November 09, 2006

Being Proactive

In Mondays Utah Policy Daily there was an article about the need for more proactive legislation. Senator Curt Bramble invited the Utah House of Representatives to join the Senate in becoming proactive in the legislative process. I found this idea to be very ironic.

For the last eight years the House has met in a December caucus to strategize the upcoming session and set priorities. These aren't meetings where discussion is held and decisions aren't made. Priorities are set by the caucus and the House Majority leadership moves forward to accomplish those priorities. I believe the results from the last two sessions have been examples of following the caucus plan.

If Senator Bramble or UPD believe that both houses of the legislature should meet together to define priorities I believe that would be wrong. The reason there is the House and the Senate is so ideas can be worked through and refined before they are sent to the Governor. Senators will always view legislation differently than Representatives.

I hope Senator Bramble gets his wish and the Senate takes the time to prioritize issues and take positions before the start of the next legislative session. It will make it much easier for the House and the Senate to begin the debate.

Posted by Jeff at 10:45 AM | Comments (0)