The Legislature is in session . . . the silly season is here . . . put your pocketbook in the safe, lock the doors and keep the children inside.
That seems to be the prevailing attitude in Utah toward our much-abused and much-accused Legislature. Opinion polls show that citizens don't exactly hold that hardy band of 104 citizen lawmakers in high esteem. Folks think legislative life consists of free golf games at exotic resorts, free lunches and free Jazz tickets. To watch and read the media reports, you would think that any given day in the Legislature is like the bar scene in "Star Wars." And some-times it does seem that way.We in the executive branch of government never relish the arrival of the Legislature. It's tough to watch this bunch of part-time lawmakers come in and mess around with our dearly held programs and the funding for them. It's like your mother-in-law moving in for 45 days and rearranging your house and your life.
But James Madison and the Founders at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 didn't devise our government to be simple and convenient. Democracy is hell. Democracy is a messy business. A dictatorship would be much more efficient and far less chaotic.
But since no one is proposing changing the Constitution to eliminate the separation of powers in three branches of government, perhaps we ought to better understand our much-maligned legislative branch.
First, and most important, citizens ought to know that you don't judge a Legislature by any single event that occurs there, by any single vote, by any single committee action or by any single day. You judge a Legislature by the final outcome (there's that dirty little word that right-wing wackos love to hate).
You judge a Legislature by the final results. The legislative process is long and tedious, full of twists and turns. Weird bills are introduced. Strange speeches are given. Wacky proposals are made. Irresponsible votes occur. But, usually, by the time it's all over, the weird bills are dead. The strange speeches are forgotten, the irresponsible votes are overturned, the wacky proposals don't pass. By the time legislation and budget proposals make it through a bunch of committees, House and Senate floor action, and are signed or vetoed by the governor, the bad stuff (usually) is weeded out and the good stuff (usually) becomes law.
Second, chaos is normal in the Legislature. Anyone who has had to work with a large committee to make an important decision or get something major accomplished has an inkling of how tough this is. Try managing a committee of 104 feisty and high-strung people, each independently elected, each with an equal vote, each feeling that he or she has a mandate from voters, and each with a fairly healthy ego (or they wouldn't be in politics). Add to that the fact that they are grappling with a complex budget, and the most difficult and divisive problems in society, problems that defy easy solutions. Then throw into the mix the pressure from constituents, special interest groups, lobbyists, loud and angry demonstrators like bikers and deer hunters and so forth, and you truly have a recipe for chaos.
Third, the ethics issue needs to be placed into perspective. Yes, the Legislature needs proper disclosure and ethics laws. But while ethics, lobbyist influence and conflicts of interest dominate the media coverage of the Legislature year after year, it has been many years since any real scandal has occurred, since any legislator was accused of real wrongdoing. And I don't recall any case, ever, of a legislator being convicted of a crime related to the job. This area has received more than its share of media attention, while more substantive and important matters are badly underreported.
Fourth, citizens should keep in mind that legislators are generally good people who reflect pretty well the values, concerns and positions of the state's citizens. After all, you and I elected them. They are far more in touch with average citizens and their wishes than are their congressional counterparts in Washington.
The reason is that legislators spend 10 1/2 months of the year in the private sector, right here in Utah, earning livings, supporting their families. The government programs that they pass, they have to live with. Their children go to the same public schools as yours and mine. They pay the same taxes. They are business people, farmers, teachers, lawyers, homemakers and so forth. They are also accessible and approachable. They'll return your calls. They'll listen to your concerns.
The bottom line is that we have a pretty darn good Legislature that works hard and sacrifices a great deal. Legislators are certainly not serving for the money. And the fame and recognition don't amount to much. These are generally good men and women with maturity, sound judgment and broad experience.
In legislative coverage, the media focus on the bizarre and the sensational. But when all is said and done, what the Legislature hath wrought is usually good for Utah.