Guides, explainers, and analysis about how U.S. government works — and how to make yours work for you.
3 articles in "State Government"
A governor can command the National Guard, pardon a prisoner, and freeze state spending overnight — but can't pass a single law or raise a single tax without the legislature's sign-off. Here's where that line actually falls.
New Hampshire's legislature meets for a few months a year and pays its members about $100. California's meets almost year-round with six-figure salaries and hundreds of staffers. Both are "state legislatures" — but they barely resemble each other.
The second-most-populous state in the country runs its entire legislature on a 140-day session held once every two years. Here's how Texas fits a full state's worth of lawmaking into that compressed window — and why it was designed that way on purpose.