to take my word for the fact that the Capital Fellows Program was indeed listed first, but the top 10 list was alphabetical, not by rank order.  So Forbes didn't get the story quite right, but it's still terrific to have a state legislative internship program recognized in this fashion.  Congratulations to Tim Hodson, director of the Center for California Studies at California State University, Sacramento, which manages the Capital Fellows Program, and his talented staff.  

The Center for California Studies joins with the University of Southern California and NCSL to conduct our annual Legislative Staff Management Institute.  Tim Hodson is also an occasional contributor to The Thicket.

The only other state legislative internship programs we could find on vault.com's list of 785 internship programs (when it was available for free) were the Illinois General Assembly and the Utah State Legislature internship programs.  Vault.com didn't ask us, but if they had, we could have directed them to NCSL's list of state legislative internship programs.

Sheridan, Wyo. Legislators Listen

by Bruce Feustel

With a friendly “You’re on the clock!” former Sheridan, Wyoming Mayor Jim Wilson launched another segment of the local Legislative Forum.  Sponsored by the Sheridan County Chamber of Commerce for over 15 years, a series of leaders of municipalities, nonprofits and other organizations tell area legislators about their wishes and concerns for the upcoming legislative session.  The delegation of Wyoming Senators Bruce Burns and John Schiffer and Representatives Rosie Berger, Jack Landon, Jr., Mike Madden and John Patton listened attentively and asked for advice.

Over two days last week, I observed this legislative forum.  Many legislators have town hall meetings or other functions where they meet with constituents, but this forum had a strong reputation for thoughtful planning, participation by over 30 organizations, efficiency, and a relaxed attitude in which the legislators talked sparingly, mainly to help presenters give them more precise information. 

At the forum, the delegation heard from groups like Habitat for Humanity and Easter Seals, governmental entities like the city of Sheridan and Johnson and Sheridan counties, and the public library.  The legislators encouraged the speakers to talk about their services, plans for dealing with current budget shortages, expectations in the coming legislative budget session, and outlook on pending legislation.  

As important as anything else, the legislators heard about real life problems caused by recently passed laws or budget cuts.  A county fire warden explained the impact of losing one state mechanic who had previously been crucial to repairing firefighting vehicles from around the state.  While some short-term state spending might be reduced, this position saved the state thousands by keeping complex equipment functioning in the field.

Policy Recommendations for Improving America’s High Schools

By Meagan Dorsch

Just last month, The National Conference of State Legislatures outlined eight policy recommendations that could improve America's high schools in a new report, Making a Difference.

This report outlines state legislative action in areas that can have a real and lasting effect when developed in conjunction with broad, statewide coordinated plans for improving high schools. The eight areas highlighted focus on elevating academic standards and course requirements, providing multiple pathways for student success, and focusing on early identification and support for struggling students.

In this edition of The Buzz, we talk with NCSL education policy specialist, Sunny Deye, who also authored the report on education policies. Sunny explains how state legislators have raised the level of attention and urgency around finding solutions to problems plaguing the American high school system. She also talks about how these eight policy recommendations are aimed at improving high school performance and better preparing students for college and careers.

Listento our interview with NCSL's Sunny Deye and read her new report on our website.

Impact of Court Decision on State Campaign Finance Laws

Today's New York Times has an interesting article, "24 States’ Laws Open to Attack After Campaign Finance Ruling." Here are a few excerpts:

A clever, if hyperbolic, sound bite:

“One day the Constitution of Colorado is the highest law of the state,” said Robert F. Williams, a law professor at Rutgers University. “The next day it’s wastepaper.”

From Justice Stevens' dissent in the case:

"The court operates with a sledgehammer rather than a scalpel when it strikes down one of Congress’s most significant efforts to regulate the role that corporations and unions play in electoral politics,” he wrote. “It compounds the offense by implicitly striking down a great many state laws as well."

Some state legislative reaction:

Can You Draw Your State?

by Meagan Dorsch

I was updating NCSL's Twitter account this morning and came across an interesting post by Brad Scriber.

Brad is a researcher for National Geographic Magazine (we're now following each other) and came up with a cool project that he launched on National Geographic's blog. Brad has challenged all 100 U.S. Senators to draw an accurate map of their home state and to highlight three places important to them. He dreamed up this project for National Geography Awareness Week last year (November 15–21).

I am not an elected official, but I put my elementary art skills to the test anyway. I lucked out because I'm drawing Colorado, one of the square states.  But when I highlighted places important to me, Golden, Denver and Telluride, I was off by a few miles (especially with Telluride)!

So I got to thinking...we should challenge state legislators to take the same test. Who do you think would do better, those in Washington or those in state houses?

Not all senators have replied to the NG challenge, but the drawings they have received are fun. Challenge yourself to draw a map of your state and let us know how you do!

