Comparative Experience

Take A Look

This year's General Assembly composition is markedly different from the last. Democrats control the House with a tidy majority but still outnumber Republicans as they previously did in the Senate. Remember the basic differences between each chamber: in the House, there are 65 members each with 2 year terms; in the Senate, there are 35 members each with 4 year terms. All House members were up for re-election in 2012, only some Senate members were.

In The House

The following graphs compare the party composition of each chamber. Pay special attention to the staggering number of freshman (brand new members) in the House. 42% of both Democrat and Republican representatives are new to the legislature. While freshman are not unfamiliar with the process, they might be so with the plethora of issues that come before them. Unlike a senior member who has seen, for example, the numerous ways severance taxes are targeted to meet the needs of different stakeholders, a freshman might not have the same level of complex knowledge on the subject. They might have less informed opinions that can only be enhanced through years of experience, and they might not have the "political capital" necessary to achieve success with their own agendas.

One of the main reasons there are so many freshman this session is that House district lines (each representative's area that may vote for them) were redrawn as a result of the census. Many members also lost primary election battles within their own party, or were simply defeated by a newcomer of the opposing party. Term limits forced 8 members, 4 democrat 4 republican, out of the House. Democrat Nancy Todd made a successful run to the Senate, as did Republican David Balmer. That left a vacuum of 6 available seats to freshman.

In The Senate

The Senate in a much different story than the House. Here, some senators were not up for re-election in 2012 because their terms are staggered from one another (Senate seat X goes up for election in 2008, 2012, 2016 etc; Senate seat Y goes up in 2006, 2010, 2014, etc).  Because terms are 4 years long, with a maximum limit of 2 terms, the tenure of these members is more stable than in the House. Whereas representatives must run for re-election every 2 years, senators must only run every 4 (and really for re-election only once before they aren't allowed to do so again).

As a result, you'll notice more senior members with fewer freshman. Often, members like John Kefalas will transition from the House to the Senate by running for the vacated Senate seat. Kefalas ran for the seat formerly held by fellow Democrat Bob Bacon for two terms. Bacon could not run again because he was term limited. You'll notice there are some senators with more than 8 years of experience- that's because they were formerly representatives.

Does It Matter?

Yes. Members with more legislative experience are able to pull more political weight. They know how things get done, whose toes not to tread on, how to conduct a tight committee, how to use procedure to their advantage, and how to manage the pressure placed on them by constituents and stakeholders. Most importantly, senior members usually have good relationships with lobbyists and know the 'power players' of the game. Freshman still need to learn the ropes and may be susceptible to outside interests. More on that in a future post!