Evaluate the role of committees in state legislatures

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

An ideal response would be:
Every state has a series of standing, or permanent, committees as well as some temporary or ad hoc committees. In several states, such as Maine and Massachusetts, joint committees can speed up legislative action. However, state legislative committees usually do not have the same power over bills as their national counterparts: Some lack adequate professional staffs, the seniority system is not as closely followed as in Congress, and turnover is usually higher, especially where legislators are limited by state law in the number of terms they can serve. Still, legislators themselves report that committees play an important part in legislative decision making in nearly every state legislative chamber.
Every legislature has committees on education, transportation, agriculture, and energy or natural resources. Most also have important committees on rules, appropriations, and taxes (sometimes called the Ways and Means Committee). The number of standing committees varies widely across states. The lower houses in states including Maine, Maryland, and Massachusetts have 10 or fewer standing committees, whereas the lower houses in Missouri, Mississippi, and Illinois have 40 or more standing committees. Legislators generally specialize and become experts on one or two substantive matters, such as education, crime, taxation, or the budget process