Republican Representative Jim DeSana isn’t happy with how Lansing is working.
“Here we are at this point [in February], to be quite honest with you, there has been nothing done…” DeSana told It’s Just Politics this week.
“Honestly, we've gone two months into the year and we're just starting our committee assignments. You know, it's very difficult for me because a lot of my fellow legislators are saying, ‘Jim, quiet, quiet down. You shouldn't be telling people that we're not doing anything.’ And I am the watchdog out there saying, ‘hey, we're not doing very much. We shouldn't be full time.’”
DeSana has just introduced a resolution that would turn the body that he sits in - the state Legislature - into one that is part-time. He says he thinks lawmakers don’t need as much time as they take to do their jobs and. In fact, he says lawmakers waste time.
Now, doing something this big, turning the Legislature part-time, would actually mean amending the state Constitution. In order to do that, DeSana’s resolution would need two-thirds majority votes in both the state House and the state Senate. And, even if it got through that heavy-lift, it would then still have to go to the Michigan ballot for voters to decide.
So, it’s a long-shot (a really long shot). One that’s failed time and time again. But, what DeSana has to say as a sitting-lawmaker about the state Capitol is illuminating. “The reason Michigan is so corrupt and has such a strong lobby-corps is because we are a full-time legislature” he says.”
Take a listen to today’s It’s Just Politics and then let us know what you think: should Michigan have a part-time legislature? Email us at politics@michiganpublic.org with your thoughts!
