Legislative Processes

Catalog description

Legislatures in American government, emphasizing comparative state legislatures: constitutional patterns; organization, administration; interaction with bureaucracy, constituencies, and organized interests. PADM 558 Legislative Processes (3) The course examines development of the modern congress and the general assembly; campaigns and elections; party organization and the leadership; committees and the rules of procedure; the "Republicans take over congress;" congress, the President and the bureaucracy: the congressional campaign; congress, interest groups, and the congressional enterprise; congress, the budget, and domestic policy making; the decline of representative democracy. The Pennsylvania state legislature will receive particular attention. The course is designed to equip students to manage programs within the political environment of public and nonprofit administration. The course is evaluated on two short, written reports (25% each); final exam (40%); class participation and presentations (10%). PADM 558 is offered every third semester as an elective for the MPA degree.