They have passed a resolution “concerning civility in the Colorado General Assembly,” but on Monday the legislature’s unusual bipartisan coalition of first-term members will take on a much more difficult issue: changing the rules on ballot issues.
It’s only their second formal meeting of the 2006 legislative session, which last week passed its one-third point. But the two dozen freshman members, evenly split between the two major parties, still are working toward their overarching goal: taming the partisanship than can cripple legislative productivity.
The let’s-be-pals push in the legislature is only one of several efforts to detoxify politics. But it’s the piece closest to the problem, in the middle of the arena where partisanship is a daily battle.
Other efforts involve regional chambers of commerce, academics and other civic-minded people with time, energy and money. Some of the push for a more collaborative approach comes from the coalition that passed Referendum C last November. But without a similar goal to strive for now, the movement could lose momentum.
The legislative effort still is on track, says Rep. Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction, one of its organizers. “We’ve had a couple of small victories,” Buescher said last week.
Their House Joint Resolution 1006 passed with only one “no” vote in the entire legislature, Republican Sen. Jim Dyer of Centennial. The Senate generally treated the measure with more whimsy than the House did.
It’s full of high hopes, not the cunning that one expects of politicians.
“Engaging in effective and courteous dialogue,” it says, ” … not only creates better debate and decision-making by [legislators], but also enhances public participation in the legislative process and results in a more engaged and informed electorate … .”
It asks legislators to resolve to conduct themselves “in a manner so as to reflect credit” on the institution and lists five “principles of civility.” They include behaving in a dignified manner, treating one another with respect and observing “decency of speech.”
It’s a fine thing to promote, but problems persist. On procedural matters, for example, when a party leader wants to send a bill back to committee, the floor votes are usually along party lines. State voters outlawed binding caucus positions with a 1992 ballot issue, but the follow-the-leader rule is implicit and insidious.
And Buescher, without naming names, said a few lobbyists have gotten out of line, too. “We have been pushing back on the lobbying community when they demonize bill sponsors,” he said. He personally has met with three lobbyists to tell them to tone down the “hyperbole, overstatement, exaggeration” and “inappropriate language.”
Thus the legislature’s newbies have assumed a role the old-timers used to have. Since term limits, though, legislators have to leave after eight years, which makes it difficult for anyone to accumulate the necessary gravitas to tell lobbyists – and other legislators – to shape up.
Don’t expect the freshmen to tackle term limits, though. That would have to come from one of those outside groups. For a legislator to fight term limits looks self- serving.
There’s some of that risk with the item on the frosh caucus’ Monday night agenda. Legislative powers over the years have been seriously drained by restrictive ballot issues. So any effort to make it harder to pass ballot issues risks looking like a power grab.
Until they meet tomorrow night, the freshmen really aren’t sure what form their legislation might take. One probable element would make it more difficult to amend the state constitution than to change statutes.
To make it harder to amend the state constitution, though, one must first – ironically – amend the state constitution. And that requires two-thirds approval in each chamber of the legislature. And that requires votes from both political parties. And that’s always a challenge.
But it’s the sort of political challenge the freshmen have said they hope to impact.
Fred Brown, retired Capitol Bureau chief for The Denver Post, is also a political analyst for 9News.
