Teachers Guide

State Legislatures
Time Needed: One to Two Class Periods Learning Objectives. Students will be able to:
Describe the structure and organization of the state
Materials Needed:
legislative branch
Student worksheets
Explain the function of state legislatures
Projection Master
Describe the legislative system in the students own state
Copy Instructions: Explain the role of state governments in policy-making
Reading (3 pages; class set) Explain the trustee and delegate models for
Activity (2 pages; class set) understanding representation

STEP BY STEP
ANTICIPATE by polling students on the following: Are all state legislatures the same? Yes or No.

DISTRIBUTE the State Legislatures reading pages to each student.

READ through the first page with the class, discussing and clarifying as needed. If your
state is not mentioned in the list with regards to name of legislative bodies, have
that ready to share with the students. Also let them know they will be challenged
to gerrymander their own districts later in the lesson.

ASK students to continue to read the following page. Then, return to the anticipation
questions. Why is there such diversity in state legislative structure? Is this a good
thing or a bad thing? Discuss.

READ the Spotlight on Representation page with the class, discussing strengths and
weaknesses of each approach.

DISTRIBUTE the State Legislatures activity pages to each student, asking students to complete
the first two sections (A and B) on the first page.

REVIEW students responses, discussing Section B.

DISPLAY the state specific answers for Section C, or ask students to find the answer on their
own if they have access to the internet. All answers should be found on the state
government website.

REVIEW the instructions for the gerrymandering activity on the second worksheet. You may
have students work independently or in small groups to address the last step.

DISCUSS the challenges of districting and have a district map of your state legislature to
show students what districts can look like in practice.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Your state government website is always a great starting point for you and your students. There you
should be able to find districting maps, structure and function of your state legislature, and other
valuable state-specific information.
Other helpful sites may include Congress.gov that links to each state legislative homepage and the
National Conference of State Legislatures, which provides valuable overview and statistical
information.
2016 iCivics, Inc. You may copy, distribute, or transmit this work for noncommercial purposes only. This copyright notice or a legally valid equivalent
such as 2016 iCivics Inc. shall be included in all such copies, distributions or transmittals. All other rights reserved. Find this lesson and more at
www.iCivics.org.
State Legislatures Name:

Mini-Congress
State governments mirror the function and structure of the federal
government. The basic set-up includes the three branches
(executive, legislative, and judicial) as well as the system of
checks and balances used to keep government on the right track.
Each state has its own scaled version of the legislature, and it
plays the same lawmaking role as Congress. You can also expect a
state legislature to approve appointments by the governor,
approve budgets, and impeach officials of the other branches if
Whats in a Name? needed.

Although they share the basic function and structure, each state
government developed its own unique flavor. Every state (except
one) also has a bicameral legislature, meaning that the
legislature is made up of two chambers. The upper house in the
legislature is called the Senate. The lower house may be called
different things, based on your state.
41 states call their lower house the House of Representatives

House of Delegates is used in West Virginia, Virginia, and

Maryland
Assembly is used in Nevada
Nebraska is the only state whose
legislature has one chamber, not
State Assembly is used in New York, Wisconsin, and California two. Nebraskas unicameral
General Assembly is used in New Jersey body is called the Senate.

And remember, the state legislature is the states lawmaking

body. The states legislators are the states lawmakers.
Divvying up Districts

If states are the building blocks of the U.S. Congress, districts

In bicameral legislatures, you will
live in a state senate district and a
house or assembly district.
Gerry Who?
are the basis of a state legislature. Districts divide the state into
smaller segments for representation and election purposes. The
states determine the size and shape of their districts so each have
about the same population. Each seat in the legislature is
apportioned, or divided, among the districts so that legislators
represent the same number of people within a state. In Wyoming,
each of the 60 House districts have an average of about 9,000
people and Florida averages a population of 155,000 in each of
their 120 House districts.

The size and shape of legislative districts can be redrawn by the

state if the U.S. Census shows a shift in the population.
Redistricting, or rearranging district lines, can become
controversial when the lines are drawn with the intent of favoring
one political party or group over another. Units within a district,
called precincts, can also be manipulated to influence voting
outcomes. This strategic kind of redistricting is called
gerrymandering, and has a long history in the U.S.
2016 iCivics, Inc. Reading - Side A
State Legislatures Name:

Who Legislates?
Members of state legislators are elected by the citizens in the district
they represent. States vary widely in how they deal with term limits,
California, New York, length of term, age requirements, and pay. Some states consider their
Pennsylvania state legislators as part-time employees with limited pay and staff, while
... others support full-time employment and staffing to support that work.
State legislators are responsible for attending legislative sessions where
bills are introduced, debated, and passed; working to help citizens in
their district; studying issues between sessions; and campaigning for the
Montana, New Hampshire, next election. Its a big job, but know that they are there to serve you,
Utah, Wyoming and have an office somewhere near by!

