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The California LegislatureDifferences from the U.S. Congress.docx
- 1. The California Legislature Differences from the U.S. Congress Equal Bicameral • Lower house is the Assembly • 80 members elected every 2 years • Each district has about 450,000 constituents (700,000 for the U.S. House of Representatives) • Upper house is the Senate • 40 members serve for 4 years • Half run each 2 years • Each district has about 900,000 constituent • Term limits • Legislators are limited to a total of 12 years in the legislature • May serve in one or both houses • Only about 1/3 of bills become laws Leadership • Speaker of the Assembly is much more powerful than the Speaker of
- 2. the House: • Controls committee appointments • Present Speaker is John Perez (new Speaker will be Toni Atkins) • President Pro tem in the Senate not as powerful • Shares power with rules committee • Became more influential under old term limits rules because Senators could serve for 8 years (as opposed to the 6 for Assembly) Other features • Governor may use the line item veto for an appropriations bill • State legislature is less visible to voters than Congress (media rarely covers it) • State legislature is not involved in judicial appointments • No filibuster • Initiative process means that legislature doesn’t have a monopoly on legislation (for good or ill) • Seniority plays a much smaller role Problems
- 3. • Term limits • Never develop sufficient expertise • Especially a problem for leadership • Less willing to compromise because they don’t have a long working relationship with other legislators • Cedes power to bureaucrats & lobbyists • Has contributed to a rise in minority representation • E.g., Latino legislators increased from 6% in 1990 to 23% today • Gridlock over taxation • 2/3 vote required for increasing taxes by state legislature (Prop. 13) • Staff slashed by 40% in 1990 (first term limits initiative) The bright side • Term limits have contributed to a rise in minority representation • E.g., Latino legislators increased from 6% in 1990 to 23% today • (see NCSL web site for more demographic information) • No filibuster • 2/3 requirement for passing state budget removed in 2010
- 4. • Districts now drawn by a citizen commission rather than by the legislature • Open primary encourages less extremism gcc Federalism gcc Confederal Government government for limited purposes, but retain ultimate authority and can veto actions of the central government (53) gcc Confederal Government STATE GOVERNMENT STATE
- 5. GOVERNMENT STATE GOVERNMENT CENTRAL GOVERNMENT gcc Unitary Government authority and may create (and eliminate) state governments for its own purposes (53) gcc Unitary Government CENTRAL GOVERNMENT STATE GOVERNMENT STATE GOVERNMENT STATE GOVERNMENT
- 6. STATE GOVERNMENT gcc Federal Government central government and state governments, both of which may act independently in their respective spheres as well as sharing powers in other spheres (53) gcc Federal Government CENTRAL GOVERNMENT POWERS SHARED POWERS STATE GOVERNMENT POWERS gcc Federalism under the Constitution
- 7. s: coin money, regulate INTERstate commerce, wage war, etc. corporations, borrow money, etc. regulate INTRAstate commerce, ratify constitutional amendments, etc. gcc Eras of Federalism -1860): states dominant -1930s): balance of power between states & federal government -1968): federal government dominant -present): states recapture some power but federal government still dominates gcc Advantages of Federalism
- 10. Functions of Congress to make law (lex, legis: legislature) to debate & deliberate (parler: parliament) to represent (re-present) to act as a watchdog (oversight) to serve constituents
- 12. Who Are They? The 115th Congress - Majorities House: 240 Republicans, 194 Democrats, 1 vacancy
- 13. Majorities Senate: 46 Democrats, 52 Republicans, 2 independents
- 14. US Demographics Women: 51+% Black: 12.85% Latino: 15.1% Asian: 4.43% Native American: 0.97% Pacific Islander: 0.18% Total Minority: 33.53%
- 19. More Demographics from Legistorm
- 21. The 115th - part 4 Top occupations Public Service/Politics 191/44 (H/S) Business 178/29 Law (0.2% in work force) 156/50 Education 77/20 Education Advanced degrees: 234/57 Bachelor’s or Associate’s degrees: 184/22 (27% of age 25+ of Americans with Bachelor’s degrees) No degree: 13/0 Foreign births: 18 in House, 5 in Senate; (12.4%)
- 22. Education (from 114th) Bachelor’s degree (27% of age 25+) 94% House 100% Senate Advance degrees: Senate 74% House 64% Doctoral: 24 (#) Associate’s degree only: 8 (#)
- 23. High school diploma only: 20 (#)
- 24. Congress – Wealth (US median net worth per household $80,000 (2013))
- 27. Why do they get reelected? pork, franking privilege, paid staff, travel allowances; media access for incumbents Redistricting of House
- 28. Are They Representative? Descriptive representation: No But: Desire for election encourages a ‘delegate’ orientation Do members of Congress make law in the interests of the people? Policy follows opinion 2/3 of time
