Deadline Democrats

The proposal by the State House Democratic leadership to constrain the governor’s ability to submit legislation makes sense — if the intent is to ignore the constitutional separation of powers, to make everything partisan and to create a 185th legislator.

Senate President Mark Lawrence and House Speaker Elizabeth Mitchell want the governor to face the same deadline as lawmakers for filing bills; submit them by early January or go through the 10-member Legislative Council for after-deadline approval.

Just how bad an idea this is is evident in the empty words used to explain it: The rule change, Lawrence and Mitchell say, “should enhance the Legislature’s ability to manage its workload … would treat legislators more equitably with other presenters of legislation.”

This new interest in efficiency is commendable. It would even be believable if more than 80 to 90 of 2,000-plus bills introduced during the last two biennial cycles came from the governor’s office (fewer than in either the McKernan or Brennan administrations) and if the current Democratic leadership wasn’t the prime cause of recent end-of-session legislation logjams. Their nasty habit of shoving through simple-majority budgets mid-session destroys whatever bipartisan spirit might exist and turns what should be the thoughtful consideration of other bills into hasty action right before adjournment.

Those “other presenters of legislation” are, of course, governors. Not just the current independent with his 60-percent mandate, but all governors to come. If there’s one thing Maine citizens do not need, and the state constitution does not permit, it is an executive branch that is a subsidiary of the legislative. The governor is not just another lawmaker; the governor is the only person involved in the lawmaking process who is elected by a statewide vote and whose home district encompasses the entire state.

The Maine Constitution is quite clear (Article V, Section 9): “The governor shall from time to time give the Legislature information on the condition of the state and recommend to their consideration such measures as the governor may judge expedient.”

It does not say anything about making such recommendations by the Friday after the first Monday in January or about needing the approval of the 10-member Legislative Council, a body ruled by legislative leadership and controlled by the majority party. Things change, situations arise; someone must be able to introduce legislation at any time and be able to go straight to the full Legislature with it. According to the constitution, that someone is the governor. Lawrence and Mitchell should leave it that way.