Lawmaking for the State

The process that a bill takes before it can become a law is, again, similar
to that at the federal level. A legislator introduces a bill, its debated and
amended, the other chamber repeats these steps and then the bill (if
successful) makes it to the governors desk for a signature. One
difference in state lawmaking is the involvement of citizens in the
process. In most states, people can impact legislation through ballot
initiatives and referendums.
Referendums allow citizens to vote directly on a law. Almost all states
require a referendum vote on constitutional amendments, but other
things like tax changes may be put to a vote. Popular referendums
even let citizens of a state vote to repeal a law that is unpopular. In this
case, the response to an unpopular law must occur within 90 days of it
passing in to law. Think of it as a legislative return policy!
Initiatives take things a step further. In about half of the states,
citizens can suggest bills to the legislature to consider or even push a bill
directly to the ballot for a vote. Initiatives and referendums both require
a number of steps which vary from state to state, but all involve
petitions and a lot of organization.

Fitting in with Federalism

If youve ever driven across multiple states, you might notice that the
speed limits change, or that the gas tax is different. This is because
each state legislature makes laws unique to that state. So citizens of
Illinois, as well as visitors to Illinois, are subject to the laws created by
that state legislature. Missouri or Indiana will have different statutes, or
laws, that govern things there.
But remember, other levels of government make laws too! A resident
of Illinois is subject to the laws (and taxes) of the federal government,
the state government, AND the local town or municipality. When a law
at any of these levels conflict with that of another level, people look to
the Constitutions supremacy clause. It says that federal laws take
priority over state laws. Many state constitutions have their own
supremacy clause that applies the same idea down to local laws.
2016 iCivics, Inc. Reading - Side B
State Legislatures Name:

What does it mean to be represented?

Legislators are elected to do one job: represent their districts
constituents in the legislature. Weve already covered what those
tasks include: writing and introducing bills, sitting on
committees, and voting on legislation. Things get a little more
complicated when we talk about how they approach the job.
There are two schools of thought when it comes down to this
question of representation. Some see the role of the legislator as
a trustee, while others believe its more like that of a delegate.
In reality, both contradictory models exist at the same time,
because voters all come to the ballot with different expectations.

This model believes that the people elect their
representatives to act as delegates for their
constituents. Delegates are expected to simply
follow the preferences of the people they
represent when making decisions on bills. As a
mouthpiece for their constituents, they have no
autonomy or independence to act in the way they
may think is best.
Think of one strength and weakness of the
delegate model of representation:
This is the idea that people elect their
representatives as trustees, where they trust
them to make the best decisions while in office.
As trustees, elected officials have greater
freedom to make legislative decisions based on
their own understanding of the issues and needs
of the people they represent.
Think of one strength and weakness of the
trustee model of representation:

Which way is best?

The answer to this question all depends on how you look at the
role of the constituent (YOU!) in government. Voters who dont
want to keep track of all the ins and outs of the legislative process
and who are willing to trust someone they feel shares their values
and approach to government may vote using the trustee model.
Others, who want a more direct impact in government and believe
that the majority of a constituency should rule in legislative
decisions, may vote based on the delegate model. Regardless of
which way you prefer, its important to understand where the
legislative candidates stand on issues you care about, and how
they see their role as your representative.
2016 iCivics, Inc. Spotlight - Side A
State Legislatures Name:

A. Concept Squares. Read the terms in the squares and circle the one that doesnt fit. Then explain
how the remaining three words are related, based on what youve learned in this lesson.

apportion redistricting unicameral trustee

gerrymander referendum delegate representation

1. Which word does not belong? ______________ 3. Which word does not belong? ______________
2. How are the other words related? 4. How are the other words related?

B. Part-Time or Full Time? In some states, such as New Hampshire and Montana, being a state
legislator is a part-time job. In other states, like California and New York, legislators work full time. Why
do you think this is? Think of two possible reasons for this difference.

