tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post6388430211323155287..comments2023-09-11T08:58:24.710-06:00Comments on Reach Upward: Should Legislators be Required to Read the Bills They Vote On?Scott Hinrichshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11831447472339880148noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post-38727993344662032302009-08-07T20:42:35.066-06:002009-08-07T20:42:35.066-06:00That's the spirit!That's the spirit!Scott Hinrichshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11831447472339880148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post-44537088645053459142009-08-07T16:10:53.521-06:002009-08-07T16:10:53.521-06:00If staffers are the only way a legislator gets the...If staffers are the only way a legislator gets their info on a bill, those positions should be publicly elected as well. Otherwise the legislator is just a puppet of his staffers. We need to elect moral legislators. By moral I mean, those who won't pass a bill without knowing and understanding what's in it.Tanner Guzyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08024114822259047328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post-35423728227998831892009-08-07T11:11:16.060-06:002009-08-07T11:11:16.060-06:00"Another philosophy is that no bill should ex..."Another philosophy is that no bill should exceed 10 pages in 12-point font with one-inch margins."<br /><br />I think this is the best idea. Or for Congress, maybe even say it can't exceed 100 pages. This would not only make it more likely that representatives will read the bill but would also make it so they're not voting on so much at one time.<br /><br />I really like that Utah's constitution requires that all bills can contain only one subject, so you can't throw in all sorts of reforms into one massive bill.<br /><br />Also, perhaps more important than getting legislators to read the bills is that citizens can read the bills. I doubt there are many citizens that will read a 100 page bill let alone a 1,000 page bill. Even if the representatives don't read the bill, if the citizens do, then the representatives will hear about it.<br /><br />Good thought-provking post.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post-30492033125949741872009-08-07T10:41:27.417-06:002009-08-07T10:41:27.417-06:00Jake, I agree that legislators should be given amp...Jake, I agree that legislators should be given ample time to read and ponder each bill upon which they will vote. I don't know how you'd ever successfully implement a requirement that they actually do their reading assignments. So perhaps your suggestion is better.Scott Hinrichshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11831447472339880148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post-86717141844209925772009-08-07T10:37:45.335-06:002009-08-07T10:37:45.335-06:00Richard, I know that you love to drop comments on ...Richard, I know that you love to drop comments on supposedly conservative blogs claiming that they love the Patriot Act. You do this even when the post could only be obliquely related. Oddly, you never seem to research the blogger's past posts to see whether he/she has ever expressed the same kinds of concerns about the Patriot Act that you have. Don't you think this tactic has become more than a little tiring?<br /><br />Look, the Patriot Act was (like Sarbanes-Oxley) a huge government power grab, pushed through in rapid fashion on the greased skids of massive public fear. How can any legislation like that help but be harmful?Scott Hinrichshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11831447472339880148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post-26890281251557211292009-08-07T10:20:05.118-06:002009-08-07T10:20:05.118-06:00I must have missed your post condemning the USA PA...I must have missed your post condemning the USA PATRIOT Act, a classic example of complex legislation passed in a hurry-- with bad consequences for the country. <br /><br />One good thing-- USA PATRIOT abolished the eight-year statute of limitations on torture. That means former President Bush, Dick Cheney and their subordinates will be subject to criminal prosecution for the rest of their lives.rmwarnickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10948594032787232166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post-90057387301091910902009-08-07T09:47:08.795-06:002009-08-07T09:47:08.795-06:00I think it would be absurd to require legislators ...I think it would be absurd to require legislators to read every bill or resolution. That is why they have a staff. We don't expect our representatives to do the whole job by themselves, so we let them hire staff. <br /><br />But at the same time, there should be some rules guaranteeing them the time they need to have staff analyze it so that they are making an informed vote. <br /><br />I would like to see a minimum time allowed for bill consideration based on the length of the bill. Give them something like 1 day for every 50 pages a bill is long.Jakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18318238404316061310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post-63440995056118525002009-08-07T09:41:32.538-06:002009-08-07T09:41:32.538-06:00We have an unfortunate (but consistent) tendency t...We have an unfortunate (but consistent) tendency to elect celebrity politicians. I don't mean to say that they are always famous before we elect them, but we elect people who have the capacity to present well on television. They know how to use soundbites, they know how to make a scene, and they usually know how to dress up. None of those things is bad necessarily, but their job is to legislate, and if we don't understand what legislation is we have no chance of even considering if they have any skill at that. Legislation is the process of gathering information - specifically in areas where there are competing interests involved - and applying principles of good government to come up with the best solution within the constraints of any superceding law (that would be the Constitution if nothing else for any U.S. legislator).<br /><br />Frankly we have the whole process backwards. We elect spokespeople and they hire staff to do their legislative job. We should hire legislators, people who are studious and committed to principles we can support and then they should hire staff to handle what will almost certainly always be an overwhelming volume of communications while they focus on the tasks of legislating - that would always include reading the bills, not just listening to executive summaries. (Of course I have no strong feelings about this.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com