2026-09-19T04:57:11Zhttps://dspace.mit.edu/server/oai/requestoai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/431942022-01-13T07:54:42Zcom_1721.1_7582com_1721.1_7581col_1721.1_131023
Charles H. Stewart, III.
Edwards, Keith Malcolm
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Political Science.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Political Science
2008-11-07T19:14:17Z
2008-11-07T19:14:17Z
2007
2007
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/43194
256065768
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 2007.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 53-57).
This thesis examines the relationship between legislative professionalism and institutionalization in the committee systems of six U.S. states. I examine whether increased professionalization, as defined by increases in levels of member salary, legislative staffing, and time in session, causes legislatures to institutionalize in a manner similar to the U.S. Congress. Specifically, this thesis focuses on the use (or lack thereof) of seniority as an automatic procedure for the assignment to, and transfer between, committees. I find that while it appears that all state legislators value service on committees, legislative professionalization is not an adequate explanatory variable to describe the variation in the institutionalization of committee systems that we see across states in the United States. This finding is especially evident in the analysis of California, the most professionalized state legislature in the U.S.
by Keith Malcolm Edwards.
S.M.
65 leaves
eng
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
M.I.T. theses are protected by
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http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582
Political Science.
Professionalism, institutionalization and committee services in US. state legislatures
Thesis
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