Committee Procedures and Legislative Productivity in U.S. State Legislatures

• In Event: Legislative Committees

Abstract

Legislative scholars have long held that committees are the engine of the legislature where bills are read, amended, and voted on before potentially being passed to the next stage of the process. While this juncture is the legislative process enhances the capacity of the legislature to consider legislative proposals, conventional wisdom also holds that most bills do not make it past the committee stage. However, scholars have predominately studied this in the U.S. Congress where the committee system is slow to change. In this paper, we consider the variation in the rules and procedures the determine the assignment and consideration of legislative proposals in committees. Specifically, we argue these rules influence the legislative process by impacting the speed and thoroughness with which bills are reviewed, the likelihood of bills making it out of committee, and the overall efficiency of legislative decision-making. To test our hypotheses, we use legislative rules and bill progression data from all 99 U.S. State Legislative chambers spanning 2011 to 2018 for 664,556 pieces of legislation. We expect to find that committee systems that do not allow for multiple referrals, do not require all members to be present to vote, and have mandatory reporting rules will pass more bills out of committee. This paper contributes to a deeper understanding of the intricate mechanisms that shape legislative decision-making and the subsequent impact on policy outcomes. The findings have implications for policymakers, scholars, and practitioners interested in enhancing the functionality and responsiveness of legislative bodies across various political contexts.

Authors

• Nicholas Howard, Concordia College

• Tessa Provins, University of Arizona