Cheap Talk and Party Organizations in State Legislatures

This paper addresses the issue of “cheap talk” in the legislative process. Specifically, it asks the question, “under what conditions do legislators introduce a large volume of bills, most of which are not likely to become law?” We introduce a new variable, party organizations, into Gamm and Kousser’s (2010) investigation of bill introductions in state legislatures. We find tentative support that party organizations decrease the number of bills introduced per member by altering members’ incentives for engaging in cheap talk.