It has always driven Bill Irons nuts that the local media – and, in turn,
the general public – tends to focus on the negative aspects of the General Assembly,
rather than to attach credit to so many positive accomplishments.
He has a point.
The General Assembly has much to be proud of, particularly of late.
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The Separation of Powers amendment to the state constitution, agreed upon last year by both sides of the Legislature, represented a huge victory for taxpayers – a better way of operating government.
And when GTECH, the West Greenwich-based lottery giant, threatened last year to move to Massachusetts, it was truly a joint effort on the part of state, city and legislative leaders that came up with a proposal that convinced the company to stay. It showed that Rhode Island could not only compete with neighboring states, but could go head-to-head in a battle for business – and win.
In a statement released on the day he announced his resignation, Irons outlined his – and the Legislature’s – many accomplishments.
“I believe the Legislature deserves much credit for the strength of our Rhode Island economy during the last national recession,” he said. “The past four years have shown Rhode Island’s economy is no longer the first into a recession and the last to emerge … Our successes show that any problem Rhode Island currently faces can be met and mastered with hard work and commitment.”
Irons is right about that. And he could go on.
But to the average Rhode Islander, the Legislature has come to represent more than that. There are negatives. Lots of them. And they understandably drive taxpayers nuts.
Newspapers report on them and talk radio hosts talk about them because they do exist – and people do care.
Because when you are working at least 40 hours a week and your health benefits are getting slashed and you seriously wonder whether college is going to be a financially viable possibility for your children, it’s hard not to see the Legislature as some different world – a place where reality is suspended.
I hear it all the time. At the pool where I swim a couple of nights a week. At my daughter’s basketball games. In the check-out line at Stop & Shop.
‘They’re all the same.’
‘It’s been going on for years.’
‘It won’t ever change.’
So why such a negative perception?
Well, that’s what happens when you have the state Ethics Commission and the State Police looking into whether corporate clients of lawmakers received special treatment.
It’s an ugly mess. And no one looks real good in all of this – not the legislators or the companies that are so quick to hire them to do work. Whether it was legal or not, did CVS officials really think it was appropriate to put the head of a Senate committee on the payroll to do community outreach work?
So now, when legislators should be focused on reducing the state budget deficit and finding ways to stem the soaring costs of health care benefits, instead the talk is about whether it would make more sense to have a full-time Legislature.
Sen. Joseph Polisena, a Johnston Democrat, has promised to put forth legislation in the coming weeks calling for the creation of a full-time Legislature by 2007.
It’s an idea that could grow legs quickly in this political climate. People will demand change. Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe it isn’t.
Maybe, as Polisena suggests, it will eliminate the need for lawmakers to divide their allegiances.
“As we have seen in a number of instances, there can be unfortunate results when members of the part-time General Assembly serve two masters – the citizens in their districts and their regular, full-time jobs,” said Polisena.
Or maybe, things could get worse. It could result in the need for much more office space and larger staffs with larger payrolls and more job openings for family members and friends.
Only time will tell.
One can only hope that the 2004 legislative session is a productive one. But with so much controversy swirling around the State House these days and many lawmakers gearing up for an election in November, you have to wonder how much will get done over the next six months.
It’s too bad. Because every session represents an opportunity for the Legislature to work on its perception.
For better or worse.
