An exploration of the decision-making processes of state legislators on public school finance issues focuses on major school finance changes that occurred in Michigan in 1973 and in Washington and Missouri in 1977. Roll call votes, primarily in the lower chambers of the state legislatures, on both selected amendments and the complete versions of the bills are examined. The influence and characteristics of those legislators who were instrumental in pushing the three major pieces of legislation through the legislative process in each of the three states are also examined. The final comparison, to check if legislators respond in a consistent manner to economic and political forces in their districts across different issues, is of state certificate-of-need legislation of the health care industry in Washington in 1971 and in Missouri in 1977. Chapters 1 and 2 examine the relevant legislative voting behavior literature and set out the expectations for each of the major theories governing the field. Chapter 3 describes the methodology; chapters 4, 5, and 6 describe the results of the analysis of school finance votes in the three states. Chapter 7 presents the results of the policy leadership analysis. Chapter 8 describes the results of the comparative analyses that were undertaken. And finally, chapter 9 presents a synthesis of the results and the conclusions that can be drawn. (MLF)