Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-14T08:21:09.807Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Term Limits and Collaboration Across the Aisle: An Analysis of Bipartisan Cosponsorship in Term Limited and Non-Term Limited State Legislatures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2021

Clint S. Swift  and
Kathryn A. VanderMolen
Clint S. Swift
Affiliation:
University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
Kathryn A. VanderMolen*
Affiliation:
University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
*
Kathryn A. VanderMolen, University of Missouri, 909 University Ave., Columbia, MO 65211, USA. Email: kvp7c@mail.missouri.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

As members of democratic institutions, state legislators must frequently collaborate with each other to achieve their varied goals. Given the increased attention to questions of polarization and gridlock, scholars should be particularly interested in understanding legislator decisions to collaborate across party lines. This article is primarily concerned with how institutional arrangements—specifically term limits—structure legislators' decisions to cosponsor bills with partisan opponents. Using data on bill cosponsorship from 41 states (82 chambers), we demonstrate that term limits reduce bipartisan cosponsorship even when controlling for average legislative tenure. We argue that term limits accomplish this by altering the incentives that legislators face. In addition, we demonstrate that the effect of term limits depends on the level of legislative professionalization. When professionalization is high, the negative effect of term limits on bipartisan cosponsorship is particularly pronounced.

Keywords

legislative behaviorlegislative politicslegislator preferencesterm limitslegislative professionalismcomparative legislatures
Type
Research Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 16 , Issue 2 , June 2016 , pp. 198 - 226
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2015

