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MONDAY JUNE 1, 2009Saving taxpayers money is not a reason to suspend rules
Section 6-29 of the West Virginia Constitution says, "No bill shall become a law until it has been fully and distinctly read, on three different days, in each house, unless in case of urgency, by a vote of four fifths of the members present, taken by yeas and nays on each bill, this rule be dispensed with: Provided, in all cases, that an engrossed bill shall be fully and distinctly read in each house."This section of the state constitution apparently causes fits of giggles among legislative leaders of the majority party. "Urgency" has come to be defined as anything from an "urgent" dinner date to a chance of rain. The framers of the state constitution thought that passing laws was a serious enough matter that each one should be read, fully and distinctly, on three different days. The only reason not to do so was "in case of urgency," and it's a safe bet that urgency was to be defined as something, well, urgent. The ability to gather the votes of "four fifths of the members present" -- i.e., 80 percent of lawmakers who show up on any given day -- is a high threshold, but not high enough for suspending the constitution to be abused in such a run of the mill fashion that it has become nothing more than a formality, a legislative tool used to move things along to make life more convenient for those elected to represent us. Last week, Earl Ray Tomblin on the Senate side and Rick Thompson on the House side decided that passing the budget on Wednesday was an urgent matter, and both had no problem garnering the votes of Democrats and Republicans -- unanimously on the Senate side, but not so on the House side, where 19 of 28 Republicans present voted against suspending the three reading rule, one short of the number needed to stop it.Phil Kabler of the Charleston Gazette thinks suspending the rules on no less a whimsical issue as an $11 billion budget is good government. I've debated this matter with Phil year after year, but he has yet to see the light. On Sunday, he wrote the following:Speaking of Republicans, remember how in the June 2008 special session, House Republicans blocked a rules-suspension vote, which unnecessarily extended the session by two full days - at a cost of roughly $30,000 a day for legislative pay and expense payments alone?This session, House Republicans came within one vote of blocking a suspension of the rule that bills be read on three separate days for the budget bill.Republicans argued they needed the extra two days to review the 178-page bill, which had just reached their desks.Which is true, but also disingenuous, since the vote was merely a formality to get the bill into a House-Senate conference committee - a process that gave legislators an additional four days to get up to speed on the $3.78 billion spending plan prior to the passage vote. There is so much wrong with that reasoning that I hardly know where to start. First, we elect people to the legislature to do the job, and we expect to pay them the $30,000 a day as long as they're doing the job. Playing willy-nilly with suspending the Constitution of the State of West Virginia with the excuse that it's to save tax dollars opens the door to playing fast and loose with all laws and rules.Shoot, how much money could we save if we just did away with the legislative branch and didn't hold the session at all? There's a reason we have three branches of government, and a reason the constitution prescribes its behavior, even if it takes a few extra days and dollars to do the job according to the law.Second, calling the vote on the state budget "merely a formality to get the bill into a House-Senate conference committee" is simply not correct. The vote was not to send the bill to a conference committee, it was a vote on approving the budget itself. Yes, the process then sends it to committee to work out differences between the Senate and House, but that is not the purpose of the vote. The bill voted on is described as "Budget Bill, making appropriations of public money out of the treasury in accordance with section fifty-one, article six of the Constitution," not, "Vote to send the budget bill to conference committee."The separate bills from the Senate and House indeed went to a conference committee which spent, according to witnesses -- get this-- all of eleven minutes and 46 seconds working out the differences before sending the budget back to the Senate and House for final approval on Sunday. And guess what? The budget cannot be amended after it comes out of conference committee -- only during the three-reading process, which was abandoned in favor of suspending the rules.So from Wednesday to Sunday, lawmakers had "an additional four days to get up to speed..." Up to speed on what? Not the budget out of the committee.Delegate Craig Blair adds a few good points on this whole process in his column at left. But this is no way to run a government, and no way to plan the spending of billions of dollars of the people's money. Out of 134 members of the State Legislature, there were exactly 19 Republicans who took a stand against cramming it down the throats of the people of West Virginia. It's really just embarrassing for everyone involved, no one moreso than the average taxpayer.By the way, the rules suspension vote back in June 2008 that Phil thinks was a terrible waste of money by Republicans was in regard to another effort by Democrats to pass another extremely flawed "campaign finance reform" bill -- a bill which was again thrown out of court for being unconstitutional. It was the Democrats, not the Republicans, who wasted taxpayer money by keeping the legislature in session several extra days so that ridiculous legislation could be passed. As was subsequently proven, Republicans were right to oppose it, and to oppose suspending the rules to rush it through.