The Odds of Being a Legislator

by Karl Kurtz

The odds of being employed as a legislator in the United States are 1 in 2,091.  Those are about the same odds that someone has of being employed as a physical therapist assistant in Maryland or Puerto Rico.

I learned that bit of trivia from a website, The Book of Odds, which provides the odds of just about anything happening in American life, along with intriguing comparisons to other things with similar odds.  For example, the "odds couple" on the home page of The Book of Odds today (it changes daily) is that the odds of being employed as a geographer (1 in 120,700) are about the same as those that a person will be injured by hazardous weather in a year.  This website’s most cited statistic recently, thanks to Tiger Woods, is that the odds that an ever-married or cohabiting man has ever cheated during the relationship are 1 in 4.76--slightly less than the odds that an adult is afraid of mice (1 in 5).

Ever the legislative junkie, I searched The Book of Odds on "state legislator," wondering if their calculations would conform to my impressions from a career of dealing with these kinds of statistics.  The first statement I found is that the odds that a member of Congress has experience as a state legislator are 1 in 1.99.  So far so good--this is a statistic that NCSL collects, and we know that year over year just about exactly half of all members of Congress previously served as state legislators.

The next statement that popped up was that “the odds an employed person 16 or older in California is a legislator are 1 in 4,829.”  The entry after that said that the same odds are 1 in 6,185 in Texas.  Wait a minute!  Texas' population is roughly two-thirds that of California but the Texas Legislature has half again as many members as California's does.  Shouldn't the odds of being a legislator be better in Texas than in California?

Maralyn Budke, Extraordinary New Mexico Public Servant

by Karl Kurtz

Maralyn Budke, an iconic figure among legislative staff, died last week at the age of 73.  Maralyn was the director of New Mexico's Legislative Finance Committee for 14 years, 1968-1972.  Before directing the New Mexico fiscal staff, she served as chief of staff to Gov. David Cargo and after she left the Legislature she performed the same task for Gov.Garry Carruthers. 

Maralyn was one of the leaders of a national committee that planned the formation of the National Association of Legislative Fiscal Officers and served as that organization's first president in 1975-76.  During her service to governors, she received only $1 per year for her service--but didn't cash her annual check.

An editorial, "Maralyn Budke raised bar for true public service," in the Santa Fe New Mexican begins with this commentary on the work of professional staff:

Few politicians would deny that they owe whatever success they have in office to their staff — and any who would are kidding themselves. From the White House and Congress to our country's 50 statehouses and legislatures, it's the armies of administrative people — those who answer phones, those busy with "constituent service," those who research issues and those who suggest diplomatic stances on those issues — who make their bosses look good. Looking bad is usually the work of the executive or legislator; damage repair is the province of the nearly anonymous professional staff.

The influence wielded by many staffers can be enormous, and heads-up politicians acknowledge that power — with well-placed compliments more often than with downhill buck-passing.

Many aides have gone on to win election to public office, combining their wealth of knowledge and experience with whatever it took to mount a winning campaign. Most, however, have worked — at least as hard as those they "handle" — in relative obscurity, basking perhaps in reflected glory or simply being happy with a job well done. 

Maralyn was widely known throughout the country and she will be missed by her friends at NCSL.

1,000 Posts in The Thicket

by Karl Kurtz

The most recent post on women in state legislatures is the 1,000th article in The Thicket since its inception in March 2006. That's an average of about 4 postings per week, which is the goal we set for ourselves when we started this venture.  We have received 779 comments on those postings.  According to our blog software provider, Typepad, we have had 306,907 pageviews over the slightly less than 4 years we have been in business, or an average of 218 per day.

We know that those numbers don't begin to compare to the big guys in the blogosphere, but for our small niche market--by and for legislative junkies--we're pleased and satisfied.  We know there aren't many folks out there who live and breathe legislative life, as we do, so we are pleased that at least some of you have found our efforts interesting and useful.

One of the most interesting statistics that we get from various blog-tracking services is that the single largest portion (38 percent) of visits to The Thicket come from search engines.  Google "how many women governors" (our most frequently viewed article over time), for example, and The Thicket's article on this topic pops up near the top.  This suggests that many people who come to our blog are looking for information and that we are providing a service through our work.

During 2009, 33,518 unique visitors from 137 countries made 52,492 visits to The Thicket and viewed 79,941 pages.  We posted 224 items during the year for an average of 4.3 per week.  The 5 most viewed stories were Morgan Cullen’s and my article about religious affiliations of legislators, the perennial favorite “How Many Women Governors?”, Jan Goehring’s posting on state sovereignty resolutions, Peggy Kerns’ “Movies about Ethical Dilemmas”, and Meagan Dorsch’s podcast about rising state unemployment rates.

We welcome reader's suggestions for improving The Thicket, and we love it when you feed us story ideas!