‘Sunlight may even disinfect Frankfort’
Dear Editor,
Louisvillian and first Jewish Supreme Court Justice, Louis Brandeis, popularized the phrase, “sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.” His meaning was that transparency deters the growth of public corruption or complacency.
Early this month, the left-leaning League of Women Voters (LWV) of Kentucky released a study and report detailing the growth in usage of four specific fast-track procedures to speed bill passage by the General Assembly. They found that these techniques, almost always used near the end of session, to have increased tenfold in both the Kentucky Senate and House since 1998. Far from this being partisan or a product of the Republican supermajority, the Kentucky House usage of these procedures peaked under Democrat control in 2014 with 42% of all bills and has remained near those highs.
To the LWV list, I would add backloading the calendar with controversial legislation on the last few days prior to the veto override break, 24-hour or less notice of legislation appearing before a committee, screening of unsealed correspondence with legislators and delaying (or almost entirely curtailing) the publication of draft legislation. To be sure, all of these procedures simplify, speed and/or streamline the process of passing legislation, the passage of which I largely support. However, PROCESS MATTERS and the LWV correctly diagnose most of these procedures as limiting citizen participation in governance.
This past week, eight rank-and-file Kentucky House members proposed a short list of house rules changes with the expressed intent of democratizing the functioning of their body. While some need refinement, the proposal will no doubt spark deliberation on how our government functions, and rarely is that a bad thing. If the result is a greater diversity of legislation reaching the floor, whether voted up or down, at least voters will have a clearer picture of how their legislators are willing to vote on a greater variety of topics. Similarly, if controversial legislation (e.g. abortion exemptions, tax increases, school choice) is planned ahead of the upcoming session, legislators should let their constituents publicly know which way they would vote on those topics well ahead of the Jan. 5, 2024 filing deadline.
Finally, no amount of government transparency helps without an engaged citizenry willing to participate in the political process and hold representatives accountable. In the interest of increasing informed and active citizen participation in governance, a group of concerned, civically-minded, liberty-protective, fiscally and socially conservative citizens will be attending a free bill reading training session this Sunday, Dec. 17, 4-6 p.m. at Hope Church OC, 209 La Grange Rd, Pewee Valley, KY. If that description matches you, please attend and participate in our completely volunteer, Kentucky Legislative Action Committee (KYLAC). “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”
Lance Pearson, Ph.D.
Pewee Valley