The More Things Change, The More They REALLY Stay The Same
Back in November the Minnesota DFL won 85 seats, giving them a clear majority. A couple of days later, the House DFL leadership released their updated committee and sub committee list. King posted on it here and linked back to a HRCC spreadsheet that showed the committee set up.
Well today I get, in the inbox, a Session Update (I thought they adjourned Sine Dei last month?) relating information on House Committee testimony that they received today in the House Governmental Operations, Reform, Technology and Elections Committee.
Now I don't know if this is new information to the House or not, but if it is new to them it is yet one more example of just how out of touch with the public the DFL leadership structure is. If this is not new to them, it shows voters the lengths that they (the DFL leadership) will go to in order to keep the involvement of the governed out of the business of governance. It shows how important it is to them to keep us like mushrooms....always in the dark.
I would like to give them the benefit of the doubt and say that this is not "new" to them but when I do that it still does not paint the House leadership in a good light. Actually - neither option portrays the House DFL leadership well, which in and of itself is a condemnation on their leadership.
Well today I get, in the inbox, a Session Update (I thought they adjourned Sine Dei last month?) relating information on House Committee testimony that they received today in the House Governmental Operations, Reform, Technology and Elections Committee.
A cumbersome committee structure is a barrier to public participation and process transparency.
It’s a situation that concerns Geoff Barsch, president of the Minnesota Governmental Relations Council, who offered recommendations for change to the House Governmental Operations, Reform, Technology and Elections Committee. The committee is looking at ways to improve the legislative process.
Too many committees lead to overlap and bills not being fully vetted, Barsch said.
He said it is hard for an experienced lobbyist, like himself, to follow the process, but nearly impossible for the general public. “More and more bills are being sent from one committee to the next with work left to be done, and we keep hearing this phrase, ‘This bill has a lot of stops to make before it gets to the floor.’”
Now I don't know if this is new information to the House or not, but if it is new to them it is yet one more example of just how out of touch with the public the DFL leadership structure is. If this is not new to them, it shows voters the lengths that they (the DFL leadership) will go to in order to keep the involvement of the governed out of the business of governance. It shows how important it is to them to keep us like mushrooms....always in the dark.
I would like to give them the benefit of the doubt and say that this is not "new" to them but when I do that it still does not paint the House leadership in a good light. Actually - neither option portrays the House DFL leadership well, which in and of itself is a condemnation on their leadership.
Labels: MN Legislature, MNDFL
posted by The Lady Logician at
6:00 PM
4 Comments:
Perhaps it is a good thing that "it is hard for an experienced lobbyist ... to follow the process, but nearly impossible for the general public." May I suggest the founders idea to elect representatives to watch out for our interests and not "experienced" lobbyists was a great contribution to governance. It is supposed to be difficult to get proposed legislation enacted into law. The necessity for a proposal to be reviewed and approved by one or more committees builds support or resistance as more legislators are introduced to a proposal and have the opportunity for questioning the reason for its need for inclusion into the statute books.
By
Anonymous, at 3:02 PM
I certainly can not argue with the idea of making it harder for experienced lobbyists to get access and know what is going on. However, the people are already turned off of the process because it has become so difficult to know what is going on. The Legislature needs to remember that they represent "the people" not "the lobbyists". The only way we can make sure that happens is for the people to be involved and make their voices heard.
LL
By
The Lady Logician, at 3:17 PM
Thanks for your insight. However, the important thing is that the individuals who represent you in the legislature are engaged with their constituency, collegial with their colleagues that also hold an election certificate, respectful of the process, and not just out for their own enrichment --which may not always be in the monetary sense. It is through the conduit of the representatives that an otherwise powerless citizen may compete in the marketplace of ideas with the "experienced" lobbyists.
By
Anonymous, at 5:40 AM
I still say the problem of corruption is easily resolved by changing the pay structure or our elected representatives. Pay each of them minimum wage, plus reasonable expenses. THEN add a "year end bonus" which is equal to one half of the budget surplus, minus any tax increases passed in the year, divided equally among them.
To eliminate lobbyists, pass the FAIR tax. 75% of them would be out of work on the spot.
J. Ewing
By
Anonymous, at 8:35 AM
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