For most bills in American legislatures, the issue of turf--or which committee has jurisdiction over a bill--can make all the difference. Turf governs the flow and fate of all legislation. In this innovative study, David C. King explains how jurisdictional areas for committees are created and changed in Congress.

Political scientists have long maintained that jurisdictions are relatively static, changing only at times of dramatic reforms. Not so, says King. Combining quantitative evidence with interviews and case studies, he shows how on-going turf wars make jurisdictions fluid.

According to King, jurisdictional change stems both from legislators seeking electoral advantage and from nonpartisan House parliamentarians referring ambiguous bills to committees with the expertise to handle the issues. King brilliantly dissects the politics of turf grabbing and at the same time shows how parliamentarians have become institutional guardians of the legislative process.

Original and insightful, Turf Wars will be valuable to those interested in congressional studies and American politics more generally.

Figures
Tables
Acknowledgments
Introduction

1: Turf Wars on Capitol Hill
2: The Nature of Committee Jurisdictions
3: What Happens When Jurisdictions Are Reformed?
4: Parliamentarians as Institutional Guardians
5: Essential Strategies for Staking Claims
6: Flying Trains and Turf Wars
7: Governing Through Fragmented Committees

Notes
Bibliography
Index