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aldrich, John H. 1995. Why Parties? The Origin and Transformation of Political Parties in America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baker, Travis J., and Hedge, David M.. 2013. “Term Limits and Legislative-Executive Conflict in the American States.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 38:237–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnello, Michelle A., and Bratton, Kathleen A.. 2007. “Bridging the Gender Gap in Bill Sponsorship.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 32:449–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Binder, Sarah A. 1999. “The Dynamics of Legislative Gridlock, 1947–96.” American Political Science Review 93 (3): 519–34..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Birkhead, Nathaniel A. 2015. “The Role of Ideology in State Legislative Elections.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 40:55–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boatright, Robert G. 2004. “Static Ambition in a Changing World: Legislators' Preparations for, and Responses to, Redistricting.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 4:436–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bonica, Adam, McCarty, Nolan, Poole, Keith T., and Rosenthal, Howard. 2013. “Why Hasn't Democracy Slowed Rising Inequality?” Journal of Economic Perspectives 27:103–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brambor, Thomas, Clark, William R., and Golder, Matt. 2006. “Understanding Interaction Models: Improving Empirical Analyses.” Political Analysis 14:63–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bratton, Kathleen A., and Rouse, Stella M.. 2011. “Networks in the Legislative Arena: How Group Dynamics Affect Cosponsorship.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 36:423–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cain, Bruce E., and Levin, Marc A.. 1999. “Term Limits.” Annual Review Political Science 2:163–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, James E. 1982. “Cosponsoring Legislation in the U.S. Congress.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 7:415–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carey, John M., Niemi, Richard G., Powell, Lynda W., and Moncrief, Gary F.. 2006. “The Effects of Term Limits on State Legislatures: A New Survey of the 50 States.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 31:105–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carter, David R., and Signorino, Curtis S.. 2010. “Back to the Future: Temporal Dependence in Binary Data.” Political Analysis 18:271–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cox, Gary W., and McCubbins, Matthew D.. 1993. Legislative Leviathan: Party Government in the House. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Desposato, Scott W., Kearney, Matthew C., and Crisp, Brian F.. 2011. “Using Cosponsorship to Estimate Ideal Points.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 36:531–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fenno, Richard F. 1977. “U.S. House Members in Their Constituencies: An Exploration.” American Political Science Review 71:883–917.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fenno, Richard F. 1978. Home Style: House Members in Their Districts. Boston: Little, Brown.Google Scholar
Fiorina, Morris P. 1974. Representatives, Roll Calls and Constituencies. Lexington: Lexington Books.Google Scholar
Fiorina, Morris P. 1994. “Divided Government in the American States: A Byproduct of Legislative Professionalism?” American Political Science Review 88:304–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fortunato, Santo, and Barthelemy, Marc. 2006. “Resolution Limit in Community Detection.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 104:36–41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fowler, James H. 2006. “Connecting the Congress: A Study of Cosponsorship Networks.” Political Analysis 14:456–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fund, John H. 1990. “Term Limitation: An Idea Whose Time Has Come.” Cato Institute Policy Analysis 141. http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-141es.htmlGoogle Scholar
Gerber, Elisabeth R. 1996. “Legislative Response to the Threat of Popular Initiatives.” American Journal of Political Science 40:263–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerber, Elisabeth R. 1998. “Pressuring Legislatures through the Use of Initiatives.” In Citizens as Legislators: Direct Democracy in the United States. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.Google Scholar
Good, Benjamin H., Montjoye, Yves-Alexandre de, and Clauset, Aaron. 2010. “The Performance of Modularity Maximization in Practical Contexts.” Physical Review E: Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics 81:1–20CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hall, Andrew. 2014. “Partisan Effects of Legislative Term Limits.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 39:407–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harbridge, Laurel. 2015. Is Bipartisanship Dead? Policy Agreement and Agenda-Setting in the House of Representatives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harbridge, Laurel, Malhotra, Neil, and Harrison, Brian F.. 2014. “Public Preferences for Bipartisanship in the Policymaking Process.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 39:327–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hayes, Matthew, Hibbing, Matthew V., and Sulkin, Tracy. 2010. “Redistricting, Responsiveness, and Issue Attention.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 35:91–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herrick, Rebekah, and Thomas, Sue. 2005. “Do Term Limits Make a Difference? Ambition and Motivations among U.S. State Legislators.” American Politics Research 33:726–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hibbing, John R. 1991. “Contours of the Modern Congressional Career.” American Political Science Review. 85: 405–428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hibbing, John R., and Theiss-Morse, Elizabeth. 1995. Congress As Public Enemy. Cambridge, UK and New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hogan, Robert. 2004. “Challenger Emergence, Incumbent Success, and Electoral Accountability in State Legislative Elections.” The Journal of Politics 66:1283–1303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hogan, Robert E. 2008. “Policy Responsiveness and Incumbent Reelection in State Legislatures.” American Journal of Political Science 52:858–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holbrook, Thomas M., and Dunk, Emily Van. 1993. “Electoral Competition in the American States.” American Political Science Review 87:955–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jacobs, Lawrence R., and Shapiro, Robert Y.. 2000. Politicians Don't Pander: Political Manipulation and the Loss of Democratic Responsiveness. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Jewell, Malcolm E., and Whicker, Marcia Lynn. 1994. Legislative Leadership in the American States. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Kessler, Daniel, and Krehbiel, Keith. 1996. “Dynamics of Cosponsorship.” American Political Science Review 90:555–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, Gary, Tomz, Michael, and Wittenberg, Jason. 2000. American Journal of Political Science 44:347–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kirkland, Justin H. 2011. “The Relational Determinants of Legislative Outcomes: Strong and Weak Ties between Legislators.” Journal of Politics 73:887–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kirkland, Justin H. 2014. “Chamber Size Effects on the Collaborative Structure of Legislatures.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 39:169–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klarner, Carl E. 2013. “Other Scholars Competitiveness Measures: 1936–2011 (Dataset).” http://hdl.handle.net/1902.1/22519 Harvard Dataverse, V1.Google Scholar
Kousser, Thad. 2005. Term Limits and the Dismantling of State Legislative Professionalization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Krehbiel, Keith. 1995. “Cosponsor and Wafflers from A to Z.” American Journal of Political Science 39:906–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koger, Gregory. 2003. “Position Taking and Cosponsorship in the US House.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 28:225–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lupia, Arthur, and Matsusaka, John G.. 2004. “Direct Democracy: New Approaches to Old Questions.” Annual Review of Political Science 7:463–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayhew, David R. 1974. Congress: The Electoral Connection. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
McCubbins, Mathew D., and Sullivan, Terry. 1987. Congress: Structure and Policy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Meinke, Scott R., and Hasecke, Edward B.. 2003. “Term Limits, Professionalization, and Partisan Control in U.S. State Legislatures.” Journal of Politics 65:898–908.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, Susan, Nicholson-Crotty, Jill, and Nicholson-Crotty, Sean. 2011. “Reexamining the Institutional Effects of Term Limits in American State Legislatures.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 36:71–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miquel, Gerardo P., and Snyder, James M.. 2006. “Legislative Effectiveness and Legislative Careers.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 31:347–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petracca, Mark P. 1991. “The Poison of Professional Politics.” Cato Institute Policy Analysis 151. http://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/poison-professional-politicsGoogle Scholar
Poole, Keith T., and Rosenthal, Howard. 1997. Congress: A Political-Economic History of Roll Call Voting. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Ramsey, J. B. 1969. “Tests for Specification Errors in Classical Linear Least Squares Regression Analysis.” Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series B 31:350–71.Google Scholar
Rocca, Michael S., and Gordon, Stacy B.. 2010. “The Position-Taking Value of Bill Sponsorship in Congress.” Political Research Quarterly 63:387–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saad, Lydia. 2013. “Americans Call for Term Limits, End to Electoral College.” January 18, 2013. Gallup.http://www.gallup.com/poll/159881/americans-call-term-limits-end-elec-toral-college.aspxGoogle Scholar
Sarbaugh-Thompson, Marjorie. 2010. “Measuring ‘Term Limitedness’ in U.S. Multi-state Research.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 10:199–217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sarbaugh-Thompson, Marjorie, Thompson, Lyke, Elder, Charles D., Comins, Meg, Elling, Richard C., and Strate, John. 2006. “Democracy among Strangers: Term Limits' Effects on Relationships between State Legislators in Michigan.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 6:384–409.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schiller, Wendy J. 1995. “Senators as Political Entrepreneurs: Using Bill Sponsorship to Shape Legislative Agendas.” American Journal of Political Science 39:186–203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shor, Boris. 2014. “July 2014 Update: Aggregate Data for Ideological Mapping of American Legislatures.” doi:10.7910/DVN/26799.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shor, Boris, and McCarty, Nolan. 2011. “The Ideological Mapping of American Legislatures.” American Political Science Review 105:530–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Squire, Peverill. 1998. “Membership Turnover and the Efficient Processing of Legislation.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 23:23–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Squire, Peverill. 2012. The Evolution of American Legislatures: Colonies, Territories and States, 1619–2009. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trubowitz, Peter, and Mellow, Nicole. 2005. “‘Going Bipartisan’: Politics by Other Means.” Political Science Quarterly 120:433–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Will, George. 1992. Restoration: Congress, Term Limits and the Recovery of Deliberative Democracy. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Wilson, Rick K., and Young, Cheryl D.. 1997. “Cosponsorship in the U.S. Congress.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 22:25–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wooldridge, Jeffrey M. 2009. Introductory Econometrics: A Modern Approach. Boston: Cengage Learning.Google Scholar
Woon, Jonathan. 2008. “Bill Sponsorship in Congress: The Moderating Effect of Agenda Positions on Legislative Proposals.” Journal of Politics 70:201–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar