The Legislative Matching Game: Committee Matching and Effective Legislating in the States

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 234-264
Author(s):  
Clint S. Swift
Keyword(s):  
Legislative Process ◽  
Measure Validation ◽  
Matching Game ◽  
Committee Assignments

I argue that the value of a particular set of committee assignments for a legislator is dependent on that legislator’s policy interests. By this, I mean that “good” assignments will match committee policy jurisdictions with member policy priorities. I develop this concept of committee-agenda matching and present a measure of this match for legislators in 12 state lower chambers. After some brief measure validation, I present a substantive application, demonstrating that this match poses serious consequences for individual legislator’s ability to shepherd their bills through the legislative process.

Changing Membership Patterns in House Committees

1966 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 366-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis C. Gawthrop
Keyword(s):  
Focal Point ◽  
Work Load ◽  
Steady Increase ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
Standing Committee ◽  
Legislative Action ◽  
Interesting Pattern ◽  
The Many ◽  
Committee Government ◽  
Committee Assignments

Of the many excellent studies of Congress completed by political scientists in recent years, few, if any, suggest a departure from Woodrow Wilson's apt phrase, “Congressional government is Committee government.” Despite numerous efforts to analyze legislative action in terms of roll call votes, constituency characteristics, state delegations, and/or specialized interest blocs, the committee system remains the central focal point of congressional behavior and organization. Thus, if Wilson's nineteenth century insight is still valid, then it would seem that more intensive studies of the congressional committee system—in the manner employed by Huitt and Fenno, for example—would yield many new relevant facts concerning the complexities of the legislative process.As a case in point, the manner in which individual members of Congress are assigned to various committees has been well covered by Matthews, Clapp, and Masters. The situation in the Senate is such that each member carries at least two, and in many instances three standing committee assignments. In the House, the maximum standing committee work-load is two assignments, although most Representatives have only a single committee responsibility. However, in connection with this latter point, if one examines the standing committee assignments of all House members for the first session of every Congress from the 80th through the 89th, an interesting pattern emerges in which a gradual but steady increase in the number of double committee assignments is clearly evidenced during the past twenty years.

scholarly journals Agendas and committees in American state legislatures : the causes and consequences of matching priorities with institutional roles

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Clint S. Swift
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Policy ◽  
State Legislatures ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
Committee Assignment ◽  
Committee Assignments ◽  
American State

Legislative scholars largely agree on the importance of the committee system in the legislative process. Committees are generally considered the primary locus of lawmaking activity and individual legislators see them as important for accomplishing their goals. In this dissertation I argue that the value of committee assignments to a legislator is entirely dependent on the legislator's policy priorities. For example, assignment to the Agriculture Committee should be of more value to legislators with interests in agricultural policy than those unconcerned with such policy. I devise a means of measuring the degree of this match between priorities and assignments and demonstrate that legislators with better matches are more effective in their chambers. Further, I identify the ways in which individual characteristics and institutions shape opportunities for matching across a sample of American state legislatures. This research shifts the focus away from aggregate measures of committee assignment value and demonstrates the utility of thinking about the particularized benefits accrued through assignment politics.

Committee Assignments in the House of Representatives

1961 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 345-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas A. Masters
Keyword(s):  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
The Political ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
Entire Body ◽  
Internal Politics ◽  
Continuous Service ◽  
Committee Assignment ◽  
Committee Assignments ◽  
Working Out

Any attempt to understand the legislative process, or to reckon how well it fulfills its purported functions, calls for a careful consideration of the relationships among congressmen. The beginning weeks of the first session of every congress are dominated by the internal politics of one phase of those relationships, the assignment of members to committees. Since congressmen devote most of their energies—constituents' errands apart—to the committees on which they serve, the political stakes in securing a suitable assignment are high. Competition for the more coveted posts is intense in both houses; compromises and adjustments are necessary. Members contest with each other over particularly desirable assignments; less frequently, one member challenges the entire body, as when Senator Wayne Morse fought for his committee assignments in 1953.The processes and patterns of committee assignments have been only generally discussed by political scientists and journalists. Perhaps the reason for this is too ready an acceptance of the supposition that these assignments are made primarily on the basis of seniority. Continuous service, it is true, insures a member of his place on a committee once he is assigned, but seniority may have very little to do with transfers to other committees, and it has virtually nothing to do with the assignment of freshman members. On what basis, then, are assignments made? Surely, not on the basis of simple random selection.A recent student sees the committee assignment process as analogous to working out a “giant jig saw puzzle” in which the committees-on-committees observe certain limitations.

