POLI 311 Policymaking in State Legislatures (3)

This course is designed to introduce students to the methods and processes by which American state legislatures achieve public policy objectives. Attention will be paid to the structure and organization of our 50 state legislatures, decision-making among competing public policy objectives, the development of institutional and individual legislative agenda, responsiveness to electoral and interest groups and the process of moving legislation from proposals to law. The Legislatures of California and South Carolina will serve as primary case studies of two very different examples of legislative structure, organization, and operations.
Course Frequency: Fall