When you sign up for a credit card, and find out six months later that your interest rate is much higher than when you originally acquired the card, isn’t it funny how you realize only then that the fee increase was indeed described within the fine print of your original agreement – fine print that almost no one ever reads?In most cases, when it comes to buying a house, a car, or taking out a credit card, the details are in the fine print, and are too often overlooked. But at least you usually have time to read it if you want to. In the case of the West Virginia Budget, legislators weren’t given that courtesy this week, as legislative leaders once again suspended the constitutional rule requiring three separate readings and passed a budget that everyone knows contains mistakes and will be changed in conference committee.What mistakes? For example, the budget contained $20,000 for the Charleston Sternwheel Regatta – an event that no longer exists. The Finance Chairman assured everyone it will be divided up among fairs and festivals but mistakes do happen and the committee process perfects legislation.Those of us in the legislature had only received the 178-page budget a day earlier, despite our request a week ago to see it. One day is hardly enough time to read, understand and formulate questions or amendments. And it’s not like suspending the rules saved taxpayers any money; lawmakers are staying in Charleston anyway in anticipation of a special session being called by the governor next week.When the governor decided back in April that he wanted to delay the budget because of the economic conditions and the uncertainty about stimulus money, it was generally considered a good idea, and I agreed. That action allowed leaders two additional months to prepare the budget.And yet, we never saw the budget bill until our first and only Finance Committee meeting, and even then, it was a committee substitute that was still warm from the copier.Unfortunately, Democrats have the numbers in the Legislature necessary to pull such shenanigans. And after conference committee members change the numbers around, the “final” budget will be handed to lawmakers no more than 36 hours in advance of a final vote on Sunday.For my part, I voted against suspending the rules, and against the budget itself, and I will vote against it again on Sunday. Why? Because I believe we should have a chance to read the fine print, on behalf of the people of West Virginia. Craig Blair is a member of the House of Delegates from the 52nd District.Details of budget are in fine print
By Del. Craig Blair
Ireland honored as Graduate of Distinction
BETTY IRELAND
Former Secretary of State Betty Ireland was honored last week as a 2009 Graduate of Distrinction by The Education Alliance. Also honored was Major General Allen Tackett. Initiatives of The Education Alliance teach West Virginia students the value of a quality high school education and the importance of a high school diploma. The Graduates of Distinction program honors theexcellent example of accomplished professionals as role models and West Virginia public school grads.
The Graduates of Distinction program was initiated by The Education Alliance in 1999 as a way to honor graduates of West Virginia’s public schools who have worked hard and attained prominence in their chosen careers. Since that time, it has become an annual event that not only honors distinguished West Virginians but also brings to the forefront issues that affect students’ futures, such as theimportance of taking rigorous coursework in high school.
More than 200 business and community members gather each spring to honor the Graduates of Distinction, which have included Sen. Robert C. Byrd, Gen. Robert Foglesong, First Lady Gayle Manchin, country recording artist Kathy Mattea, West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Robin Davis and former Gov. Cecil Underwood.The Republican Gazette is owned, operated, written and edited by Gary Abernathy, and does not represent the views of any other person or organization, except for guest commentary signed by other contributors.
