You've counted all the sheep you care to count. You've tried warm milk and pacing the hallway. You've read three issues of the Wall Street Journal. And still you can't fall asleep.
Incurable, you say? The Legislature may yet have a guaranteed-or-your-money-back cure for insomnia.But Rep. Frank Pignanelli says televising gavel-to-gavel coverage of the state House and Senate is an idea whose time has come.
"What's he trying to do? Put the entire state to sleep?" jested one fellow Democrat.
Of course, Pignanelli isn't looking at it as a cure for insomniacs. He wants to create a better-educated public more willing to participate in the legislative process.
"Most people work during the day and can't come up to see what's going on with a bill they are interested in," said Pignanelli, D-Salt Lake.
"This would give the trucker the chance to watch the debate on an increased-load bill, or a businessman to see what is happening to a bill to regulate his business, or whatever. Maybe they could even call their lawmaker directly and have input on the bill being debated."
The House Monday was scheduled to debate Pignanelli's bill calling for legislative interim committee to study the feasibility of televising legislative sessions. That would be the first step towards a Utah television channel patterned after the cable television C-SPAN, which televises debates of the U.S. Congress.
The British House of Commons has also recently begun televising floor debates.
"It's a futuristic idea, no question," Pignanelli said. "And probably not a lot of people would watch it. But what an opportunity to inform the public on the legislative process. Maybe they would gain an appreciation for the technical issues we face up here."
But that could cut both ways, lawmakers agree. Not only do lawmakers debate highly technical matters, but they have been known to waste time on frivolous measures. Some have been known to use floor time to read magazines, eat and even sleep.
"I guess the public would see the whole picture, wouldn't they?" Pignanelli said. "And that may be why the bill doesn't go anywhere. Some people may not want that kind of accountability."
A television channel in Utah devoted to legislative coverage would likely appeal only to political junkies, special interest groups and high school civics classes mandated to watch it by their teachers.
"Certainly there is an audience for that," said Deseret News television critic Joseph Walker, "but it is very very small in Utah. It is narrow-casting to the extreme."