One of the many bills that died as the clock ran out in the state House yesterday was HB 2872, which in its amended form would have raised the legal gambling age from 18 to 21 at card rooms and mini-casinos, and would have instructed the state Lottery not to market to teens.
It was a simple, straight forward proposal — backed up by science — that garnered broad, bipartisan support in both houses… yet failed to reach the floor in either. In the Senate the bill was blocked by Sen. Margarita Prentice for reasons only she can explain. In the House… well… I’m not exactly sure what happened in the House, but clearly it was not a priority of Frank Chopp and the Democratic leadership, who opted not to give it a vote.
With little or no public opposition from the gambling industry, I had naively expected some version of this bill to pass this session, but the legislative process is a complex one, and thus often both infuriating and disappointing. But perhaps one of the most frustrating aspects of the process is that while a bill’s merits are loudly trumpeted by its sponsors at its birth, a bill’s death is most often left shrouded in the mysteries of the caucus. Good bills die without explanation from those responsible (usually, a committee chair,) and it is this lack of transparency that encourages speculation about ulterior motives.
Personally, I have my own suspicions that (gasp) “politics” may have played a role in the bill’s demise — a not unreasonable thing to suspect of politicians — and I have been openly critical of some of the legislator’s motives. And yet, I not only profess a profound belief in the wisdom of our (small “r”) republican form of government, I am also an ardent supporter of the (big “D”) Democrats who control the state Legislature.
So if a legislative booster such as myself can be inspired to voice suspicions, imagine the paranoid fantasies of some of the anti-government folk on the right. The problem as I see it, is that not only does the leadership do a lousy job of explaining their decision making process, they often make no effort whatsoever.
This may have sufficed in the past when it was almost guaranteed that most bills would die with little if any public scrutiny, for the Olympia press corps operates under time and column-inch constraints that leaves little room for in depth coverage of any but the most controversial or dramatic bills. But times have changed, and bloggers such as myself do not have the same constraints, nor follow the same journalistic rules. Lacking the time, cooperation or even the inclination to conduct a thorough interview, I am not above running with analysis, speculation, and opinion, rather than pure factual reporting. (As if such a beast actually exists.)
The point is, as chair of the Ways & Means Committee, the senate rules give Sen. Prentice the prerogative to kill nearly any bill, without explanation or public comment. But she does so at her own risk, for if she and her colleagues refuse to reveal the back room dealings and other machinations behind their legislative triage, then bloggers like me can’t help but fill the void with speculation. And increasingly the most impassioned and active voters on both sides of the political spectrum are getting their news from bloggers like me and our evil-twin counterparts on the right.
Professional initiative sponsor and renowned horse’s ass Tim Eyman likes to justify his own existence by highlighting real or imagined examples of legislative arrogance, and in truth, many of our legislators are arrogant… even some of those I admire most. After all, it takes a certain amount of arrogance just to run for public office.
But if our legislators want to instill public trust and confidence in the legislative process, they must start making this process more transparent. “Because I know better,” “because I can,” and just plain “because” may be all that is needed to exercise power in the halls of the Capitol, but it is hard to blame voters for resorting to the initiative process when these are the only explanations offered the public.
The gambling age bill died in the Senate Ways & Means Committee without a vote, and without explanation; the House version made it through all its committees, but was allowed to die without a floor vote as the clock ran out. I want to know why, and I shouldn’t have to personally ask Frank Chopp or Margarita Prentice for an explanation.
I’m not saying it’s easy, but the legislative leadership needs to do a better and more proactive job of communicating its priorities and explaining its decision making process. Bills like HB 2872 die for a reason, and the public deserves to know the reason why. If the leadership can’t adequately explain its decisions, don’t blame us bloggers for attempting to fill the void.
dumb.
Waste of everyones time…. Why take gambling away from 18, 19, & 20 year olds? DUUUUH UUUUM because?????? It’s not good?
