The modern legislature.

• Author: Pound, William T.
• Position: NCSL: The First 25 Years - Includes related article on various forms of legislative bodies - State legislatures

State legislature have changed dramatically over the last 25 years and will continue to do so in the new century ahead, adapting and evolving to meet our country's shifting needs.

Each one is unique, yet they are all strikingly similar. Each has diverse responsibilities, yet they all share common problems. State legislatures - "the first branch of government" - are the most revitalized and changed government institutions in America, and today they have a vastly increased capacity to govern.

Yet they find themselves challenged as seldom before. Public esteem and perceptions of the legislature, as well as many other institutions, fell steeply early in this decade. Although positive support for legislatures has improved recently in tandem with the strong U.S. economy, the public remains skeptical of public officials. Term limits and other restrictions on the legislative branch have spread in recent years, in contrast with the preceding century when legislative power was generally strengthened and constitutional restrictions on legislatures were relaxed. The earlier changes were intended to strengthen legislatures and make them more professional institutions. Recent changes, however, are intended to roll back these efforts.

The impact of term limits and of several recent constraints on the authority of some legislature to raise taxes or spend money will probably not be fully felt for some years. Six states - California, Colorado, Maine, Michigan, Missouri and Oregon - have directly felt the effects of term limits. Loss of experienced members, rapid turnover among leadership and increased numbers of bill introductions are all in evidence, as are legislators' changing relationships with staffs and lobbyists.

In those states that allow it, the initiative process is being used to bypass or restrict the legislature. Not only has the number of initiatives increased, but they also are creating momentum on issues in states without them. Term limits, gambling and marijuana use for medical purposes all gained public attention as initiatives, but were soon being pushed as policy issues in legislatures throughout the country.

Electronic and print media coverage of legislatures has also changed. Television coverage has declined, as has newspaper coverage of the legislature in some states. The press is likely today to be more critical in its coverage and to apply ever higher standards to ethical issues.

Technological changes and the new challenges of the global economy also confront legislatures as never before. Issues that were once matters of mostly local concern now must be dealt with at the state level. At the same time, Congress, the administration and international agreements are bypassing some traditional areas of state authority. State regulatory authority and revenue systems will face dramatic challenge and change in the early 21st century.

A TRANSFORMED INSTITUTION

It is easy to lose sight of how the modern state legislature has evolved and become strong. Interested citizens, legislative staff, lobbyists and even lawmakers themselves may take the resources and capabilities that have fostered this change for granted, but state legislatures in 1999 have progressed more than any other government institution over the past 35 years. In the 1950s a national study referred to state legislatures as "19th century institutions." But by the early 1980s futurist John Naisbitt called state and local governments "the most important political entities in America." And events of the last decade have only enhanced their role. Legislatures have been transformed in a number of ways to make them equal partners in state government.

The reappointment revolution of the mid-1960s was the catalyst for the modernization of state legislatures. State and federal courts handed down the one-person, one-vote rule, requiring legislative districts...