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Michael Cianchette is a Navy reservist who served in Afghanistan. He is in-house counsel to a number of businesses in southern Maine and was a chief counsel to former Gov. Paul LePage.
Reform is in the air in Augusta.
Nearly everyone agrees the last Legislature went overboard with their use of “concept drafts,” or bills submitted with only a title and the summary of an idea. My favorite for its absurdity was published as LD 306.
It was entitled “An Act Related to Water.” What would it have done? “This bill would amend the laws related to water.” In the words of Keanu Reeves: Woah.
One of the more controversial uses of the “concept” process earlier this year dealt with a piece of transgender-related legislation. There was no bill language released until the bill was scheduled for a hearing, which just happened to fall on the date of the GOP presidential primary.
As the new Legislature starts its session, it seems some type of “concept draft” reform is in the offing. Republicans and Democrats alike are calling for changes. Newly-elected Senate President Mattie Daughtry noted that she wants these reforms to be bipartisan with broad buy-in.
She’s right.
There are few topics as dry as the arcane adoption of rules regulating proceedings. But good governance is pretty boring stuff.
As the 132nd Legislature prepares to get to work in the new year, maybe they can build some bipartisan momentum on good governance reforms.
The biennial silliness around legislative elections of constitutional officers reared its head last week. It was somewhat more exciting this year, with intraparty contests for both treasurer and attorney general spilling into public view.
The Bangor Daily News editorial board noted it was a less-than-flattering process. The Republican nominee for attorney general was Bill Schnieder, a former officeholder eminently qualified. Yet he had nearly no chance at the job because of Democrats’ narrow majority in the Legislature.
If the Legislature wants to stick with the theme of reform, our constitutional officer election process is ripe for it. However, rather than adding several new statewide elections with profligate campaign spending, we could follow the federal model. Joe Biden rightly got to pick his attorney general, as should Donald Trump.
Maine’s next governor should get the opportunity to do the same with the advice and consent of the Legislature.
Meanwhile, the Legislature should find some structural reforms to lighten their own load. Our “citizen legislature” is a treasure, keeping elected officials part of our community rather than cloistered politicians issuing decrees from on high. But, in all likelihood, they will spend multiple days a week over the next six or seven months in Augusta.
That isn’t really feasible for anyone with a regular job. Are there other structural reforms beyond limiting concept drafts worth considering to make the Legislature more accessible?
I’d say yes.
Instead of forcing legislative committees to slog through hundreds of bills, holding a formal public hearing on each, and trying to solve remarkably complex problems by June, the entire structure should be reconsidered. Not every bill needs a public hearing; let committees decide where to focus their efforts.
Let the legislators set their schedules to dedicate the time and space to work on difficult issues, even if it means they are meeting through the summer and fall. This would require some significant structural changes to processes, policies, and the law.
But if Senate President Daughtry wants to try to achieve real reforms focused on good governance, a narrowly divided Legislature in the final two years of a governor’s term seems like a great time to do it.
Hopefully it’s more than a concept.
