Let the Sun Shine in on the Legislature

 

by State Rep. Sean Williams (R-Watertown)

 

January 16, 2004

 

 

 

As we all know, these are very grave times for the state of Connecticut.  The state legislature is entering unchartered territory with the possibility of the impeachment of Governor Rowland, which is why I have decided to support the formation of a bi-partisan legislative investigation committee so that we can get all of the facts on the table about the situation surrounding the Governor.

 

However, the controversy surrounding the Governor should not mean that the business of the state of Connecticut should come to a complete standstill.  This year, the state legislature has an opportunity to correct its broken budgeting process and put an end to the cloak of secrecy that has become all too common at the State Capitol. 

 

I was proud to stand with the other members of the House Republican caucus in November as we unveiled a series of proposals that would, among other things, open up the process of budget negotiations to the public.  The effort that my colleagues and I are supporting would increase public knowledge about what is contained in budget legislation and shine the light of day into what once were clandestine closed-door meetings.

 

When budgets are repeatedly completed months after the date required by statute, the system is broken.  The current system is far too secretive.  The public ought to be able to know and understand what are in important bills, such as budget bills, and the press ought to have access to budget deliberations.

 

By way of example, during this past legislative session, a number of new taxes were initiated without so much as a public hearing.  Taxes were raised by $490 million for the biennium and the citizens were not given the proper input.  That is why I will be supporting efforts to require a public hearing for any changes to the tax code that would result in an increased tax burden.

 

Another horrid example of the secretive budget process was last year’s approval of a bill that completely changed the way the state operates Connecticut’s prescription drug program for senior citizens.  ConnPACE, as it is otherwise known, was never meant to be a loan as a means of senior citizens to get their much needed prescription drugs but the new legislation, which I will fight to repeal in the next legislative session, will allow the state to recoup the money it spends on ConnPACE from the estates of the program’s beneficiaries after they die.  This legislation would affect over 50,000 Connecticut residents on ConnPACE, and very few people, including legislators, knew anything about this new law because it was hidden and buried in another long bill in the waning minutes of the session.  Unfortunately, the practice of voting on proposals just hours after they were crafted is all too common but can have severe repercussions, because often times legislators do not have ample time to review these lengthy documents and the public does not have time to comment on the proposed legislation before it is voted on.

 

Some of the other changes the House Republican caucus has proposed include:

 

• Require that committee agendas be publicly available in the committee room and on the state website 36 hours before every meeting so that the public is aware of and able to comment on proposed legislation before it is voted on.
• Require legislative committee offices to have easily accessible email addresses so that the public can e-mail testimony and require that testimony to be available to committee members on the day of the public hearing.
• Require that emergency certified (e-cert) bills be published and available to the public and the media on the Internet three days before a vote on the chamber floor.
• Combine similar legislative committees, reducing the number of committees from 26 to 17 to make the process easier to navigate and save taxpayer dollars.

 

If lawmakers are too ashamed of proposed legislation to pass it during the light of day when the citizens of Connecticut are able to pay attention to what we are doing, then it simply shouldn’t become the policy of the state of Connecticut.  Democratic legislative leaders have indicated that they will not act on these recommended changes which would put an end to the back-room deals in Connecticut’s budget process.  I would urge anyone who wants to see their state legislature become more responsive to call the House Speaker at 800-842-1902 and the Senate President Pro Tem at 800-842-1420 and tell them to let the people back into the process.