Part-time legislators?

[Hamilton Reef]

Part-time status won't make lawmakers more efficient

A typical reader e-mail: "You want to cut? I'll tell you where to cut! Start with our overpaid legislators! Make 'em part-time!"

Secondly, Rosenthal says, a full-time legislature is probably no more adept at complex issues than a part-time one. But it takes a strong case to justify converting from full-time to part-time. Only Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania and California have full-time legislatures.

http://www.freep.com/news/politics/eyeonpolitics11e_20050411.htm

[ESOX]

I seems to me our legislature is already part time, they just get paid full time. How may days a year are they actually in session?

[Chris_Davis]

I have to many friends that own bars in Lansing to wish for part-time legislature.

[Buddy Lee]

If you want to make the legislature more efficient, get rid of term limits. Term limits create high turnover, which leads to a lack of institutional expertise and special interests gain a greater control and influence over public policy.

[sasquatchpa]

Who would employ them when they weren't in session? And do you think that their other employer could influence their vote? Would we the people have a vote or GM, Ford and Dow?

[Burksee]

If you want to make the legislature more efficient, get rid of term limits. Term limits create high turnover, which leads to a lack of institutional expertise and special interests gain a greater control and influence over public policy.If I remember correctly, and please correct me if I'm wrong but I think it was because of this that term limits were put in place to begin with! To many "good ol' boys" doing nothing more than rakin in graft and using there power and selling there votes to the highest bidder! On another note, Anyone remember Coleman Young? The original poster child for term limits! :tdo12:

[Dawg]

Just take away the fat pension.

[Buddy Lee]

If I remember correctly, and please correct me if I'm wrong but I think it was because of this that term limits were put in place to begin with! To many "good ol' boys" doing nothing more than rakin in graft and using there power and selling there votes to the highest bidder! On another note, Anyone remember Coleman Young? The original poster child for term limits! :tdo12:

That was the perception at the time term limits were put in place, you are correct. But if you think things were bad then, you should see them now. Lansing is virtually controlled by special interests and lobbyists.

[DaveW731]

That was the perception at the time term limits were put in place, you are correct. But if you think things were bad then, you should see them now. Lansing is virtually controlled by special interests and lobbyists.
Beyond that, it takes responsibility away from the voter. IMHO, the only valid term limiter is the ballot box.

[eyecatcher]

looked at the record our legislature met for an average of 123 days a year when it was part time. they now meet for an average of 127 days a year as full time. Our elected officals have made a joke of term limits, They moving from the house to the senate when their term is over which effectively voids the idea of term limits. On the federal level the courts have ruled that term limits can only be set by a constitutional ammendment. A part time legislature along with term limits, allows ordinary people (school teachers, business men, shop workers, etc) to take part in making the laws and setting the budget. This also elemenates the need of the offical to raise millions of dollars in reelection funds. The part time legislature works well in 45 of our 50 states. We are one of only five states with a full time legislature.
With a part time legislature we cut cost and get people who are willing to give some of their time over a couple of years and are truly interested in improving conditions. We get rid of the professional politician.
I doubt that special interest groups and lobbist fare as well with a part time legislature. I think we approched term limits the wrong way. We should have made it so when the term was over, they could never run for public office on the state level again. The longer a person is in office the more susceptible they are to lobbist. They need to think about raising reelection funding and lobbist supply them with great sources of funding. Like every other place people work, it takes time to develop good working relationships. with part timers the lobbists don't get the time to build a long term relationship, the part timers don't have the need for reelection funding, so the lobbist become less effective. IMHO

[Moron]

Well said eyecatcher.
Career politicians are preoccupied with their careers not the purpose of their positions.