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sometimes relative closeness in strength of the two parties in Congress, bipartisan
coalitions to determine the organization of a chamber are not typically an option as well
as show that once given rights in the legislative process, the minority is quite reluctant
to give them up. In addition, the two examples also illustrate the importance of
structures and procedures in the legislative process as well as the important effect of
partisan politics on the adoption of these structures and procedures.
The partisan shift and the resulting procedural changes in the U.S. House of
Representatives were much more dramatic and permanent than the Republican gains
and rules changes in the U.S. Senate. Further, the manner in which the Republicans
came to power in the U.S. House of Representatives more closely resembles the rise of
the Republican Party in southern state legislatures. Would a similar overhaul of
procedures occur in any legislative chamber any time a long-standing minority becomes
the majority? The legislative chambers of the southern U.S. states provide a perfect
“laboratory” for addressing this question. There are a number of southern state
legislative chambers that have recently come under the consistent control of the
Republican Party (e.g., Florida, South Carolina, and Virginia Houses and Senates, and
the Texas Senate) after many years of consistent Democratic control. This change of
party control is significant because it is the first time the Republicans have controlled
legislative chambers in the South since Reconstruction.
The research presented in this paper is in its earliest stages and therefore any
findings are preliminary. Therefore, the goal of this research will be to gain initial insight
into the impact of a growing and strengthening Republican Party on rules of procedure
in southern state legislatures, and gauge whether or not any of the following scenarios
have occurred:
Convention