Part-Time Legislature, Full-Time Headache

My close personal friend* Tim Skubick wrote a column a couple weeks ago in the Lansing State Journal that you can read by clicking here. In it, he addresses the issue of a part-time legislature, one of the most common solutions that is offered as way to plug budget holes. On surface, the idea makes sense: why not save some cash by making elected service a part-time, rather than year-round pursuit? Certainly, there is money to be saved. The efficacy of such a solution, as far as an impact on the budget, cannot be overstated.

And certainly we have seen a groundswell of public support for such an idea. A story we covered on the morning show last week shows that a poll of 600 likely Michigan voters resulted in 51 percent of those asked favoring the idea, 33 percent opposing the change, and 16 percent undecided (Thanks to the Michigan Radio Network). While I have never personally looked at polls as the end-all and be-all of political attitudes, there is no doubting their usefulness for coloring in some of the blank spaces in Michigan’s political picture. So we have a solution that logistically saves money and people like. So far, so good, right?

The sociopolitical concerns, however, cannot be overlooked. As soon as we solve the issue of whether or not money can be saved by asking our elected officials to only do their jobs on a part-time basis, we open the door for a great deal of discussion on term limits and issues associated with them.

State government, much like the federal government, is predicated on a balance of power between the branches. By instituting a part-time legislature, we effectively weaken the legislative branch and thereby strengthen the other two. Unless we want to make the executive and judicial branches part-time as well, there’s no way such a solution could be considered constitutionally viable.

One could argue, anyhow, that we have already effectively weakened the legislative branch via term limits. Now, incoming legislators who do not have a background in Lansing are expected to learn the dance in the political equivalent of a few hours and are then expected to lead it for the remainder of their terms. This idea is the catalyst for the phenomenon that political scientists call the “permanent campaign”, in which prospective legislators spend the first weeks, months, or years of their campaign learning the ropes of how to draft legislation, who to talk to, etc. and are then forced to run again in order to actually do anything. This in turn creates legislatures that have difficulty getting anything done with any great speed or efficiency, because a majority of legislators are in the process of either learning how to do their jobs or running for re-election.

So if that’s our current system, imagine how making the legislature part-time would exacerbate it. It’s difficult enough for our legislators to get work done as it is: imagine the difficulty in balancing the budget for next year’s presumed shortfall with a legislature that wouldn’t meet full-time! Naturally, of course, such a move would not take place immediately – it would have to pass both houses and then get put on the ballot, and that seems rather unlikely – but we’ve gotten into a problem here in Michigan where state government is so concerned with the short-term benefits that we forget about the long-term problems.

The odds of a part-time legislature taking effect are low. But the consequences to this proposed solution certainly bear thinking about. Already, we are seeing legislation being introduced at the state level to lengthen term limits. From a pragmatic perspective, this is a viable solution to governmental efficacy; the philosophical arguments against term limits are better saved for another time. My point, however, is that this is a more viable solution for the greater good of the state. There’s seldom, if ever, a perfect solution in the world of government. Oftentimes, we just have to pick something and hope for the best.

*Not actually true. But I have met and talked to him on a few occasions. And we do carry his news reports on the station occasionally. So, in a way...