Divided government and budget conflict in the US states

Much of the recent literature on the topic of divided government has concentrated on explanations for its occurrence at the national and state levels. In this article I use agency data from twenty states to assess the effects of divided government on budgetary conflict between governors and legislatures. After controlling for state party system characteristics and gubernatorial power, I found that divided government indeed contributes to conflict, but only when the legislative chambers are united against the governor. If split partisan control of the legislature exists, the governor's position with respect to agency spending levels is supported.