Community Civics and Rural Life

by Arthur William Dunn

In a number of states an attempt has been made to meet these natural difficulties by the establishment of legislative reference libraries, or bureaus, in charge of highly trained students who collect all available information relating to every possible subject of legislation, keep records of legislation in other states, and place the material in convenient form at the disposal of the legislators. Sometimes they provide expert service in the writing of bills in the proper form. It is said that such legislative reference bureaus have already greatly improved the quality of legislation in some of the states.

It would be impossible for a legislature, acting as a body, to give consideration to more than a small fraction of the bills that come before it.

It is said that it is not unusual for more than 2500 bills to be introduced at a single session. Legislatures are in session from 40 to 90 days. If the session were 60 days, and the working day 10 hours, there would be but 15 minutes for each of 2500 bills. This time would be divided between the two houses. Besides, a great deal of business must be transacted other than the consideration and passage of bills.

THE COMMITTEE SYSTEM OF LEGISLATION

To make possible the handling of all this work, each house is organized in standing committees. As bills are introduced, they are referred to their appropriate committees, in which most of the work of lawmaking is done. Most of the bills so referred are never reported back to the legislature at all, and those that are reported are in most cases acted upon by the legislature in accordance with the committees' reports, with little general discussion. The procedure followed in referring bills to committees and in considering them when they are reported back is determined by a complexity of rules that are confusing to the outsider and that cannot be explained in detail here. But their declared purpose is to save time and to enable the legislative business to move smoothly. The small committees can work to better advantage than the large body of men in either chamber. The work is divided up so that the few members of each committee can concentrate their attention upon a few subjects and gain experience in handling special kinds of problems.

INVISIBLE GOVERNMENT

On the other hand, it is to this organization that we owe some of the bad lawmaking for which our legislatures are blamed. It tends to remove legislation from the control of the people, and results in what is often called "invisible government," government that is carried on out of sight of the people. It opens a door to partisan influences and to control by political "bosses" and self-seeking "interests." In the lower house the committees are appointed by the speaker, who is the presiding officer, and who is always chosen by the members of the majority party in the house from their own number. The senate committees are sometimes appointed by the presiding officer of the senate, who is often the lieutenant- governor, and sometimes elected by the senate itself. But the chairmen and the majority of the members of all committees in both houses belong to the majority party, which is thus enabled to control legislation for partisan ends if it so desires, and it often does so.

EVILS OF THE SYSTEM

Bills may be "killed" in committee, or reported unfavorably, or so amended as to change their meaning entirely, merely at the will of the party leaders, or of "bosses" and interests outside of the legislature. A large part of the work of the committees is carried on in secret. Although "hearings" may be held at which citizens may present arguments for and against proposed measures, these may be mere matters of form. Influential interests may maintain a lobby at the legislature, which means that they are represented there by agents who seek to influence the members of the legislature, and especially of the committees, sometimes by corrupt methods. The lobby often works by secret methods, whereas the "hearings" are public.

The party leaders in control, of whom the most important are the speaker of the house, the rules committee, the chairmen of committees, and the "floor manager," by dictating the procedure to be followed, may at times make it practically impossible for a member of the minority party, or one who has incurred the displeasure of the leaders, to gain a hearing. The following description gives an idea of what may happen: [Footnote: From a pamphlet issued by the Illinois Legislative Voters' League in 1903, and quoted by C. A. Beard, American Government and Politics, pp 539, 540.]