Family Psychology in the Legislative Process

1989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael C. Gottlieb ◽  
◽  
Florence W. Kaslow
Keyword(s):  
Legislative Process ◽  
Family Psychology

Congressional Monitor

2013 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 161-184
Author(s):  
Paul Karolyi ◽  
Paul James Costic
Keyword(s):  
Legislative Process ◽  
Library Of Congress ◽  
Arab Israeli Conflict ◽  
Previous Session

CongressionalMonitor.org, the companion site to this JPS section, provides in-depth summaries of all bills and many resolutions listed here. Published annually, the Congressional Monitor summarizes all bills and resolutions pertinent to Palestine, Israel, or the broader Arab-Israeli conflict that are introduced during the previous session of Congress. It is part of a wider project of the Institute for Palestine Studies that includes the Congressional Monitor Database (CongressionalMonitor.org). The database contains all relevant legislation from 2001 to the present (the 107th Congress through the 112th Congress) and is updated on an ongoing basis. The monitor identifies major legislative themes related to the Palestine issue as well as initiators of specific legislation, their priorities, the range of their concerns, and their attitudes toward regional actors. Material in this compilation is drawn from www.thomas.loc.gov, the official legislative site of the Library of Congress, which includes a detailed primer on the legislative process entitled “How Our Laws Are Made.”

SAYYID ABUL AÑLÓ MAWDÕDÔ’S VIEWS ON IJTIHÓD AND THEIR RELEVANCE TO THE CONTEMPORARY MUSLIM SOCIETY

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 121
Author(s):  
Munawar Haque
Keyword(s):  
Legal System ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Legal Aspect ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Spiritual Leadership ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
Islamic Revival ◽  
Muslim Society ◽  
The One ◽  
Political Economic

Abstract  The purpose of this article is to explore the views of Sayyid Abul AÑlÉ MawdËdÊ[1] on ijtihÉd.[2] It intends to trace the origins of MawdËdÊ’s ideas within the social, cultural and political context of his time, especially the increasing influence of modernity in the Muslim world.  The study will show that MawdËdÊ’s understanding of ijtihÉd and its scope demonstrates originality.  For MawdËdÊ, ijtihÉd is the concept, the process, as well as the mechanism by which the SharÊÑah,[3] as elaborated in the Qur’Én and the Sunnah[4] is to be interpreted, developed and kept alive in line with the intellectual, political, economic, legal, technological and moral development of society.  The notion of ijtihÉd adopted by MawdËdÊ transcends the confines of Fiqh[5] (jurisprudence) and tends therefore to unleash the dormant faculties of the Muslim mind to excel in all segments of life.   [1] Sayyid Abul AÑlÉ MawdËdÊ was born on September 25, 1903 in Awrangabad, a town in the present Maharashtra state of India in a deeply religious family.  His ancestry on the paternal side is traced back to the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him).  The family had a long-standing tradition of spiritual leadership, for a number of MawdËdÊ’s ancestors were outstanding leaders of ØËfÊ Orders.  One of the luminaries among them, the one from whom he derives his family name, was KhawÉjah QuÏb al-DÊn MawdËd (d. 527 AH), a renowned leader of the ChishtÊ ØËfÊ Order. MawdËdÊ died on September 22, 1979. See Khurshid Ahmad and Zafar Ishaq Ansari, “MawlÉnÉ Sayyid Abul AÑlÉ MawdËdÊ: An Introduction to His Vision of Islam and Islamic Revival,”, in Khurshd Ahmad and Zafar Ishaq Ansari (eds.) Islamic Perspectives: Studies in Honour of MawlÉnÉ Sayyid Abul A’lÉ MawdËdÊ,  (Leicester: The Islamic Foundation,1979), 360. [2]  In Islamic legal thought, ijtihÉd is understood as the effort of the jurist to derive the law on an issue by expending all the available means of interpretation at his disposal and by taking into account all the legal proofs related to the issue.  However, its scope is not confined only to legal aspect of Muslim society.  MawdËdÊ’s concept of ijtihÉd is defined as the legislative process that makes the legal system of Islam dynamic and makes its development and evolution in the changing circumstances possible.  This results from a particular type of academic research and intellectual effort, which in the terminology of Islam is called ijtihÉd.  The purpose and object of ijtihÉd is not to replace the Divine law by man made law.  Its real object is to properly understand the Supreme law and to impart dynamism to the legal system of Islam by keeping it in conformity with the fundamental guidance of the SharÊÑah and abreast of the ever-changing conditions of the world.  See Sayyid Abul AÑlÉ MawdËdÊ, The Islamic Law and Constitution, translated and edited by Khurshid Ahmad, (Lahore: Islamic Publications Ltd, 1983), 76.[3] SharÊÑah refers to the sum total of Islamic laws and guidance, which were revealed to the Prophet MuÍammad (peace be upon him), and which are recorded in the Qur’Én as well as deducible from the Prophet’s divinely guided lifestyle (called the Sunnah). See Muhammad ShalabÊ, al-Madkhal fÊ at-TaÑ’rÊf  b alil-Fiqh al-IslÉmÊ, (Beirut: n.p., 1968),.28.[4]Sunnah is the way of life of the Prophet (peace be upon him), consisting of his sayings, actions and silent approvals. It is also used to mean a recommended deed as opposed to FarÌ or WÉjib, a compulsory one.[5]  Originally Fiqh referred to deliberations related to one’s reasoned opinion, ra’y.  Later the expression Fiqh evolved to mean jurisprudence covering every aspect of Islam.  It is also applied to denote understanding, comprehension, and profound knowledge. For an excellent exposition on the meaning of Fiqh, see Imran Ahsan Khan Nyazee, Theories of Islamic law: The methodology of ijtihÉd, (Delhi: Adam Publishers & Distributors, 1996), 20-22.

