What You Do
State legislators write, debate and vote on laws that impact their whole state. Legislatures vary from state to state, with differences in the number of legislative members, time spent in session, legislative procedures, and political makeup. Legislators represent a specific geographic area and are responsible for advocating for the voices of their constituents at the state level. In some states, representatives are referred to as delegates or assembly members. Every state refers to members of the upper chamber as senators.
Legislators are elected by constituencies drawn into district maps based on population. These maps are redrawn every ten years after the US Census, to accurately reflect changes in population and demographics. Legislators stand for election every 2, 4, or 6 years depending on the state.
The differences between the size of state legislatures varies widely. Like US senators, state senators represent larger districts and constituencies than state house members. California’s state senators represent the most residents, 989,419 per senator, while North Dakota’s represent the fewest, 16,589 per senator. California’s assembly or representative members, also represent the most residents 494,709, while New Hampshire representatives represent the smallest number of constituents at 3,448. The size of each body also varies by state: Minnesota has the largest state senate with 67 members, and New Hampshire has the largest house membership with 400 members. You can see the numbers for your state here.
“We need your voice. We need more normal people in office.”
Rui Xu
State Representative, Kansas House
Responsibilities
Legislators approve the state budget which includes funding for public education, state-level health care, and services like public transportation, parks, libraries and more. Legislators have the ability to pass state-level laws on everything from climate policy to LGBTQIA+ rights, reproductive rights, public safety and more. Some of their other key duties include:
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Reviewing, adapting, and adopting the state budget
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Voting to raise and lower taxes
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Creating, maintaining and altering state agencies to meet the needs of constituents
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Providing oversight to agencies and policies
Helpful Skills
Perhaps the most important quality or competency for a legislator is the ability to negotiate and compromise. Legislators need to have a solid foundation of written and verbal communication skills, both for communicating with constituents as well as colleagues and government officials. Roots in the community and a record of achievement are really important for a candidate and a public servant.
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Salary and HoursDepending on the jurisdiction city/town councils meet every other week, or one time per month. You can view a sample council meeting agenda here. Often, members will serve in sub committees in addition to the council at large. In many cities and towns council members are reimbursed for travel, or they receive a salary for their service. Salaries on the low end are approximately $10,000 and the high end at $320,000. Some jurisdictions offer benefits like health care insurance and pensions. The staff supporting city/ town councils usually includes an attorney and at least one clerk and secretary. The president of the city council in larger jurisdictions may have their own Chief of Staff. Like their legislative counterparts, city/town councilors work hard, often spending their time away from the council chamber in the community meeting with or serving constituents.
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Sample CampaignA campaign for city council in Nebraska will look vastly different than a campaign in New York. The cost of campaigns is directly proportional to the size of the voting population: more people equals more money, smaller population equals more canvassing and person to person communication. Targeted communication, an essential component of a winning campaign, requires money for postage and other forms of paid media. Candidates don’t need millions – increasingly cities and towns are building public funding mechanisms for local campaigns – but every candidate will need the resources to communicate with the voters that can get them elected. Starting as early as 18 months out from an election will be super helpful in affording the time a candidate needs to build a winning campaign structure. Most local races are run and won with part time campaigns, and volunteer staff.
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Requirements to RunTypical requirements include: Be 18 years of age at the start of the term. Be a resident of the district that the individual is running to represent. Be a US citizen. Be free of felony convictions. Mentally capable to serve (not to have been determined mentally incapacitated by a court of law). Legal requirements to seek and serve on a city/town council vary by jurisdiction. Most places require that the candidate live in the district they seek to serve, either before the election or shortly after. Candidates must almost universally be registered to vote in the district. There are no particular education requirements.