Background This paper investigates whether state legislators find testimony influential, to what extent testimony influences policy-makers’ decisions, and defines the features of testimony important in affecting policy-makers’ decisions.   Methods We used a mixed method approach to analyze responses from 862 state-level legislators in the United States (U.S.). Data were collected via a phone su...

OBJECTIVES To examine the congruence in perceptions and attitudes of legislators and the public regarding tobacco and tobacco control policies. METHODS Two cross-sectional surveys were used, one of elected federal and provincial legislators and one of adult residents in Ontario, Canada. Perceptions and attitudes were analyzed as dependent variables using multiple logistic regression, and adju...

OBJECTIVE To test a novel approach for building consensus about tobacco control policies among legislators. DESIGN A pilot study was conducted using a two-round, face-to-face policy Delphi method. PARTICIPANTS Randomly selected sample of 30 former Kentucky legislators (60% participation rate). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Consensus on tobacco control and tobacco farming policies. RESULTS Former...

Legislators play a critical role in reducing death and disability due to heart disease and stroke. North Carolina's Justus-Warren Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Task Force presents a forum for legislators to receive and exchange information that will help them make well-informed decisions that affect the cardiovascular health of North Carolinians.

This paper proposes a dual-utility theory of parties in a legislature. In this theory a legislator has preferences over both actions and policy outcomes. Specifically, a legislator’s utility is determined by position taking—his own votes—and by partisan utility which depends on policy implemented by the legislature. Party leaders design mechanisms that make legislators better off by co-ordinati...