State Politics & Policy Quarterly | Vol. 6 No. 1 | Measuring State Legislative Committee Power: Change and Chamber Differences in the 20th Century

Abstract

Volume 6 • Number 1

Spring 2006

The Practical Researcher

KEITH E. HAMM
Rice University
RONALD D. HEDLUND
Northeastern University
NANCY MARTORANO
University of Dayton
Measuring State Legislative Committee Power: Change and Chamber Differences in the 20th Century

Committees became a vital component of the decisionmaking process in most legislative bodies around the world during the 20th century. However, very little is known about how their status evolved. In particular, the complexity of, and variation among, committee systems have made it difficult for researchers to assess fully their role in lawmaking. We present a way to measure the structural nature of committee power in state legislatures in the United States, providing data rating 33 upper and lower chambers on six dimensions of committee power based on various legislative documents for 10 legislative sessions during the 20th century. Our method of measurement and these data should help researchers to better understand the evolution of legislative committee systems.

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