Journal article
Oversight Capabilities in the States: Are Professionalized Legislatures Better at Getting What They Want?
State Politics & Policy Quarterly, Vol.15(3), pp.366-386
09/2015
DOI: 10.1177/1532440015593005
Abstract
Once legislators delegate policymaking responsibility to executive agencies, they have the ability to oversee and potentially influence the actions of these agencies. In this article, we examine, first, whether the actions of agencies reflect the preferences of legislators, and second, whether legislative professionalism enhances the ability of legislatures to influence executive agencies and obtain more preferred outcomes. We study these effects in the context of annual nursing home inspections performed by state administrators and make two predictions. First, as Democratic legislators will, on average, prefer a more activist role for government and for government agencies, we should see agencies issue more citations for violations of regulations when state legislatures are Democratic and fewer when they are Republican. Second, as more professionalized legislatures are better able to monitor the agency inspectors’ actions and inspection outcomes, this effect should be intensified for legislatures with greater professionalism. We find support for both arguments: agencies faced with more Democrats in the legislature will be more activist, and this effect is strengthened for more professional legislatures.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Oversight Capabilities in the States: Are Professionalized Legislatures Better at Getting What They Want?
- Creators
- Frederick J BoehmkeCharles R Shipan
- Contributors
- Charles Barrilleaux (Editor)
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- State Politics & Policy Quarterly, Vol.15(3), pp.366-386
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications; Los Angeles, CA
- DOI
- 10.1177/1532440015593005
- ISSN
- 1532-4400
- eISSN
- 1946-1607
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 09/2015
- Academic Unit
- Political Science; Public Policy Center (Archive)
- Record Identifier
- 9983920524802771
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