Category Archives: legislation and legislatures

Fewest Bills from 112th Congress

December 31, 2012, 12:03 pmlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

NBC News First Read: In addition, just 219 bills have been passed into law — the lowest number since Congress began tracking this number in the 1940s. (And many of these bills were naming courthouses or post offices.) The previous… Continue reading

“In Congress, relatives lobby on bills before family members”

December 31, 2012, 11:49 amconflict of interest laws, ethics investigations, legislation and legislatures, lobbyingRick Hasen

WaPo: “In 2007, in the wake of the biggest lobbying scandal in decades, Congress limited the ability of family members to lobby their relatives in the House or Senate. But it declined to ban the practice entirely. Since then,… Continue reading

Asymmetric Polarization in Congress

December 28, 2012, 4:22 pmlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarization, Remedies, tax law and election law, term limitsRick Hasen

Political Wire: Harry Enten looks at statistics that rank members of Congress on a scale from -1 for most liberal to 1 for most conservative and finds Senate and House Democrats have been fairly stable at -0.4 since 1992.… Continue reading

“Lawmakers Suggest New Rules to Speed Up Senate Business”

December 28, 2012, 3:03 pmlegislation and legislatures, political polarizationRick Hasen

NYT: “A bipartisan group of eight senators on Friday proposed a detailed set of Senate rule changes that could speed the legislative process considerably but would stop short of the most dramatic changes to the filibuster that some Democrats are… Continue reading

“Washington State Senators Cross Aisle and Tilt Ideological Balance”

December 27, 2012, 7:51 amlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

Interesting NYT report.

“As Swing Districts Dwindle, Can a Divided House Stand?”

December 27, 2012, 7:46 amlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

Nate Silver: “In 1992, there were 103 members of the House of Representatives elected from what might be called swing districts: those in which the margin in the presidential race was within five percentage points of the national result. But… Continue reading

“Filibuster challenge fails”

December 27, 2012, 7:43 amlegislation and legislaturesRick Hasen

I missed this news last week: “Ruling that the courts have no power to do anything about it, a federal judge on Friday threw out a claim that Senate filibusters are an unconstitutional denial of majority rule. U.S. District Judge… Continue reading

Harvard Law Review Publishes My “Fixing Washington” Piece, Lessig’s Reply

December 20, 2012, 4:45 pmcampaign finance, chicanery, legislation and legislatures, lobbyingRick Hasen

From the new issue of the Harvard Law Review: Fixing Washington Book Review by Richard L. Hasen :: REPUBLIC, LOST: HOW MONEY CORRUPTS POLITICS — AND A PLAN TO STOP IT. By Lawrence Lessig. New York, N.Y., and Boston,… Continue reading

The NRA and Lobbying/Campaign Finance Reform

December 19, 2012, 8:49 pmcampaign finance, legislation and legislatures, lobbyingRick Hasen

Former Bush ethics czar Richard Painter pens an interesting NYT oped: Republican politicians must free themselves from the N.R.A. protection racket and others like it. For starters, the party establishment should refuse to endorse anyone who runs in a… Continue reading

“Will record number of women in Senate mean less gridlock?

December 17, 2012, 10:35 amlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

WaPo reports.

“Leading Scholars: Constitution and Tradition Support Changing Filibuster Rules by Majority Vote”

December 12, 2012, 9:46 amlegislation and legislaturesRick Hasen

Brennan Center press release: In January, the newly-convened Senate has the authority to change filibuster rules by a majority vote, according to a letter sent to the Senate todayby a group of leading academics and constitutional scholars. The letter… Continue reading