Jan 14, 2008
Legislative Reform, Does Anyone Care? 

Scott Mooneyham -

RALEIGH -- Just before the holidays, I spoke to a group of business executives and trade association heads as part of a panel discussion examining money in politics.  
 
The state's resident curmudgeon on the topic, Bob Hall of Democracy North Carolina, and Bob Glaser of the N.C. Automobile Dealers Association completed the panel. Ran Coble of the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research served as moderator.  
 
The discussion covered the basics of where we've been and where we're heading when it comes to campaign finance and lobbying in North Carolina. The rise of high-dollar legislative campaigns, the money machines put together by the political caucuses in the legislature, recent political scandals and lobbying reforms were among the fodder. The panel also chewed over political action committees and how business groups can and do effectively support elected officials who support their positions.  
 
But one subject that kept swirling around in my head was that of institutional reform at the legislature.  
 
"We shouldn't be surprised to see these scandals when these people are paid less than $14,000 a year," I told the group.  
 
Actually, with their per diem payments and other expense reimbursements, rank-and-file legislators can take in about $40,000 a year. But the sum isn't much when you figure in the expense of traveling to Raleigh and finding living accommodations once there.  
 
But by institutional reform, I wasn't speaking only of pay. There's the unwieldy, unreliable schedule of North Carolina's "part-time, citizen" legislature. (This same part-time legislature met longer in 2001 than any other legislature in the country; and in this same citizen legislature, "retired" seems to have become the most prevalent profession among legislators.)  
 
Other institutional issues that deserve serious review are two-year terms that put legislators into constant campaign and money-raising mode, and rules that -- even after a few recent changes -- still require the graciousness of legislative leaders in order for the political minorities to be heard.  
 
Still, for most people, a discussion about institutional reform at the legislature might as well be a glass of warm milk. The sedative effect takes hold almost immediately.  
 
The response is understandable. Unless you have some direct experience with the inner workings of the legislature, seeing a correlation to anything important is difficult.  
 
But how the General Assembly, as an institution, works is just as important as public schools, health care and job creation. Without good legislators, you don't get good law and good policy, and all these policy areas suffer.  
 
Business groups, like the North Carolina Chamber and smaller trade associations, are typically focused on narrow tax or industry-related issues, failing to see how the institutional flaws at the General Assembly harm their interests.  
 
These same business-related groups, though, have the kind of clout to spark change and prod legislators. Once engaged, they also have the ability to educate the public about why a holdover legislative model from the 20th century no longer functions very well in the 21st century.