CONFESSIONS OF A LEGISLATIVEPHILE

Confession, they say, is good for the soul, so let me start the new year with an admission that will anger some, startle others and give small comfort to only a handful. The confession, if it can be ecclesiastically called that is that some of my favorite people are state legislators. Oh, the shame of it: I'm a known Legislativephile!

Before the cynical among you conclude that I have completely gone daft, permit me the next few paragraphs to explain my illness and why I have been unable to cure myself of the affliction for more than half a century.

As one who spends a considerable amount of time each day trying to keep abreast of state government, I find great enjoyment contemplating the goals and roles of the Missouri General Assembly, which incidentally will be back in town for a five and one-half month billing in just a few days. The formal name for this playbill is the Second Regular Session of the Eighty-seventh Missouri General Assembly, a numbering system that changes biannually or in other words, every other year.

As even the youngest among us knows by now, the General Assembly enacts bills. That's what the civics textbooks say, but what is important is what these pages don't say. They don't say, for example, that in passing bills, the Legislature rejects far more than it passes. Some of the bills it does enact, usually in the neighborhood of 200, are not good bills, but when it comes to quality, those passed are far superior to the ones that never get out of committee. Seldom does one hear a session was extraordinary because it rejected poor bills, but there is almost as much of an art in ignoring regressive measures as there is in promoting the good ones. It is not a lesson easily learned, but those who conduct the schedule of both chambers are adept at it. It is an example of good government that remains unappreciated to this day.

A second reason I am so fond of the legislative chambers in Jefferson City is because these two rooms are among the last vestiges of civility in our society. I'm not claiming that every member of the House and Senate is Lord or Lady Chesterfield, and there are times, remarkably few, in which civility is the last word to be applied to the proceedings. But in the normal course of a day in either chamber, one hears more civility among members who disagree than in any area outside a church sanctuary or a courtroom. It is pleasing to one who has long despaired over the disappearance of manners in today's world to hear a female lawmaker referred to as "The Distinguished Lady" or political opponents refer to each other as "The Distinguished Senator." Such courtesy hasn't been common since merry old 18th Century England.

I'm afraid legislators don't receive nearly as much respect in their home communities as they deserve. After all, a state representative may have been a plumber or a firefighter or a union steward before his election to Jefferson City. "What does a steamfitter know about state laws?" is a question that has been asked more than once. "How can a fellow who ran a restaurant know anything about an $11 billion-a-year business?" has also crossed the lips of numerous constituents. Maybe they didn't know how a state budget is prepared when they were sworn in, but conscientious citizens, faced with the challenge of being informed and wise legislators, soon learn such things.

And this leads to another reason for my affection for lawmakers: they work harder than any group of citizens I know about, and that includes columnists. Members who are determined to be good representatives and senators -- -and most all are -- -learn quickly that they must read, study and digest a wealth of information to have any effect at all. Most state legislators read far more than the average college student over the same period of time, and they study far more than one hour a day, which a somewhat suspect survey reported was the time allotted to this exercise by college students in Missouri.

Not only must legislators study individual bills that are to be debated and voted on during a day's session, they must also become aware of and know the details of measures that are submitted to the committees on which they serve. Committee sessions are meant to elicit information and discussion, and members must sit for hours listening to witnesses discuss all manner of legislation that doesn't deserve enactment.

It is a favorite exercise of the press who covers them and the public who elects them to characterize members of the General Assembly as persons of less-than-competent ability. Otherwise, the question is always asked, what are they doing in Jefferson City? The answer, as strange as it may seem, is that most members are in the Capitol to serve their constituents back home and to make the state a better place in which to live. And since most must work at other jobs when they are not in session, it is safe to say they are not serving because of the money, which at best is inadequate.

Another popular view is that anyone who spends much time on the third floor of the Capitol is dishonest. It's true there is an occasional rogue in the chamber, but he is rare, indeed. If you have voiced the view that lobbyists control the fate of legislation by buying votes, then think again, for it is simply not true. I'm not saying votes haven't been sold to lobbyists and special interests, but the vast majority of members would not only reject such offers but would report the transgressions. Lobbyists who try to buy votes, either through cash payments or special favors, are dumb, for they are inevitably identified, often discharged by their employers and almost always ineffective. Money cannot buy happiness, it's said, and it almost never buys unfair legislation.

I wish state legislators received the kind of respect and admiration they deserve, but in an imperfect world that's wishful thinking. What I do think is possible is public understanding of the work attached to the legislative process, although my journalistic colleagues and I make that job more difficult. Sure, there are lazy, lousy legislators, but they are in the minority and don't hang around the Capitol very long. Frankly, I don't know why the good ones stay as long as they do, given the lack of job security, salary and paucity of public respect. Maybe they hang around to prove the journalists wrong. At least that provides a good reason to stay a bit longer.