(R-Caswell)
As legislators begin to gear up for the second session, I would like to share some observations about the daily operation of State House business and the key role that committees play in the legislative process. Like all first-term legislators, I learned quickly that the nitty-gritty work of the Legislature takes place in the committee rooms, which are located in either the State House itself or in a state office building next door. The current committee system results in both positive and negative factors that influence our daily work. Incidentally, I find many more positive factors than negative.
When a two-year legislative session begins, all senators and representatives are allowed to submit any bill they wish and as many bills as they wish, as long as all bills are submitted by the deadline date of December 15th. Keep in mind that the formal opening of the Legislature comes in early January. This leaves a newly elected representative or senator with a very slim possibility of presenting any bill, because the closure date is three weeks before they even arrive in Augusta.
This obviously places “freshman” legislators at a general disadvantage. However, returning representatives and senators more than make up for any shortage of new bills. In fact, they manage to submit an inordinate number of them.
When the 123rd Legislature convened last winter, approximately 2,400 bills had been submitted. This, I find, is far too many. There should be a limit to the number of bills that can be submitted by each legislator. Perhaps a maximum of 10 bills per member would be reasonable. That would still leave open the possibility of up to 1,860 new bills. A limit would frustrate the most prolific legislators – those who submit dozens and dozens of bills. But a limit would also force legislators to offer up only their best bills and forget about those that have no chance.
Some legislators seem to be in constant search of the ultimate bill, the cure-all or “magic bill” that will solve all problems for Maine and humanity. I refer to someone like this as a wandering legislator, the Diogenes of the legislative world. Sometimes, unfortunately, the end result of that “perfect bill” is to curb your rights as a citizen, limiting your privileges and making it more difficult to do business in Maine. It is not uncommon to hear a legislator jokingly say, “Whose rights have you taken away today?”
But let me get back to my main point. The 2,400 or so bills that were submitted are then directed to one of the 17 various committees, depending on the subject matter. Based on this procedure, it is not unusual for legislators to know next to nothing about a particular bill until it is presented on the floor of the House. Unless you are on the committee that worked on the bill, you won’t know much about it.
For example, I serve on the Natural Resources Committee. That means I will be familiar with all bills regarding such subjects as water quality, shoreland zoning and waste-to-energy facilities. I will have spent hours listening to public testimony about bills, and hours more in work sessions on the bills. But I won’t have insight into bills from the 16 other committee – Labor, Judiciary, Transportation, Criminal Justice and so forth – save for the briefings in caucus presented by our committee “leads.”
Therefore, when it comes time to vote, we rely heavily on the committee which has reviewed the bill, and hope they have made the right decision in sending it to the floor as an “ought to pass” or “ought not to pass.” Since each committee has 13 members – three senators and 10 representatives – there are sometimes split votes, such as 7-6 or 8-5. These are called “divided reports” and tend to be bills where legislators separate along party or ideological lines. To expedite the legislative process, some bills, mercifully, are “killed” in committee. They simply disappear into the “dead” file.
The second session of the Legislature, lasting only four months, is much more limited regarding bills. It will handle bills that have been carried over from the first session, and it will accept bills presented by the governor. But beyond that, in theory, the only bills that qualify to be heard are those of an emergency nature – that will have a serious or immediate impact upon citizens or programs. These are bills usually dealing with budget problems or health. No frivolous or vanity bills will be entertained.
The obvious financial problem this time will be the projected $95-million shortfall in tax revenues needed to balance the budget, along with a $16-million shortfall in the Highway Fund. But most of the second session action will swirl around the 289 bills carried over from last year, plus another 194 new bills that passed muster as being of an emergency nature.
While this whole process might seem slow and cumbersome, it still works relatively well and manages to do the people’s business in the time allotted.
State Rep. Bernard Ayotte (R-Caswell), a first-term legislator, is a retired school teacher and principal.