Take all your rights to have a little fun away and see where we all end up…. Probably won’t be much fun.
Come on. If an 18 year old is old enough to die for his country, he is damned well old enough to put a few $ down on black jack. Frankly, I think the better question is why is drinking not legal til 21? You’re an adult at 18, you can vote or get drafted, but yet you can’t legally drink a draft beer? If, at 18, you are old enough to be entrusted with being a soldier or a voter, you are old enough to gamble. As a liberal, I am VERY glad this idiotic bill didn’t pass.
Dave @ 3
Yeah! And what the fuck is up with the 30 year old age limit to be president???? I mean if an 18 year old is old enought to die for his country, he is damned well old enough to be president!
(Sorry…I couldn’t resist!)
If a monkey can be president, why can’t a rabbit be president?
Instead of taking gambling away from 18 year olds, we should take war and dying away from 18 year olds. Let the old men do their own dying in their wars.
Hmmm … looks like Michigan has one less Republican voter. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1619078
The bill died because it was not considered an important issue. They only have so much time to deal with the hundreds of bills presented.
If you think the gambling age should be raised I suggest you file an initiative. Give Sherry Bockwinkel a call. She can tell you how to do it and does not have the Eyman stench attached to her.
DJ @ 4
You have to be 35 to be President, 30 to be U.S. Senator, and 25 to be U.S. House member. However, almost all Washington state offices only require you to be 18 — i.e. a qualified elector.
we gonna raise the voting age to 21 too?
I understand you angst, Goldy.
I experienced it with a certain Senator’s vote on cloture for a filibuster on a certain Supreme Court nominee.
Sometimes you just got to suck it up.
The people who should know better occasionally don’t vote the way they should.
And those certain Senators never explain why they voted the way they did.
Cie La Vie.
Goldy, an excellent post.
I think a switch to a full-time legislature would perhaps fix this problem. If they met more often, istead of for short sessions once a year, we could really give them the once-over for skipping bills without comment. I understand you. Even if Prentice disagrees with you, it would be nice for her to tell us why.
Richard @ 9
“You have to be 35 to be President, 30 to be U.S. Senator, and 25 to be U.S. House member. However, almost all Washington state offices only require you to be 18 – i.e. a qualified elector.”
Yep…thanks for the correction and augmentation.
A you point out, our system allows individuals to wield incredible power…at the committe chair level, at the head of Rules or Ways & Means, as the senate or house majority leader.
Also, our system gives a party with a single person majority *complete* control over all these individual assignements — meaning a single person majority dictates who has the power to allow or block anything.
That system is supposed to ensure only good bills make it through the tough process — yet it does exactly what you said –> it really allows back-room deals that create lots of “you support my bill, I’ll support yours” and the corollary.
Hence, good bills die, bad bills live and politicians are always caught lying to their constituents.
Thats Goly, when it comes to further restriction of peoples rights he is right there!
Well as long as Faux News contributor Blackjack Billy Bennett can still bet hundreds of thousands of dollars on a single hand then our state has big potential to make money.
I thought raising the age was an acceptable idea, though it didn’t make it in the legislature. Perhaps, as an alternative to raising the age, we might work on instilling personal responsibility in younger folks when it comes to the lottery and gambling?
Comment by Belltowner— 2/16/06 @ 12:29 am
“I think a switch to a full-time legislature would perhaps fix this problem. If they met more often, istead of for short sessions once a year, we could really give them the once-over for skipping bills without comment.”
I don’t think a full-time legislature solves the transparency issue Goldy has brought up here. I like having a part time legislature. I theory, but not always in practice, a part-time legislator is more accessible and more likely to be “one of us” than a detached elitist.
You only have to look to the U.S. Congress to see the negative side effects of a full time legistlature. Most members are so out of touch with their constituents, becuase they spend little time with them or even living in the same geographic location. Insted they hang out with lobbyists and are insulated from the real world by their staff and perks. That’s not what I want my state legistlature to become.
