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Sunday, July 05, 2009

Ind. Gov't. - "Some ideas on improving the legislature"

Matt Tully of the Indianapolis Star today has a column today listing five suggestions for a better-functioning legislature. In brief, they are:

1. Create a nonpartisan group to draw legislative district maps that don't take political considerations or incumbent clout into account.

2. Indiana should impose new restrictions aimed at reducing the clout of lobbyists.

3. The legislature should limit the number of years members can serve as party leaders or committee chairs.

4. Legislative hearings should be held in the evenings and away from the Statehouse.

5. Voters should pay more attention.

The NY Times had an editorial July 1st headed "New York’s Defective Legislators." Here are the suggestions:
A VOTERS’ REVOLT The only sure route to change is through the ballot box — if voters will remember the 2009 fiasco in the 2010 elections. New Yorkers should toss all of these bozos out of office, regardless of whether the incumbent is a Democrat or a Republican, friend or foe. It is the responsibility of both parties to recruit candidates for the primaries to give voters a choice in places where one party is historically dominant, like New York City, or has an unnatural edge through redistricting.

The reason for a housecleaning is this: Any reform of the Legislature must be started or even completed by the Legislature. That includes laws, constitutional amendments and even a constitutional convention, an idea about which we have grave doubts but which is gathering momentum. * * *

HONEST MAPMAKING The first item on the reform list should be drawing districts honestly. A New York State legislative seat is so secure that no scandal, not even a recent conviction, can reliably defeat an incumbent. The prime reason is that legislators create their own districts. Every 10 years, each legislator with any power tells the mapmakers: Put my pal’s house in my district and my enemy’s house out. A few of these districts look like something wiggling under a microscope, but they keep their hosts in office until death, retirement or, with increasing frequency these days, time spent in jail.

The Legislature and Gov. David Paterson should immediately agree to create a nonpartisan commission like the one in Iowa that draws districts fairly and presents the map for a yes or no vote. (A no vote means the commission, not the legislators, re-draws the maps.)

This should be done now for the 2012 mapmaking.

CLEANER MONEY New York’s campaign finance system is a disgrace. When the Legislature is in session, lawmakers spend every night harvesting campaign funds, often using loopholes as big as a bank. Write “party housekeeping” on the check, and it can have as many zeros as you want. Corporate subsidiaries have a field day. And the lobbyists who write the checks then also write the laws. Public financing should be the goal, but even real, enforceable limits would be a start.

COMPETITIVE ELECTIONS Anybody who wants to challenge a party-sanctioned candidate in New York will find a rigged system. A challenger faces highly paid party lawyers whose “blood sport,” as they call it, is to make that candidate spend too much time and money in court. The idea is to challenge signatures on petitions, name by name. No ZIP code? No middle initial? Then 1,000 signatures turns into 449, one too short to get on the ballot. * * *

CREATE A REAL, WORKING LEGISLATURE New faces won’t help if the Albany system stays the same. Only the majority party leaders have power now, controlling 95 percent of the money for districts, the best offices, the best computers, the most staff. The minority party gets crumbs. It’s time to share that wealth evenly and fairly. * * *

Finally, the Legislature needs a new ethics commission — one that is not controlled by the Legislature. If ever a group of politicians needed an overseer, this is it. * * *

The best bet for New Yorkers is to demand an honest mapmaking commission, campaign finance reform, ballot access reform, ethics reform and reforming the house rules. Then keep a scorecard for next fall’s elections — and cast your ballots carefully.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on July 5, 2009 08:43 AM
Posted to Indiana Government