The Consequences of Legislative Professionalism in U.S. State Legislatures: A Review

As polarization and gridlock continues to grip national politics, Americans are increasingly looking to states to remedy the nation’s most significant challenges. But this was not always the case. Americans are increasingly looking to states to remedy the nation’s most significant challenges. But this was not always the case. In the 1960s, state governments—particularly their legislatures—were in crisis. Few legislatures had the capacity to address the daunting issues that were creating massive political, social, and economic unrest in American states and cities. After decades of reforms to address these issues, and the studies of legislative reform that followed, we can make some conclusions about the consequences of legislative professionalization. The purpose of this paper is to present the key findings from work dedicated to the study of these consequences.