Dreams for state government

I came to the State House expecting the rough-and-tumble aspects of campaigning to be replaced by legislators working together for the betterment of Maine. Imagine my surprise!

Someone asked me what aspects of this last session left the most impression. I was most impressed (not in a good way) by the fickleness of legislative voting. Whenever Democrats are unable to gain support of enough Republicans to pass a Democratic bill, they criticize us for blindly following Gov. McKernan.

They seem to have a game plan; an orchestration for swaying votes, where a predetermined number of D legislators are recognized by the speaker in predetermined order to give predetermined floor lectures. (One member of our caucus overheard two D legislators complaining about a third D legislator who spoke out of turn and ruined their moment in the limelight.)

Republicans, of course, don’t blindly follow the governor. For the majority party to so often lambast us for being led by our noses, I was impressed with how easily Speaker Martin gets D legislators to switch votes. I’d watch green or red bulbs light up next to legislators’ names on the electronic panels at the front of the House chamber. If the speaker didn’t like the way a D voted, the “Note Network” would get under way.

It seems to begin with a note from the speaker. Sometimes his note is enough. If not, the “Note Network” works like the telephone game; one legislator passes a note to another until the message is delivered. One D seated near me had barely cast his vote when notes began landing on his desk. He wouldn’t read them. More notes landed on his desk. There must have been 15 on his desk before he caved in and switched his vote.

I did establish, in the beginning of the session, what I thought were good working relationships with members of the majority party. In the final weeks of the session those friendships came and went as if carried by the wind. I would say hello. They would turn away. One D colleague said, “I can’t speak to any Republican at this point in time.”

It would be of great benefit to Maine citizens if the Legislature would more evenly distribute the legislative workload. There were weeks at the start of this session when the Legislature spent most of its time sitting and waiting. Legislators hadn’t been given their committee assignments. Then at the 11th hour of the session we were forced to vote on a number of bad bills.

I remember a legislator, one night on the House floor, saying something like, “I’m the $6 million woman. I’ve just found $6 million in new taxes.” Six million dollars in new taxes passed under the speaker’s hammer, and the Legislature didn’t even have a chance to understand or even debate the issue. Wouldn’t it make more sense for the Legislature to start the heavy-duty work in January instead of July?

I would like to see a limit to the number of bills legislators can submit. Evidence indicates 1,984 bills is more than the Legislature can effectively addresss. (Rep. Jack Libby, R-Kennebunk, had a bill this session to limit each legislator to 12 bills. It was killed in committee.)

The Legislature also should limit the number of studies it approves. I’ve heard that some legislators rely on study commissions as their means of summer employment. That should not be part of any criteria by which taxpayers fund studies; especially now when our economy is weak.

The Legislature approved 21 studies this session and carried over 152 bills. Legislators will be meeting throughout the summer, at taxpayer expense, to study bills unaddressed between last January and July. They will be meeting over the summer, at taxpayer expense, for such essentials as a “Study of Motorcycle Driver Education Programs” and a “Study of District Attorneys’ Salaries.”

My final impression is of the State House demonstrations during the government shutdown. I had my children with me; I wanted them to see the Legislature; to begin to understand how state government works. But there were days when I would not bring them to the State House because it was too dangerous.

I don’t think many people realized how dangerous the situation was. One random punch could have easily exploded into a riot. It is still hard for me to believe that the House speaker and Senate president would condone such a volatile atmosphere; hard for me to believe that members of the majority party helped organize, condoned and encouraged such an awful spectacle.

I empathize with the state workers. I also empathize with private sector workers who have lost, or will lose their jobs if we don’t do something to better Maine’s Workers’ Compensation System.

The state workers must have known that when the budget/comp issue was resolved they would be back to work. I still cannot understand how the state workers and majority party members who took part in this mob tactic — who were so sympathetic to the plight of the state workers — had little or no sympathy for private sector workers.

Was I disillusioned by this first session of the 115th Legislature? I don’t think so. A person can only be disillusioned by something that was an illusion to begin with.

I had high hopes for my first session, but no illusions. Many Maine people, for the first time in a long time, saw the state Legislature in action; saw the pluses and minuses. That’s good. The State House, for too long, has been isolated from most of Maine. Too many legislators and bureaucrats inside the State House forget what life is like for Mainers in the real world. Mainers in the real world tend to ignore the legislators and bureaucrats until it’s too late. Maybe now with this new public awareness we can begin to recreate the positive type of government that freshman legislators dream about.

Rep. Susan D. Duplessis is a Republican from Stillwater.