The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) held its 6th Annual Conference on Effective Lawmaking on Grounds his past weekend, on the heels of the national State Politics and Policy Conference which Batten also hosted. Drawing nearly 40 researchers from universities across the country and one from overseas, the CEL conference presented a variety of research papers which were reviewed and discussed.

A highlight for the researchers was a special opportunity for casual conversation with former Parliamentarian of the United States House of Representatives Thomas Wickham who offered an inside view of his years of service to Congress and various behind-the-scenes recollections. 

The conference included presentations from numerous CEL Faculty Affiliates and grantees:

• Mackenzie Dobson (University of Virginia): “Campaigning on Compromise”
• Jaclyn Kaslovsky (Rice University), “Gendered Perceptions of Legislative Influence”
• Michael Kistner (University of Houston): “Communicating Legislative Effectiveness”
• Erinn Lauterbach (Villanova University), “Effective Lawmaking Behind the Scenes”
• Markie McBrayer (University of Idaho), “The Effects of Co-sponsorship Networks on Legislative Success among Women in Congress”
• Rachel Porter (University of Notre Dame): “Congressional Campaign Strategy and Bipartisan Tendencies”
• Jason Roberts (University of North Carolina), “Personal Relationships and Legislative Effectiveness in the U.S. Congress”
• Darrian Stacy (United States Naval Academy), “Wealth and Policymaking in the U.S. House of Representatives”

  

  Additionally, Ju Yeon (Julia) Park, assistant professor at Ohio State University and a CEL Faculty Affiliate, was on hand to accept the 2024 Award for Best Publication on Effective Lawmaking on behalf of her two co-authors, Pamela Ban and Hye Young You, for their American Political Science Review article, "How are Politicians Informed? Witnesses and Information Provision in Congress."

  CEL Associate Director Colin Achilles noted: “Our conference provides an excellent opportunity for our affiliates to gather and discuss the research they have been conducting and to build upon the generation of knowledge related to effective lawmaking. We thank all the presenters and participants for their contributions to the field, and we look forward seeing how their work develops going forward.”