Belltowner @13, Con1st @19,
I come down in between you. I think we need a half-time legislature that’s paid full time… maybe meeting twice a year for a total of 4 to 6 months, thus leaving plenty of time for constituent services.
The biggest advantage to a part time legislature is also it’s biggest drawback: you tend to fill it with a bunch of amateurs who end up being dominated by a handful of real politicians. I think what worked a hundred years ago, simply doesn’t work today… society and job of governing it is simply too complex to be handled by a bunch of part-timers.
No we need a legislature that meets every other year unless an emergency crops up.
Cheesy Chuckie @16
Chuck — please explain how arresting people without warrants, holding them without charges, and imprisoning them without trials expands our freedom?
Chuck = apologist for GOP tyranny
19
I agree the Republican congress is out of touch with their constituents. http://www.realclearpolitics.c.....ss_ja.html
Chuck = public school affirmative action pupil
9/11 demonstrated that a part-time presidency doesn’t work worth a damn.
Roger Rabbit@22
Explain how “arresting people without warrants, holding them without charges, and imprisoning them without trials” means we should take away an adults right to legally gamble? That is the typical liberal response…when caught speeding point at another car and say “but he was doing it too”.
Rabbit@22
And by the way, how many people do you know that have been detained in this fashon?
GOLDY – bad idea. died a natural death – short session, not even designed for this sort of bill.
No secrets – time to end th session, wrap it up, finish the B U D G E T – isn’t that a priority – and get out.
By the way, since 18 year olds have the vote, I wonder if the state can deny them this cultrual amenity. Age discrimination with no real purpose. Citizen ship means access to so called vices, as well as dying in war, voting and paying taxes.
I am surprised that you haven’t yet started tell us why they can’t have sex without sepervision by mom and dad. Kinda fits with telling them they can’t spend a couple of bucks on a lotto ticket. Possibly from their own job income.
I emancipated my self as a teenager with my parents consent – worked fine. No one told me what to do when I was 15.
The Repressive Autthoritative Nanny Mommie Daddy State / church / home is a horrible concept.
It spawns the trolls here who can’t even think for themselves, are sexuallyt repressed and hate the world. They still hate the over controlled childhoods that crippled them as humans early on.
RR@#7: Michigan is a blue state and Battle Creek is a city. We know who runs cities don’t we?
Speaking of sex, NYC is getting their own condom!!!
StuckinStupidom@12: Tu parle francais? It’s C’est La Vie dumbass!
Kevin Carnes @29
Bush got 2,313,746 in Michigan, Kevbaby. http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/20.....s/MI/P/00/ And one of ’em got his pecker stuck in Mary’s Little Lamb. Baaa-baaa-baaa
27
“how many people do you know that have been detained in this fashon?”
I’m not sure … I’m still trying to figure out what happened to all of my acquaintances who have disappeared since Jan. 2001.
27
So Chuck, you think it’s okay for the guvmint to arrest people and hold them without charges? Let’s start with you.
Goldy @20
I think what worked a hundred years ago, simply doesn’t work today… society and job of governing it is simply too complex to be handled by a bunch of part-timers.
Man, I am so not seeing this…The more they meet, the more I pay and the bigger the deficit becomes. Goldy, are you for organized crime meeting more than once every two years?
Social analysis of publically sanctioned gambling has shown that those most likely to become addicted to it’s fantasy are prone to emotion displays of immaturity. Wow, the responders here have sure upheld that theorem!!!
Seeker @ 8,. Hey, it’s a business!
carefull now. Bockwinkel has plenty of Browneyeman stench on her. For one thing she accepts money from Tim to gather signatures –
Seeker @ 8,
carefull now. Bockwinkel has plenty of Browneyeman stench on her. For one thing she accepts money from Tim to gather signatures – (link to press release announcing I-776 hiring Bockwinkel to gather signatures would go here if the filter didn’t grab it). Hey, it’s a business!