2/21/2005

 

Session preview

The St. Pete Times ran its annual big-picture look-ahead at the Legislative session on Sunday. The session's theme: The Legislative branch is ready to reassert itself after steadily ceding power to governor.

Oh, we'll see. I think the pendulum is getting ready to swing -- to use a time-honored pundit's cliche -- but such sentiments may be a little over optimistic, because (1) the Dems are unable to act as an effective opposition to anything the smart young aides at the governor's office come up with and (2) members are far more concerned about their standing within the party and leadership than their standing with the voters. All incumbents are bulletproof because of micro-redistricting and they know it.

Also, a very interesting piece about Sen. Webster's drive to revise the state constitution. (And make it a little more friendly to state aid to churches in the process.) It has this choice quote from former House Speaker Jon Mill:

The U.S. Constitution is not a good model for a state, (Mill) says. It was a contract with sovereign states to limit the authority of the federal government. State constitutions, therefore, define the rest of government. They are contracts with citizens.

"Having a long state Constitution isn't necessarily a bad thing," said Mills, who in 1998 was a member of the state's Constitutional Revision Commission, a group appointed by the state Legislature and governor every 20 years to review the Constitution and propose changes.

I never bought the "clutter" argument, either.

# posted by Lane @ 2/21/2005
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