03/09/11: Let’s shift to a full-time legislature

This op-ed appeared in The Virginian-Pilot on the date shown.

“IT’S TIME for [state Sen. Thomas] Norment to decide whether he wants to represent his legal clients or his constituents or both,” the editorial board of this newspaper wrote Monday. I think it’s time to take things a step further and remove that choice from our legislators.

The Virginia General Assembly is the oldest continuously operating legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, having been established as the House of Burgesses in 1619. Ours is a part-time legislature; members meet during the winter months and then return to their communities. The pay is paltry — $17,640 for delegates and $18,000 for senators — with an additional $15,000 as an allowance for operating district offices.

But are they really part time? When measuring the activities of the various states, the National Conference of State Legislatures put Virginia in a hybrid category. “Legislatures in these states typically say that they spend more than two-thirds of a full-time job being legislators,” the conference wrote in 2009. The income of such hybrid legislators is “not usually enough to allow them to make a living without having other sources of income.”

Two-thirds might sound high until you realize just how much time legislators spend doing General Assembly work outside of the legislative session. There are committee meetings to attend, reports to read and constituents to assist. And, of course, they have to actually run for office, which includes attendance at community and fundraising events.

That conflicts of interest exist should, therefore, be of no surprise. Virginia’s State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act requires annual disclosure of financial interests by about 25,000 governmental officers and employees. But it seems no one is actually looking at the filings; otherwise, situations like Sen. Norment’s or Del. Phil Hamilton’s would not go unnoticed.

One way to avoid these conflicts would be to pay a real salary and prohibit outside employment. And while they are at it, lengthen the General Assembly sessions.

Ours is no longer the agrarian society of yesteryear that allows gentlemen legislators to serve between planting seasons. Virginia’s economy is diverse, one of the many reasons it has been named the “best state for business” by various groups. Yet we cling to a model that is no longer reflective of our society.

In the recently concluded session, a short one of only 46 days, some 1,800 bills were filed. Not only do bills get short shift, but as The Washington Post recently reported, so do the citizens . “Individuals wishing to speak were limited, on average, to about half a minute of comment,” The Post’s Robert McCartney wrote about a committee hearing. In the space of 3½ hours, the Senate Education and Health Committee acted on 41 bills.

A longer session would give citizens more time to have their voices heard and would also allow the legislators more time to carefully consider the legislation before them. Such consideration may have brought to light the unconstitutionality of the transportation bill or the public’s displeasure with the abusive-driver fees.

Better pay, combined with the prohibition on outside employment, would widen the pool of candidates. Not many professions lend themselves to being away from work for two months a year, which is why lawyers continue to dominate the legislature. A true citizen legislature would include those with experience in a number of fields.

Our legislators are elected to represent us. Taking away the potential for conflict is the right thing to do.