Is It Us? Is It Them? Or Is It This Place? Predicting Civility in State Legislatures

Abstract

While many scholars and analysts have observed a decline in civility in recent years, there have been few examinations of how political, economic, and institutional structures may partially explain inter-state differences in these trends. We suggest three potential explanations: (1) institutional structures, such as legislative professionalism and gubernatorial power, have created different contexts in which legislators build and maintain inter-personal relationships; (2) partisan competition has led to less bipartisan cooperation and contributed to strained relationships between members of different parties; and, (3) economic inequity and change has contributed to economic anxiety among citizens, contributing to conflict in legislative bodies as elected officials attempt to navigate emerging policy challenges. To test these explanations, we develop an innovative measure of civility using a national survey of lobbyists and a partial Multilevel Regression and Poststratification (MRP) design. Findings suggest that there is some validity to all three explanations, and signifying that civility is at least partially a result of structural issues.

Legislative Civility, Gridlock, Polarization, and Productivity

“…Some early positive steps have been taken toward enhancing this knowledge with the advent of some recent publications, such as an edited volume (Lovrich 2021) that reported findings derived from the National Survey of State Legislative Lobbyists conducted in 2018-2019. Along with Kettler, Fowler, and Witt (2021), these studies find that states with higher-rated levels of civility tend to have more professional legislatures, lack term limits for their members, have more nonwhite legislators serving, and feature less polarized political parties. Also, states with less competitive political parties and less economic inequality tend to have more civil legislatures (Kettler, Fowler, and Witt 2021;Schreckhise, Chand, and Benjamin 2021).…”

“…Along with Kettler, Fowler, and Witt (2021), these studies find that states with higher-rated levels of civility tend to have more professional legislatures, lack term limits for their members, have more nonwhite legislators serving, and feature less polarized political parties. Also, states with less competitive political parties and less economic inequality tend to have more civil legislatures (Kettler, Fowler, and Witt 2021;Schreckhise, Chand, and Benjamin 2021).…”

The Consequences of Legislative Professionalism in U.S. State Legislatures: A Review

“…Interestingly, in contrast to earlier work some scholars argue that increased professionalism may weaken the tradition and norms of legislative bodies, leading to a decrease in socializing among legislators and the undermining of interpersonal trust (Thompson, Kurtz, and Moncrief 1996). Kettler, Fowler, and Witt (2022), for example, find that perceptions of civility among state legislators is higher for states with citizens legislatures. They explain it this way: Incivility appears to be most common where legislators are full-time professional politicians and rely less on their inter-personal connections.…”

“…Thus, legislators are both under less pressure and have more incentives to maintain working relationships with others. In contrast, legislators in states with professional legislatures are on the forefront of political decision-making, so they are under more scrutiny from media, peers, and constituents (Kettler, Fowler, and Witt 2022, 64).…”

“…But legislative professionalism has been linked to the increased polarization of political parties as well, which reduces the avenues for bipartisan consensus and increases the electoral incentives for conflict (Hinchliffe and Lee 2016; Jesuale 2022). The silver lining here is that while polarization is difficult to solve in the short term, institutional reforms, as Kettler, Folwer, and Witt (2022) note, may “create an environment more conducive to civility” (64). Fortunately, scholars, think tanks, and policy makers at all levels of government—most notably the National Conference of State Legislatures (e.g., Andrews 2017), Brookings Institution (e.g., Reynolds 2021), and even the Select Committee on Modernization of Congress—appear to be taking the issue seriously.…”