Institutional Change in American Politics

By: Karl T. Kurtz and Bruce Cain and Richard G. Niemi

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Synopsis: The 12 chapters presented here by Kurtz (director of the Trust for Representative Democracy at the National Conference of State Legislatures), Cain (political science, U. of California at Berkeley), and Niemi (political science, U. of Rochester) collectively provide a comparative examination of the impact of term limits on state legislatures in the United States, focusing more on effects on the organization and operation of the legislatures than on the effects of turnover on the kinds of individuals elected, although that is discussed in the opening chapters. Other chapters examine leadership selection and tenure; the attitudes of legislators towards their jobs; the decline of the roles of committees in obtaining independent information, serving as a forum for deliberation, and regulating the flow of bills to the legislature; impacts on legislative staff; legislator interrelations; lobbyist influence; legislature-executive relations; and legislator learning and training. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc. , Portland, OR (booknews. com)