The purpose of this article is to discuss the view of literature on the importance and the role of Standing Committees in legislatures in Brazil and to contrast it with the perceptions of state representatives from twelve state assemblies. We attempted to identify points of convergence and divergence between that the literature says and, on the other hand, the perceptions of the representatives in order to contribute to further the understanding about the operation and the importance of Standing Committees in the State Assemblies as well as the obstacles to their participation in the legislative process. Furthermore, the article aims to identify and discuss the aspects and dimensions highlighted by the legislators and not considered in the literature.
Legislative Branch; State Assemblies; Representation; Standing Committees
