MI Sen. Caswell (foster-kids-in-used-clothing fame) wants legislature to be part-time (ALEC idea)

[highplainsdem]

Bruce Caswell is the mean-spirited idiot who thinks foster children should be able to buy only used clothing. Here's a link to the LBN topic about that terrible idea of his:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4824045

He's also proposing amending the Michigan constitution to make the legislature part-time rather than full-time:

http://www.lenconnect.com/news/x802140549/Sen-Bruce-Caswells-proposal-seeks-to-make-state-Legislature-part-time

I haven't been able to find anything yet to connect him directly to ALEC -- they don't reveal all their members, and legislators are becoming warier of admitting they belong to ALEC.

But before I read about Caswell's proposed amendment, I'd seen the idea of a part-time legislature for Michigan floated in a Michigan newspaper opinion piece co-written by an ALEC task force director. Here's a link to the DU topic about that

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x910989

and it's also linked to from the long compilation topic on the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) (reply 231 there).

As I mentioned in the separate topic about the opinion piece, most of the arguments it made were the familiar ones from ALEC, but there was a new one that stood out:

This op-ed piece makes several of ALEC's usual arguments, and one that's new to me (and that I can't find in "Rich States, Poor States").

The usual arguments are against unions, against the minimum wage, and against corporate income tax, and in favor of lower personal income taxes.

The new item is the suggestion that states do better if the state legislatures are only part-time and have small staffs (hence lower costs).

Of course part-time state legislators with small staffs have even more need of convenient "model legislation" of the sort ALEC offers.

So ALEC not only wants to increase the power of state governments vis-a-vis both the federal government and local governments, they'd also like to reduce the ability of state legislators to focus on problems in their own individual states -- which increases ALEC's influence.

Caswell's bill was introduced just a few days before that opinion piece appeared. Since it was co-authored by that ALEC task force director and three members of the staff of Koch-funded Northwood University (and would have likely taken more time to complete because of that), it's hard to believe there wasn't coordination between ALEC and Caswell.

As the newspaper article about Caswell introducing this bill points out, the MI Senate minority leader is opposed to the change:

http://www.lenconnect.com/news/x802140549/Sen-Bruce-Caswells-proposal-seeks-to-make-state-Legislature-part-time

“Our state has serious problems right now, and creating a part-time Legislature will only exacerbate the problem. The residents and local communities of Michigan have seen drastic cuts proposed by Gov. (Rick) Snyder’s budget to police and fire, their pensions and their unemployment benefits. Enacting a part-time Legislature would have little effect on budgetary savings and could potentially lead to greater executive power.”

But that would suit ALEC just fine, as long as the GOP continues to control legislatures and governorships. After all, ALEC has cookie-cutter legislation for all the issues they consider important...

[Turbineguy]

1. Not a good idea

a part-time republican legislature would limit the amount of damage to society.

[crickets]

2. When will someone finally call this by its real name:

insanity.

[DCKit]

3. However, I'm sure he'll insist on full-time pay. nt

[Proud Liberal Dem]

4. Indiana only has a part-time legislature

and has had it for a long time. I'm not sure exactly whether it's better that way or not. I can't recall an instance, at least here in Indiana, where it's been for the better or for the worst. OTOH some governors (i.e. Walker, Snyder) aren't quite as restrained as Governor Daniels has generally been since he's been in office. :shrug:

[Johnyawl]

5. Washington State has a part time legislature also...

...I can't say for sure that we're doing any better or worse then a state with a full time leg.