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Discussion Board Thread 2
Shoun Soi-King
Helms School of. Government, Liberty University
GOVT 327
Professor Piedmont
May 27, 2022
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Discussion Board 2
Legislators find themselves are engaged with the community and the legislature they are
working with. They are very busy people, and as such, are engaged with several different duties.
“Legislatures engage in three principal functions: policymaking, representation, and oversight.
The first, policymaking, includes enacting laws and allocating funds”[ CITATION Ann21 \l 1033
]. These three functions, requires a lot of multi-tasking from legislators, having them wearing
different hats, and balancing a heavy workload. Legislatures are expected to serve and represent
their constituency, “They are expected to speak for their constituents in the legislative chamber –
to do the will of the public in designing policy solutions”[ CITATION Ann21 \l 1033 ]. They
serve their constituency, fulfilling their role as a representative, and also as a responsibility to
secure re-election. In addition to serving their constituency, they also interact with the
bureaucracy. “Concerned that the laws they passed and the funds they allocated frequently did
not produce the intended effect, lawmakers bean to pay more attention to the performance of the
state bureaucracy”[ CITATION Ann21 \l 1033 ]. Additionally, legislatures need to work with the
executive, and thus have a relationship dynamic that is interesting and perpetually in flux. “The
increased institutional strength of the legislature and. Its accompanying assertiveness have made
for strained. Relations with a governor accustomed to being the political star”[ CITATION
Ann21 \l 1033 ]. Legislatures that are ideologically opposed to the governor typically leads to
gridlock, and alternatively, legislatures that are in the same party as the governor sometimes have
issues agreeing with each other. Even with all of these other duties, legislatures have duties
concerning state priorities and funding, “If legislatures are to do a decent job in forecasting state
priorities, some control of federal funds is necessary. In the face of reduced federal aid to states,
it is critical for legislators to understand the role that federal dollars have played in program
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operation”[ CITATION Ann21 \l 1033 ]. The legislature is responsible for deciding which
programs obtain funding, and which don’t, and as such, they hold large responsibility and
oversight over the bureaucratic state.
