The exact quote from Evans' introduction is this:

The Reichstag’s powers were strictly limited. Ministers were neither elected nor responsible to it. It could not initiate legislation. Governments were appointed by the Kaiser, who also had sole control over the declaration of peace and war. All that the Reichstag could do was to hold up the budget or the military estimates.

I don't have access to Anderson's book at the moment so it might help if you could quote the section you're referring to so I can see what she says.

The question here is who had the power to introduce legislation in the German system. You probably know most of this but I'll include it in case anyone less informed comes along. The Second Reich was a bicameral system (with two houses). The upper house was called the Bundesrat, or Federal Council, and was composed of representatives from each of the states of Germany. As the largest state by far, Prussia had a significant share of the members, and so was often able to control debate to her advantage. The Bundesrat was not elected. The Reichstag, or Imperial Diet/Council was directly elected by all male Germans over the age of 25. Members were elected by a majority system, and if a candidate failed to gain 50%< of the vote a run-off election would be held. Actually responsible for governing the country were the Chancellor and Imperial Ministers, who were by law not allowed to be members of the Reichstag, and were appointed directly by the Kaiser. In 1871 there were 382 members of the Reichstag, this later rose to 397.

The powers of the Reichstag were outlined in Articles 20-32 of the Constitution, signed in 1871. Full text of the Constitution here. Most of the articles concern provisions for elections, and various legal immunities for Reichstag deputies. However, article 23 states that:

Der Reichstag hat das Recht, innerhalb der Kompetenz des Reichs Gesetze vorzuschlagen und an ihn gerichtete Petitionen dem Bundesrathe resp. Reichskanzler zu überweisen.

The online archive which I linked above translates this as

The Reichstag has the right to propose laws within the competency of the Reich, and to forward petitions which have been addressed to it either to the Federal Council or to the Reichskanzler.

Wikipedia (sorry) translates it as follows:

The Imperial Diet shall have the right to propose laws within the jurisdiction of the Empire, and to refer petitions, addressed to it, to the Federal Council or the Chancellor of the Empire.

My translation would be:

The Reichstag has the right to propose laws within the responsibility of the Reich and [endorse/forward] petitions addressed to it to the Bundesrat or the Kanzler.

In plain english, the constitution clearly states that the Reichstag has the ability to propose laws which are within the ability of the German Empire to enforce, and to forward petitions it has recieved to the Bundesrat or Chancellor.

However, and this is where the confusion lies, Article 7 of the Constitution, concerning the powers of the Bundesrat, states that:

Der Bundesrath beschließt:

1. über die dem Reichstage zu machenden Vorlagen und die von demselben gefaßten Beschlüsse;

The archive translates it as:

The Federal Council determines:

1. what Bills are to be brought before the Reichstag and on the resolutions passed by the same;

Wikipedia has this:

The Federal Council shall take action upon:-

The measure to [be] proposed to the Diet, and the resolutions passed by the same.

Because this sentence is structed in an odd way, I have a difficult time rendering this sentence into coherent English to we'll skip my translation. However I'd say the archive translation is broadly more accurate.

The confusion seems to arise from the idea that the Bundesrat can decide which Bills are to be put to the Reichstag, implying that the Bundesrat decides what bills the Reichstag votes on. However, the Bundesrat also decides on votes which have been referred to it by the Reichstag, which implies that this is a two way street. According to Article 5 of the Constitution:

Die Übereinstimmung der Mehrheitsbeschlüsse beider Versammlungen ist zu einem Reichsgesetze erforderlich und ausreichend.

Which is translated by the archive as:

The accordance of the majority of votes in both Assemblies is necessary and sufficient for a law of the Reich.

by Wikipedia as:

A majority of the votes of both bodies shall be necessary and sufficient for the passage of a law.

and by me as:

The consensus of a majority vote of both assemblies is required and sufficient for a Reich law.

So in summary, according to the Constitution, both the Bundesrat and the Reichstag are legally capable of proposing legislation, and a majority vote in both is required for it to become law.

I'm not sure where the idea comes from that the Reichstag could not initiate legislation, but Evans' isn't the first work that I've seen it in. However, the constitution clearly states that the Reichstag has the ability to propose laws (vorschlagen).