Study Guide POS 3122 State Politics Second Exam 1 What are names for state legislatures lower houses senates The General Assembly Assemblies House of Delegates 2 What are the duties of state legislators Policy making Enacting laws and allocating funds Representation Legislators are expected to represent their constituents in two ways 1 expected to speak for their constituents in the legislative chamber in designing policy solutions 2 Casework Legislative assistance on behalf of a constituent usually with a bureaucracy Oversight Legislatures check on agency implementation and spending 3 Were state legislatures strong or weak in the early years of the country They were weak and unpopular because they represented kings 4 What were the problems in the pre 1960s legislatures Malapportionment Equal protection 5 What two court decisions led to legislative reforms How do they differ 6 What changes were included in legislative reform 7 What were the consequences of legislative reform 8 What is the irony of legislative reform 9 What were FAIIR standards of good legislatures Do these apply today Any especially important Functional Time facility staff to take on their job Accountability Transparent open available to citizens knowing what they do Informedness Are the legislators prepared and informed to make good decisions Do they have good staff work when they go into a committee meeting do they know what the bills issues are Independence Are they separate from the executive branch Representation All parts of the state are represented district issue 10 What is bicameralism What is the only unicameral legislature in the country congress Bicameral Two houses or chambers similar to those of the US Unicameral Nebraska 1934 All senators 11 What are the typical modal terms in the lower houses The senates Senate 4 year terms House of representatives 2 year terms 12 Representation is improved when the legislative house is large but this value conflicts with efficiency which works better in a smaller house Which do you think is most important Efficiency because you can be represented in a big or a small legislative house if you are efficient enough 13 How are legislatures classified into types Which is most common in the Professional 19 In session all the time get aid well a lot of staff Jan Citizen 16 Don t meet much not good pay don t have staff Hybrid 25 Somewhere in the middle Short session not great pay 14 What are the three ways professional legislatures differ from the other two states Dec types Attract better candidates who will move higher in office Know the language and know about their job more because they do it Focus all their time on their job 15 What type of legislature is Florida s all the time Hybrid 16 What is the collective action problem of state legislatures How it is solved Collection action problem When everyone comes together to solve a problem it is hard because all these individuals are elected separately but the goal is to get them to act together How is it solved 1 Organize it by committees expertise 2 Political parties Do it through leadership majority gets their way more often select speaker 3 Staff Provide information 17 What are the work horses of the state legislature The Committee system 18 Most committees are what committees standing committees 19 What are examples of substantive policy committees Joint committees Health Education Transportation 20 What does the appropriations committee do Writes allocates the budget for the state 21 Who is the top party leader in the lower house of the state legislature 22 Who is usually the top party leader in the upper house of the state Speaker of the House legislature Senate President sometimes is the lieutenant governor 23 What does this party leadership do Number of committees jurisdiction and appointments Give budget targets to app committees Schedule and manage floor action Work with other chamber governor Develop party position Dispense benefits Help members get elected 24 What is a unified state government How common is it in 2015 25 What party dominates state legislative chambers controlling both houses in 26 What party controls the Florida house and senate Is Florida a unified state 2015 Republicans government Republicans 27 How long is the Florida legislature is session When do they meet 60 day calendar session Meets first Tuesday after 1st Monday in March 28 How many members serve in the Florida House The Florida Senate 29 What issues are being considered across nearly all the states in 2015 BB House 120 Senate 40 School testing Medicaid expansion medicare Public pensions Transportation funding Costs of Water Prisons Tax Policy Guns Environmental 30 What is reapportionment What is redistricting In most states who draws the district lines for Congress the state house and the state senate Reapportionment Determines how many congressional seats that state has The reallocation of seats in a legislative assembly Redistricting The redrawing of legislative district lines to conform to the one person one vote ideal Legislators selecting constituents instead of constituents selecting legislators District line drawing for congress the senate and the house The legislature 31 Several states have non partisan or bi partisan commissions draw the lines California s redistricting commission is one example What are the advantages of such a commission What are the disadvantages Problems Legislators appoint the members tend to be very political Advantages Selected randomly Dem Rep Independents no aren t very successful gerrymandering 32 The U S Supreme Court recently heard a case on the Arizona redistricting commission What were the arguments opponents used in urging the court to strike the commission down Complained that the initiative was unconstitutional The responsibility is to the state legislature not the commission But congress can make these changes 33 What are majority minority districts Why is there federal law engaged here Majority of minorities lines are drawn to assure that minorities are all clustered together to be represented A non minority person might win the district it is more to represent the people 34 What is gerrymandering Cracking Packing Gerrymandering is used to produce districts that benefit them legal except racial gerrymandering Cracking Where you make sure you spread out the minorities Packing Put more than 51 of minorities in a districts as opposed to disbursing them criteria 35 Florida is a leader is