Term-limited Legislatures: A Gift to Governors?

Many Michigan House members say that the power of the executive branch, including both the governor and state agencies, increased after term limits. In this poster we explore the extent to which representatives say they consult the governor's office and state agency officials for information and guidance on a difficult issue. Additionally, we explore the amount of time legislators report spending monitoring state agencies and the grade they give themselves for performing this task. Our data are based on interviews with Michigan House members before and after term limits. We discover that after term limits, House members consult executive branch actors more extensively about a difficult issue than they did before term limits. Additionally we discover that the small amount of time they spent monitoring state agencies before term limits declined after term limits. The grade they give themselves for this activity declined too. Based on open-ended comments made by the Representatives we interviewed, we found that the number who did not realize that they should exercise oversight over the executive branch increased after term limits and more representatives also revealed in their comments that they did not understand what monitoring state agencies involved. Hence we suggest that these are some of the ways in which the executive branch has become more powerful relative to the legislature after terrm limits. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]