January 27, 2006
Don't Quit Your Day Job
Republican state senator Dan Swecker wants serving in the legislature to be a full-time job, with higher pay. More from The Olympian.
“I would like to see the Legislature get more proactive in getting involved in the nitty-gritty details of running the state,” (Swecker) said.
SB 6659 isn't going anywhere, but that's a scary thought nonetheless. Especially coming from a Republican. Maybe he's getting smacked by college tuition payments? Just consider all the effluvia coming out of Olympia every session. This year has been no exception, as you've seen almost daily here at Sound Politics. I think 90 days every other year would be a lot better than full-time.
Posted by Matt Rosenberg at January 27, 2006
09:24 AM | Email This
1. Whatever happened to the citizen legislature? If you went 30 days once a year or every other year, it would be better.
And with the internet, why can't the State legislative business be conducted as more parttime?
You know, you still have committee meetings out of session. Why do we have this circus that we have now?
Lobbyists run the asylum and anything we can do to limit them, the better we are.
Because of this 60-90 days away from business, it is only lawyers, out of work house husband (Dunshee) or retired people that have the time to go down to Olympia.
I see a State legislator at my church on Sunday and my stomach just churns that he has to pack up and be in Olympia on Monday- a trip of 2-3 hours.
We need to make it easy to get good people representing us.
2. It could start looking like the Seattle City council! NO, no full-time legislators.
3. Swecker must go. The good citizens of his district need to replace him in the next GOP primary. He is also the GOP Senator that led the pro gas tax charge. I always wondered how a Greener could be a Republican; I guess I was on to something, he is no Republican. The good GOP voters of the 20th District need to vote the guy out.
Assoc. Press, 9/19/05 -
"He succeeds Sen. Dan Swecker, R-Rochester, who helped put together the Legislature's $8.5 billion, 16-year transportation program this year, including a 9.5-cent-a-gallon increase in the gasoline tax. Voters this month upheld that decision, although some Republicans were unhappy with Swecker and other GOP lawmakers who supported the tax."
"The leadership switch was unrelated, the caucus said. Swecker has returned to The Evergreen State College to get a master's degree in environmental science, and said the transportation post is too time-consuming."
4. You give these people more time and money, and they will come up with more silly bills such as this one or the one that
outlaws overseas sex tours.
5. Ninety days every two years is unlikely to be an improvement, because it wouldn't actually turn out to be 90 days every two years. The governor can call the legislature into special session any time he wants, and the legislature can call itself into session, too. The state had regular biennial sessions of the legislature until 1979, when the people enacted Amendment 68 of the state constitution to go to annual sessions. In the ten years before Amendment 68, the legislature was in session just about as many days on average as it as after Amendment 68. It was just continually in special session rather than regular session. So nice idea, unlikely to make things better. If the '70s-'80s experience is a guide, it's more likely to make things worse.
6. With the crap they are passing I would be happy with reducing that job to 1 week, and that is pushing it.
7. I like and admire Sen. Swecker -- but I sure don't agree with him on this. Make it a full time job, and they would try to justify it by making even more unneccesary and screwy laws. As it is, they waste their time chasing after the most idiotic things already (think goose livers) and ignore real problems. Let's pay them $100 a year and tell them they can make 1 new law a year.
8. THIS IS A FULL TIME JOB FOR A LOT OF THESE PARASITEL TAPEWORMS....RENTON'S OWN "MARGIRITVILLE" PERNTICE COMES TO MIND...HOW MANY FARCE-FINDING TRIPS DOES SHE HAVE TO TAKE TO NATIVE GAMING VENUSE AROUND THE COUNTRY...