Every U.S. jurisdiction has a legislative body-composed of elected representatives of legislative districts-that is broadly responsible for policies, programs and, to some extent, appropriations and program oversight. The jobs of the legislature have been alternatively typified by Alan Rosenthal as representing constituent interests, lawmaking and balancing the power of the executive branch.2 The legislative role also includes the often forgotten but vital function of convening stakeholders to develop ideas and aid the decision-making process. Each legislature, however, approaches these functions differently. NCSL groups the states' legislatures into three major categories, ranging from states with year-round legislative sessions, full-time legislators and large legislative staffs to those with limited or biennial sessions, part-time legislators and smaller staffs (Table 1).3
Table 1. NCSL Categorization of "Red," "White" and "Blue" Legislatures
Type of Legislature | Characteristics | States |
"Red" Legislatures | • Legislators spend 80 percent or more of a full-time job doing legislative work • Compensation enough to make a living without outside sources of income • Largest legislative staffs • Tend to be in states with large populations | Red |
"White" Legislatures | • Hybrids of red and blue models • Legislators spend more than two-thirds of a full-time job doing legislative work • Compensation higher than blue states, but not enough to make a living without outside sources of income • Intermediate-sized legislative staffs • Tend to be in states with medium-sized populations | Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington |
"Blue" Legislatures | • "Traditional" or "citizen" legislatures • Legislators spend equivalent of half of a full-time job doing legislative work • Low compensation that requires outside sources of income to make a living • Relatively small legislative staffs • Tend to be in small population, rural states | Blue |
Source: NCSL, 2009.
A legislature's overall characteristics and capacity will affect the manner in which it engages in policymaking, appropriations, and interactions with and oversight of the executive branch, but do not necessarily dictate the extent of the legislature's involvement in transportation governance. Vermont, for example-a state that has a part-time legislature with limited staff and compensation-has high legislative involvement in transportation issues. In this state, the legislature reviews and approves the DOT transportation plan, reviews progress on all active projects, evaluates DOT performance, compares bids to cost estimates, and participates in developing formulas for project prioritization.