Dan Lawlor: The State House Two-Step
Monday, March 25, 2013
The problem at the General Assembly is a leadership-based political process, which leaves final say with two elected officials out of 113: Gordon Fox and Teresa Paiva Weed. Neither official created the insider-ballgame, but these two intelligent people have chosen to continue it with some modifications, rather than offer any deep reforms. If the state was humming along that would be somewhat justifiable, but our leadership-based, part-time, two chamber legislature has presided for the last ten years over a declining quality of life.
I can almost hear Gordon Fox now, 'You don't know what it's like!'
In a background of crisis, I believe the Speaker and Senate President want to be good leaders, and transformative ones. Yet, the people of the state need help and hope- now.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTWhat's the big picture? Crowded RIPTA buses, declining school services, high unemployment, rising homelessness, the biggest strip club economy in New England, and a growing gap between the haves and have nots.
What's the inside baseball? A state ruled by an insider clique that rewards friends and punishes former allies. Step out of line and get kicked off your committee. Try to pass ethics legislation without prior consent from the Speaker? Null and void.
Some days Leadership believes in Transparency - and promotes online streaming of committee hearings and disclosure of campaign donors on political advertisements. Some days Leadership believes in getting along, and promotes insiders to state or court jobs while many people are looking for work.
We need creative problem-solving, not the State House two-step. Promoting former allies as magistrates while people are struggling for work is not glamorous. It's aloof.
Yet, anecdotes aside, perhaps it's not simply the players, but the game itself that needs a reboot.
Ways Forward
1. Reform the Revolving Door - In the last ten years, numerous former legislators have gone on to lucrative careers as lobbyists for various industries. Most famously, former Speaker William Murphy is lobbying to prevent regulation of pay-day lenders, essentially loan sharks. Former legislators should not be using their knowledge of government to make money selling the secrets of state.
2. Unicameral Legislature? Sam Howard wrote an interesting piece at RI Future discussing this idea. Out of the 50 states, Nebraska alone has a one chamber legislature. Nebraska's unicameral legislature is a byproduct of the Depression. Good government critics viewed the two chamber state legislature as prone to corruption. The argument went that deal-making could be hidden, and it was harder to find out who was responsible for bills and laws because so much was done in secret horse-trading between elected officials across chambers. It helped the measure that turn-out was high because of a referendum to legalize horse betting.
3. A Giant, Part-Time Legislature? New Hampshire's economy seems to be working pretty well, with notable exceptions, and New Hampshire also has a gigantic House of Representatives. New Hampshire's small district elections are much more competitive than are own, and, in the last few cycles, have swung left and right along a libertarian center. The New Hampshire model is part-time, and, for good and ill, attracts many retirees and people with time to volunteer. The large size keeps the government closer to the people themselves, but can overlook the needs of smaller, struggling communities.
4. Full Time Legislature? Massachusetts also has a fairly humming economy, with notable exception, and has professional, full-time legislature. A professional full-time legislature might help to end some of the perpetual conflict of interests as RI legislators need to take on additional work to maintain a living. While Massachusetts has its own depressing history of legislative misconduct, in the last ten years, the state's economy has been humming and heavy duty investments have been made in the Commonwealth's schools and infrastructure.
Ultimately, the legislative process we use shapes how people in the legislature operate, which impacts the policies that are produced. As we continue with jobless rates higher than all our New England neighbors, perhaps Rhode Islanders should reconsider our part-time, two chamber, leadership centralized system. You can judge a tree by its fruits. Our fruits are bitter.
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