Weiterentwicklung der «Waldpolitik 2020» aus Sicht der Schweizer Waldstakeholder

2016 ◽  
Vol 167 (4) ◽  
pp. 221-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Astrid Zabel ◽  
Eva Lieberherr
Keyword(s):  
Policy Process ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Forest Policy ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
Expert Interviews ◽  
The Past ◽  
Conflicting Interests ◽  
Forest Act

Advancement of the Swiss Forest Policy 2020 from stakeholders' perspectives In light of the ending of the Swiss “ Forest Policy 2020”, this article assesses the goals, challenges and concerns of Swiss forest stakeholders in relation to forest policy post 2020. The data were collected through expert interviews and an online survey. The results show that securing an economically sustainable forest management and economically viable silvicultural businesses are key concerns for many stakeholders. Apart from these issues, several further and sometimes conflicting interests were mentioned. The study concludes that a debate on an adjustment of the weights given to goals in the Swiss Forest Policy 2020 may be commendable. However, there does not appear to be need for a complete change of course in order to address the stakeholders' needs and concerns. In terms of policy process, most stakeholders positively evaluated the past planning and development process of the Swiss Forest Policy 2020, but also provided suggestions for improvements. Finally, a network analysis revealed that the Swiss Federal Agency for the Environment, the Swiss Forest Owners Association and the Conference of Cantonal Foresters played a central role in the amendment of the Swiss Federal Forest Act. The analysis also showed that more stakeholders find each other as important than actually work together in a legislative process.

The Lawmaking Process as a Combination of Conditional and Unconditional

2020 ◽  
pp. 72-76
Author(s):  
G. N. Utkin
Keyword(s):  
Legislative Process ◽  
Complex Combination ◽  
Law Making

The article substantiates that lawmaking is a process characterized by a complex combination of conditional and unconditional. In spite of the predominance of the conditional in its characterization, there must always be something in it that is self-conditioned, immutable and irresistible, and is therefore capable of being the source of the unconditionality of the prescriptions that result from law-making. In modern States, the importance of conditional lawmaking is compensated by the unconditionality of procedural and procedural requirements underlying the organization of the legislative process.

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