The Northeast: A Case Study of “Sick” Professional Legislature Tess Wendel and Michal Adut Image:

Professional Legislatures Require More Staff Source: NCSL Number indicates national ranking 2

Longer Session Lengths and Greater Compensation in Professional Legislatures Session Length 2008 Compensation2008 RIJan 1 - June 21$13,089 CTFeb 6 - May 7$28,000 NJFull Year$49,000 MAFull year$58,237 NYFull year$79,500 Source: NCSL 2008 New York is 3rd highest in the nation after CA and MI Image: legacyfellows.blogspot.com/

Professional, Hybrid & Citizen Legislatures Red Red Light White Blue Light Blue New York California Michigan New York Pennsylvania Massachusetts New Jersey Illinois Florida Ohio Massachusetts New Jersey Wisconsin Connecticut Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas Colorado Connecticut Delaware Hawaii Iowa Kentucky Louisiana Maryland Minnesota Missouri Nebraska North Carolina Oklahoma Oregon South Carolina Tennessee Texas Virginia Washington Rhode Island Georgia Idaho Indiana Kansas Maine Mississippi Nevada New Mexico Rhode Island Vermont West Virginia Montana New Hampshire North Dakota South Dakota Utah Wyoming Source: NCSL 2008

Low Turnover and Long Hours in Professional Legislatures % Turnover % of Time Working MA8%80-100% NY10.50%80-100% CT14.50%70-80% NJ17%60-70% RI31.50%50-60% US25.60%n/a Source: NCSL 2008 Image:

Few Competitive Elections Source: Followthemoney.org

Legislature Demographics Source: NCSL 2008

Sick Legislature Syndrome NY: A Case Study Rated the most dysfunctional legislature in the nation. Few legislative leaders with a lot of power Partisan Competition  Assembly: Democrat  Senate: GOP No term limits Allows empty seat voting Image:

Symptoms of NY’s “Sick” legislature Noncompetitive Elections Lack of accountability Low Quality Policy Policy Gridlock:  number of proposed bills vs. those actually enacted  Budget Source:The New York State Legislative Process: A Blueprint for Reform Creelan and Moulton

Is the legislature sick because of professionalism or is it something else? Lack of competitive elections Limited turnover Partisan conflict Source: Followthemoney.org

In Conclusion… Northeast states have professional legislatures Professional legislatures in the NE tend to be “sick” but this may be due to other factors