C. My State Legislature. Answer the following questions about the legislative body in your state.

Full Time Part Time Bicameral Unicameral Length of Session: ______________

Name of Chamber: ________________________ Name of Chamber: ________________________

Number of Districts: _______________________ Number of Districts: _______________________

My District: ______________________________ My District: ______________________________

My Representative: ________________________ My Representative: ________________________

Majority Party: ____________________________ Majority Party: ___________________________

2016 iCivics, Inc. Lesson Activities- Side A

State Legislatures Name:

D. Gerrymander This! Can you redraw the district boundaries to support each party? Follow the steps
below. Each box/unit is a precinct.

1. How many precincts are there? _______________

2. How many support DOTS? ___________________
3. How many support GRAY? ___________________
4. So, who would win in an election? _____________

DRAW lines to create five districts that have equal amount of

precincts. Keep it simple.
1. How many DISTRICTS support DOTS? _________
2. How many DISTRICTS support GRAY? _________
3. Who wins in this election? __________
4. What is a benefit of this simple approach?
_________________________________________________________________________________
5. What is a challenge of this approach?
_________________________________________________________________________________

DRAW lines to create five districts that have equal amount of

precincts. Less simple this time, because you want DOTS to win!
The only rule is that precincts have to be contiguous, or next to
each other.
1. How many DISTRICTS support DOTS? ___________
2. How many DISTRICTS support GRAY? ____________
3. Who wins this election? ___________
4. What is a benefit of this simple approach?
_________________________________________________________________________________
5. What is a challenge of this approach?
_________________________________________________________________________________

2016 iCivics, Inc. Lesson Activities- Side B

State Legislatures **TEACHER GUIDE**
A. Concept Squares. Read the terms in the squares and circle the one that doesnt fit. Then explain
how the remaining three words are related, based on what youve learned in this lesson.

apportion redistricting unicameral trustee

gerrymander referendum delegate agency

1. Which word does not belong? _referendum_
2. How are the other words related?
Apportion, redistricting, and gerrymander all deal
with the organization and layout of legislative/
election districts.
Referendum is a form of citizen driven legislation.
3. Which word does not belong? _unicameral_
4. How are the other words related?
Trustee, delegate, and agency all deal with the
models of representation and how elected officials
do their job.
Unicameral is a form of legislature with only one
chamber.

B. Part-Time or Full Time? In some states, such as New Hampshire and Montana, being a state
legislator is a part-time job. In other states, like California and New York, legislators work full time. Why
do you think this is? Think of two possible reasons for this difference.

Answers may vary: larger states may have heavier work loads, longer
sessions, more people to serve, larger state budget
Smaller states may have shorter sessions, less people to serve within their
district, less budget to pay the legislators and their staff

C. My State Legislature. Answer the following questions about the legislative body in your state.

Full Time Part Time Bicameral Unicameral Length of Session: ______________

Name of Chamber: ________________________ Name of Chamber: ________________________

Number of Districts: _______________________ Number of Districts: _______________________

My District: ______________________________ My District: ______________________________

My Representative: ________________________ My Representative: ________________________

Majority Party: ____________________________ Majority Party: ___________________________

2016 iCivics, Inc. Lesson Activities- Side A

State Legislatures **TEACHER GUIDE**

D. Gerrymander This! Can you redraw the district boundaries to support each party? Follow the steps
below. Each box/unit is a precinct.

1. How many precincts are there? __50 precincts____

2. How many support DOTS? ___20 precincts, 40%_
3. How many support GRAY? ___30 precincts, 60%_
4. So, who would win in an election? __GRAY____

DRAW lines to create five districts that have equal amount of

precincts. Keep it simple.
1. How many DISTRICTS support DOTS? __0 Districts___
2. How many DISTRICTS support GRAY? ___5 Districts___
3. Who wins in this election? __GRAY__
4. What is a benefit of this simple approach?
Answers will vary: simple, reflects overall voting outcomes without districts, etc.
_________________________________________________________________________________
5. What is a challenge of this approach?
Answers will vary: Favors the majority, precinct support may change over time
_________________________________________________________________________________

DRAW lines to create five districts that have equal amount of Please see Projection Master
precincts. Less simple this time, because you want DOTS to win! for suggested lines, other
The only rule is that precincts have to be contiguous, or next to options may be acceptable.
each other.
1. How many DISTRICTS support DOTS? __3 Districts__
2. How many DISTRICTS support GRAY? __2 Districts__
3. Who wins this election? __DOTS__
4. What is a benefit of this approach?
Answers will vary: can determine a winner with minority support
_________________________________________________________________________________
5. What is a challenge of this approach?
Answers will vary: does not reflect the general will of the precincts, wacky borders
_________________________________________________________________________________

2016 iCivics, Inc. Lesson Activities- Side B

State Legislatures

Projection Master