Bicameral Lawmaking: Analyzing the Choices of Revising Chambers

• In Event: The Legislative Process in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

This paper examines the choices taken by revising chambers in bicameral congresses. It analyzes how bill characteristics, chamber congruence, impatience, and institutional context influence the collective decisions members of revising chambers make regarding bill proposals sent by the chamber of origin. It focuses on the case of Chile, a presidential country where bicameral disagreements can lead to the formation of conference committees or the slow death of bills, and where presidents have the formal power to force bills onto the floor of the chamber for a plenary vote.

Authors

• Eduardo Aleman, University of Houston

• Patricio D. Navia, Universidad Diego Portales