LibGuides: POLS 3310: State and Local Government: Step 1: Your Legislator

How a Bill Becomes A Law in Ohio (Ohio Legislative Service Commission)

Email Me

Contact:

152 Jerome Library

419-372-7897

Find Your Legislators by Zip Code
Find your legislator by zip code. You only need the first 5 digits. After identifying your legislators, click on the link to access their profile page. Their professional pages should provide the necessary background about the legislator.

Find Your Legislators (Open States)
Find your representative by zip code. Provides committee information as well as sponsored bills and recent votes.
State Legislative Website Directory
Helps you find the website for your state's legislative body.

PolicyMap
PolicyMap is an online US national data and mapping tool and analytics platform for demographic and socioeconomic analysis. PolicyMap data can be presented as maps, tables, charts and pre-built reports that can be incorporated into papers, presentations, blogs and websites.

Coverage: 2000 to current

How to Create a State District Report in PolicyMap

In PolicyMap, select Reports from the top menu or click on this link
Stay on pre-defined location. Use the drop down location menu and select State District (NOT congressional district)
Choose your state. Select upper or lower house district as appropriate. Select the legislator of interest.
Click on the search Icon. This will lead you to a map with your selected district outlined. Confirm that the district appears accurate and then select the Generate Report option located above the map.
Your report should load. If you have any problems contact me at vlux@bgsu.edu

US Census: American FactFinder
Use American FactFinder to locate Census information by a specific geography.
American FactFinder: State Legislative Districts
Before you begin make sure you have identified your district number(s).
1. Select Geographies filter on left.
2. Select All Geographies button
3. Use the Geographic Type drop down to locate State Legislative District Upper Chamber (610) or State Leglislative District Lower Chamber (620).
4. Select your state
5. Select a version: 2010
6. Select your district
7. Add to your selections
8. Woohoo! You've now limited your results to your district
9. Use the Topic filter to identify interesting data.
10. Click on a table and view your results.

Ohio District Profiles
Produced by the Ohio Manufacturers Association in collaboration with Hannah News Service, these profiles include economic and demographic information for each house and senate district.

A Guidebook For Ohio Legislators
Written for lawmakers, there are several section of the guidebook that provide insight on the structure and background of the Ohio General Assembly.
Ohio Constitution

The Ohio Politics Almanac by Michael F. Curtin
Call Number: REF JK5531 .C87 2006
ISBN: 9780873388894
Publication Date: 2006-08-01
Political Encyclopedia of U. S. States and Regions by Donald P. Haider-Markel (Editor); Michael A. Card (Editor); Ronald Keith Gaddie (Editor)
Call Number: REF JK2408 .P623 2009
ISBN: 9780872893771
Publication Date: 2008-11-03

LegisScan
Trending legislation as measured by public interest and activity. Defaulted to Ohio but other states can be selected on the top left.
Scout
Scout is a free service that provides daily insight to how our laws and regulations are shaped in Washington, DC and our state capitols. Use the filters on the left to limit to pending legislation in your home state.
Open States
Open States is a collection of tools that make it possible for citizens to track what is happening in their state's capitol. Using the site is simple: enter a U.S. address or select a state to start to research bills, review voting records, contact elected officials and more.

Ohio Legislature: Legislation
Access legislation. Use the "status" column to find pending legislation-Introduced; Referred to Committee, etc.
DO NOT use legislation that your legislator has already voted on or that has been enrolled.
Ohio Legislative Glossary
Don't know what a bill status or other language means? Look it up here.
Watch the Ohio Senate
Watch live sessions.
Wach the Ohio House
Watch live sessions.

JSTOR
Use JSTOR to locate scholarly journal articles. Limit to journals relevant to this course by placing checkmarks next to both Political Science and Public Policy disciplines.

EBSCO
Use EBSCO to locate scholarly journal articles. Use the limiters on the left hand side of the page to only search academic journals. Consider using the date limiter if appropriate.