“As California goes, so goes the nation,” as the old saying goes. America, please don’t do what we are doing. Last week, Americans witnessed the U.S. Senate adopting the schedule that the California Legislature uses for its all night legislative slumber parties in our State Capitol. Americans had to wait until 1:00 AM eastern time to watch the Senate vote on the healthcare system’s destruction.
Back here at home, many of our state’s most important decisions over the last few years have also been completed well after last call in any neighborhood bar. And judging by the government spending sprees of late, both groups of late night patrons had similar decision-making capabilities: an explosion of new spending on bonds, budgets that are BILLIONS out of balance before the photocopies of the legislation have cooled. All this was voted on by California legislators after an attrition strategy by their leaders to delay votes until near dawn.
The California Legislature would often convene in late-night session after CalSpan is off the air, thus avoiding their handy work being exposed to “We The People.” After seeing votes scheduled for 1:00 am, switchboards shut off after hours although Congress is voting, emails being kicked back — no wonder the people’s frustrations are growing. The mad rush to enact damaging and unpopular landmark legislation is finally being noticed. Add this to the growing number of procedural sleight of hand exercises such as “gutting and amending” bills and last minute rule waivers. The public has every right to be upset.
After being part of the “process” for several years, I have a modest proposal to end the late-night cram sessions in California. First, no legislation should be allowed to be taken up after 9:00 p.m. or earlier than 8:00 a.m. This isn’t college. Whether a $100 billion state budget or a technical bill, the deadlines are well-known months in advance. If the committees convene and the whole body does its work, there would be no need for such dorm-room schedules. What was a good idea at 2:00 am is not always a good idea the next day. Rather than counting on weary, yawning legislators, let’s demand our legislators be awake and their ideas be similarly coherent.
Second, let’s demand every legislator read the bills they are voting for. I’ve actually been asked to vote on bills still hot from the copier where no one has been allowed to read the fine print… nor has the public. Only an informed decision will produce a positive result.
And finally, let’s insist on fair rules to govern the legislature. The fact is the root of most of the shenanigans occurs in the second action taken by each new legislature: when the “House Rules” are adopted. While some people dismiss the first day as nothing more than ceremonial, it is the source of much of the dysfunction in Sacramento.
The public deserves a transparent and fair system now more than ever. Legislators must adopt house rules that are just and do their work in the light of day. If they cannot, then we the people must take up the initiative for accountability in our legislature while the snow-veiled proceeding in Washington and California’s fiscal collapse is fresh in people’s minds. If we are to be successful on solving the rest of our state’s problems, a better process is required. It is the cornerstone to correcting the dysfunction we’re witnessing in our Capitol.
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