Is it Time to Shorten the Legislative Session?
Friday, December 07, 2012
As if the act of running for office and fighting against the Master Lever is not disincentive enough to cause your average Rhode Islander to run screaming from considering public service in the Rhode Island legislature, the duration of Rhode Island's legislative session acts as a serious hindrance that prohibits most working individuals from taking the plunge.
Rhode Island does not have a formal limitation to its legislative session, joining 10 other states in the same situation. In practice, Rhode Island's session typically runs from early January to late June, clocking in at between 5 and 6 calendar months.
When in session, the General Assembly meets three days a week (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday), usually beginning the session day at 4:00pm. Legislators serve on committees that typically meet directly after the daily legislative floor sessions, with committee hearings running from 4:30 or 5:00pm until sometimes quite late in the evening. This schedule is not at all friendly to most standard 8 hour a day workers with a family at home.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe time commitment required to serve in the Rhode Island legislature self-selects the type of people who are willing and able to free up and spend the required time to serve. Many professions are under-represented or completely missing from our General Assembly.
It does not need to be this way.
The vast majority of states with part time legislatures meet for far less time than the Rhode Island legislature. According to data I pulled from the National Conference of State Legislatures , 30 state legislatures meet for a shorter session than Rhode Island, many of them for far less time than the Rhode Island legislature.
11 states complete their sessions within 3 calendar months, and another 5 only meet biennially.
Attorneys are ubiquitous in our General Assembly - partially because their schedules permit them to fit legislative public service into their lives. 5 out of the last 6 House Speakers are/were attorneys, as are the last two Senate Presidents. I didn't have the time or the heart to figure out how many currently seated legislators are attorneys - suffice it to say there are a good number of them!
The business of the RI General Assembly can and should be carried out in 3 calendar months. This would make public service in the General Assembly more accessible to a great many more Rhode Islanders - and would bring a far wider diversity of life experiences into the General Assembly as well.
Ken Block is the chairman of the Moderate Party and a former candidate for Governor.
