State Running Low on Time—But Why the Rush?

The last week of legislative session makes you think the Missouri Legislature is made up of a bunch of procrastinators. There are bills debated that do not have enough time to advance, and marathon meetings in the chambers can run well into the wee hours of the morning.

While it feels like a big rush to the finish, in essence, the time-crunch is by historical design. This type of part-time work was originally designed to fit into a farmer’s schedule. Meeting in the spring did not interfere with harvest time.

As a result, the Missouri House and Senate meet Monday through Thursday, January through the middle of May. Sometimes they meet on a Friday, although that is rare and usually only happens during the last few weeks of session. There is also a short, usually one-day veto session in September.

Occasionally, the Governor will call a special legislative session, as he did in July of 2010, to tackle specific issues. The 2010 special session dealt with tax credits for a Ford Plant to be built in the suburbs of Kansas City and with state employee pension reform. There are rumors of a special session this summer to discuss job creation, something strangely left out of this year's debate.

But how much quality work can you get done on such a short amount of time? Advocates for a short session say having legislators work only part of the year saves the state money. While this is true, legislators make about $35,000 per year, while only meeting in Jefferson City for less than five months.

I will be the first to point out that legislators do important work year-round. When back in the district full-time June through December, there are numerous ribbon-cuttings, town-hall meetings, constituent relations and working on legislative planning. This does take time, and more effort than you might think. Out-of-session work is sometimes more busy than being in session.

My argument, however, is that session should be longer. Many of our policy issues of the day such as health care, tax credit reform, budget cuts, and education funding demand complex solutions. It can take many years to create good, problem-solving public policy. If legislators are only working with each other for four months at a time, good reform will take forever.

It is very difficult to get to know lawmakers well enough to get through comprehensive policy reforms. We have term limits in Missouri, which means you can only serve four terms of two years each for a total of eight years in the House, and two terms of four years each for a total of eight years in the Senate.

As colleagues, House and Senate members do not get to know each other personally. Compromise and solution-building are much more likely to happen, and happen consistently, when you know more about your co-workers' lives and personalities.

If the Missouri Legislature met more often, we would be able to react to problems faster. We would not have to wait to see what sort of state revenues are coming in and adjust budget authorizations only once a year. We could be more nimble and serve our constituents faster, smarter and better.

In general, the public may think more government is bad government, however with too little oversight, things can run amok. The old saying, “you get what you pay for,” could not be more true.

I think the citizens of Missouri want their elected officials to produce quality, thoughtful work. A full-time legislature would better reflect the lives and experiences of all Missourians. It's about time.