Living legislation
Subtitle: durability, change, and the politics of American lawmaking
By: edited by Jeffery A. Jenkins and Eric M. Patashnik
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Chicago; London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 359
ISBN-13: 9780226396446; 9780226396453
Copyright date: 2012
Subjects: Politics and government; Legislation
Description: Politics is at its most dramatic during debates over important pieces of legislation. It is thus no stretch to refer to legislation as a living, breathing force in American politics. And while debates over legislative measures begin before an item is enacted, they also endure long afterward, when the political legacy of a law becomes clear. "Living Legislation" provides fresh insights into contemporary American politics and public policy. Of particular interest to the contributors to this volume is the question of why some laws stand the test of time while others are eliminated, replaced, or significantly amended. Among the topics the essays discuss are how laws emerge from - and effect change within - coalition structures, the effectiveness of laws at mediating partisan conflicts, and the ways in which laws interact with broader shifts in the political environment. An essential addition to the study of politics, "Living Legislation" enhances our understanding of democracy, governance, and power. -- Back cover.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Part One: Overview; title: Living legislation and American politics / Jeffery A. Jenkins and Eric M. Patashnik; title: Making the modern American legislative state / William J. Novak; title: Part Two: Studying living legislation: coalitions, durability, and change; title: Durability and change in the president's legislative policy agenda, 1799-2002 / Jeffrey E. Cohen and Matthew Eshbaugh-Soha; title: Coalition structure and legislative innovation in American national government / Sean Gailmard and Jeffery A. Jenkins; title: The lives and deaths of federal programs, 1971-2003 / Christopher R. Berry, Barry C. Burden, and William G. Howell; title: Beyond legislative productivity: enactment conditions, subsequent conditions, and the shape and life of the law / Forrest Maltzman and Charles R. Shipan; title: How unpopular policies become popular after adoption / Amihai Glazer; title: Why some reforms last and others collapse: the Tax Reform Act of 1986 versus airline deregulation / Eric M. Patashnik; title: Policy durability and agency design / David E. Lewis; title: Judicial delimitation in the New Deal era / Stuart Chinn; title: Part Three: Reflections; title: Lawmaking as a cognitive enterprise / David R. Mayhew; title: The politics of the policymaking state / Sidney M. Milkis.