- 30. Congressional Committees Party Committees: mainly committee assignments Special/Select: temporary, special purpose Joint: bicameral membership Conference: to resolve bicameral conflicts Standing: by far the most important
- 31. Standing Committees permanent fixed membership, leadership, staff specific jurisdiction not intended to be representative of all possible interests
- 32. How a Bill Becomes a Law
- 33. Filibustering in the 20th Century
- 35. Filibustering in the 20th Century
- 36. Problems The Problem of Amateurism: vast executive, puny legislative Congress’s bureaucracy staff specialization
- 37. Problems The Problem of Corruption accepting money, favors for votes rare compared to other countries Corruption Perception Index/Transparency International Congressional responses to corruption censure: reprimand, reduce seniority, strip chair, fine expulsion (only 4, all from House)
- 38. The Problem of Corruption – cont’d ethical standards financial disclosure honoraria forbidden 1 year limit on lobbying Congress after leaving, etc. Narrow definition of corruption overlooks the huge flood of money since Citizens United
- 40. Problems - part 4 The Problem of Fragmentation: decentralization puts power into committee and subcommittee chairs House Standing Committees Education & the workforce committee U.S. Senate: Committees Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee
- 41. Fragmentation – cont’d central coordination becomes difficult: herding cats Fragmentaion creates access points for influence
- 43. Congress
- 45. Functions of Congress to make law (lex, legis: legislature) to debate & deliberate (parler: parliament) to represent (re-present)
- 46. to act as a watchdog (oversight) to serve constituents
- 47. Who Are They? The 112th Congress - Majorities House: 241 Republicans, 192 Democrats, 2 vacancies
- 48. Majorities Senate: 51 Democrats, 47 Republicans, 2 independents
- 49. The 112th Congress - part 2 New Members: House: 91 21% Senate:15 15%
- 54. Why do they get reelected? pork, franking privilege, paid staff, travel allowances; media access for incumbents Redistricting of House
- 55. New Members Approximately 35% turnover between 2002 and 2008 House: ~65% 1992-2002 Senate: ~60%1991-2004
- 56. The 112th - part 3 Demographics: categories overlap! HouseSenateWomen 16% (51.3%)71 (24R, 47D)17 (5R, 12D)Blacks 8% (12.7)42 (40D 2R)0Latinos 5% (14.5)27 (8R, 19D)2 (1 R, 1D)Asians 2% (5)9 (8D, 1R)2 (2D)Native Americans 0.2% (1.4)1 (1R)0
- 59. The 112th - part 4 Average Age (36.4) Senate=62.2 House=56.7 Religion: 99% have religious affiliation Protestant: 57% (54%) Roman Catholic: 29% (26%) Jewish: 7% (1.4%) Muslim: 0.4% Top occupations Law (0.2% in work force) Public Service/Politics Business Education Immigrants: 8 in House, 1 in Senate; (12.4%)
- 60. Education Bachelor’s degree (27% of age 25+) 92% House 99% Senate Associate’s degree only: 1% High school diploma only: 5% Ph.D.: 3%
- 62. Congress - Wealth ≥40% of Senate were millionaires in 2003 (<1% of Americans are millionaires) 10 Senators worth less than $100,000 28% of Representatives were millionaires in 2004 Rank-and-file Representatives & Senators are paid $174,o00/year Average net worth of incoming members of 112th: $815,000
- 63. Are They Representative? Delegate theory representative acts in perfect accord with his/her constituents Trustee theory representative who relies on his/her independent judgment
- 64. Congressional Committees Party Committees: mainly committee assignments Special/Select: temporary, special purpose Joint: bicameral membership Conference: to resolve bicameral conflicts Standing: by far the most important
- 66. fixed membership, leadership, staff specific jurisdiction not intended to be representative of all possible interests
- 67. How a Bill Becomes a Law
- 68. Filibustering in the 20th Century
- 69. Filibustering in the 20th Century
- 70. Holds Senate considers business by the use of ‘universal consent’ i.e., if one member object, business can be slowed or halted Such an objection is known as a ‘hold’ Until 2011, could be done anonymously; so secrecy limited to 2 day But ‘tag teams’ (2 or more Senators) can still preserve secrecy
- 72. Problems The Problem of Amateurism: vast executive, puny legislative Congress’s bureaucracy staff specialization
- 73. Problems The Problem of Corruption accepting money, favors for votes rare compared to other countries Corruption Perception Index/Transparency International Congressional responses to corruption censure: reprimand, reduce seniority, strip chair, fine expulsion (only 4, all from House)
- 74. The Problem of Corruption – cont’d ethical standards financial disclosure honoraria forbidden surplus campaign funds may be not be spent for personal use limit on gifts ($200/H, $300/S) limits on free travel 1 year limit on lobbying Congress after leaving
- 75. Problems - part 4 The Problem of Fragmentation: decentralization puts power into committee and subcommittee chairs
- 76. House Standing Committees Subcommittees of the Armed Services Committee U.S. Senate: Committees Finance Committee Subcommittees
- 77. Fragmentation – cont’d central coordination becomes difficult: herding cats