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‘Part-time legislature bill to affect 16th legislature’
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Posted on Mar 03 2005
The proposed part-time legislature would affect lawmakers belonging to the 16th Legislature—those elected more than two years from now.
Rep. Clyde Norita, who authored the part-time legislature initiative, said that if the proposal is approved this year and put on the ballot in the November election, it would not cover the 15th Legislature.
He said the initiative provides that a separate bill must be passed by the next Legislature, setting the compensation package for part-time legislators.
“That bill would be decided by the next Legislature. The bill would set how much it costs to run a part-time office,” said Norita.
He said the compensation package would not be part of the initiative so as to avoid putting an exact dollar figure in the Constitution, a concern raised during a public hearing on the issue.
“As pointed out during the public hearing, we don’t want to go back to the Constitution to amend the figure again and again,” he said.
The 15th Legislature, which would pass the compensation package, would not be affected by it. Thus the part-time Legislature would eventually be implemented during the 16th Legislature.
Norita allayed fears that a part-time legislature would turn the body into a special interest group as members would be allowed to take part-time work in government and the private sector.
He said the Code of Ethics bounds everybody, regardless if it is part-time or full-time Legislature.
The initiative, he said, primarily aims to ensure cost-effective operations at the Legislature. “It boils down to funding. More than 25 states have part-time legislature. And the integrity of their legislatures was never lost,” said Norita.
The House will discuss the initiative in today’s session.
The House Committee on Judiciary and Government Operations, which recommends the passage of the initiative, said the Legislature can ably operate under a reduced budget.
Under the proposal, the budget of each lawmaker would be reduced from $155,000 to $75,000.
Overall, the initiative cites over $2 million in savings.
The Legislature currently receives some $5 million annual budget.
