It’s Time for Legislative Efficiency

By Michael “Winey” Weinstein

During a late night session, Arizona House members finally approved a state budget through 2012. My first question – what took so long? I understand that the budget isn’t due until June, but taking into account the financial problems that plague our great state, I keep thinking that submitting a balanced budget should be the top priority of any new legislation.

From day one, when lawmakers are sworn in, they should go to work preparing a balanced budget. There is no reason this task can’t be completed in an expedient manner. The newly elected lawmakers have spent the previous year running on budget issues and should be well-equipped to go to work.

Instead, lawmakers dawdle around and waste our tax payer dollars on pet projects that do nothing to improve our state’s economic climate.

For instance, proposed SB 1201 would increase the number of places where residents could carry firearms legally. It would require that guns be permitted on public property and at public events. Our state is in financial turmoil. Our elected lawmakers will spend hours engaged in debate on this issue instead of worrying about fixing our state’s imminent issues.

HB 2168 will take aim at the growing problem of pallet theft. Really…our state officials will now be bogged down creating laws intended to curb pallet theft. Do our lawmakers not have anything better to do? Wouldn’t you like to see them spend their time on issues that matter most to the voters that elected them?

What amazes me is the fact that while approximately 9.6 percent of Arizonan’s are unemployed, our state housing market is in ruins and the border to Mexico is still gushing illegals into this state, our lawmakers are sitting around desperately looking for ways to create bills that offer little help to the rest of us.

Perhaps, they have too much time on their hands. When lawmakers have too much time on their hands, they look for ways to make names for themselves and to promote pet projects. Too much time leads to unlicensed creativity. The end result…inefficiency.

Perhaps, we should take a look at how the Texas legislature operates. Their government officials meet every other year for 140 days. Thus, they have 140 out of every 730 days to get the job done. Though Texas probably sees its share of baseless proposals, I can guarantee that their legislation is more efficient. They have more time to debate the issues that really count.

Imagine a political climate where lawmakers lack the time to waste on matters that don’t count. With only 140 days every two years to get the job done, I bet Texas lawmakers lack the time to waste each other’s time with too many non-essential bills.

Perhaps our federal government should consider taking the lead from Texas. Isn’t that what voters are most tired of – the wasteful spending that results from their inefficiency? How many bills, laws and federal programs are unnecessary? The feds would have a much easier time balancing our nation’s budget if there weren’t so much wasteful spending and pet projects to consider cutting. We have an enormous amount of spending because federal lawmakers have too much time to create burdensome programs.

It should also be pointed out that federal lawmakers are generously paid as full-time employees. They reap gracious healthcare benefits and have lifetime pensions – at our expense. Yet, they still can’t balance the nation’s budget. They are spending hours haggling over which expenditures and programs to cut. These programs would never have been implemented in the first place had they focused more on efficiency rather than personal promotion and gratification.

It’s time for Arizona state lawmakers to focus on becoming more efficient. They need to give careful consideration to which bills they propose, asking themselves whether they are solving our state’s most pressing issues or wasting our time and money to promote their own agendas.