Some things are good to change regularly: passwords, cat litter, underwear. Others, such as the system of checks and balances within our state and national governments, tend to stay the same for a reason - they work.
Rep. LaMar Lemmons III, D-Detroit, wants to change more than 100 years of tradition. He is proposing that the House of Representatives and Senate become unicameral, or merge into one legislative body. By eliminating the current system of 110 representatives and 38 senators, the government would be left with 74 members assigned to districts based on population. Lemmons said the benefit would be a $50 million reduction in costs of running the government and a streamlined process for passing legislation.
It sounds good in theory ... no wait, it doesn't. Skip over that glowing figure of $50 million and concentrate on the end of that last paragraph. Someone should stop Lemmons on the street some time to give him a history lesson about U.S. government, the one we model our state system after.
If you didn't sleep through history class, or if you're stuck in Integrative Arts & Humanities 201, you'll remember Congress is split into two chambers for a reason. The Senate, with its limited number of members, grants equal power to all states; regardless of sizes. The House of Representatives, with its size based on state populations, gives a bigger voice to bigger states. Everyone is happy.
Both of these chambers check the judicial branch (the courts) and the executive branch, or, the governor on the state level. Each of these bodies has separate committees that specialize in specific tasks.
Most importantly, as Rep. Robert Gosselin, R-Troy, eloquently put it, having a House and Senate gives legislators "two bites at the apple." Passing bills isn't a fast food restaurant type process - it shouldn't be quick and easy. Everything that could become law should be scrutinized.
The system works to keep the crazy ideas out and the good ones in. Having fewer people to decide what is good for the state isn't a smart move. There already is a belief among some that Congress doesn't carefully read through the bills it passes anyway. Let's not reduce our readers.
Frankly, this suggestion is off the wall, and it seems unlikely that it will gain any momentum. Lemmons might be trying to find a quick way to notoriety.
To be fair, Nebraska does have a unicameral system. It holds about 1.7 million people with about 22.3 per square mile. It faces very different issues than we do here in Michigan.
To emphasize the importance of a bicameral system another way, it recently kept the governor from slashing her higher education budget and getting MSU's tuition increased.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm's proposed 2006 fiscal year budget calls for a $30 million cut to higher education. Although the House passed the budget with a, "Let's hope there is more money by August" stipulation, the Senate rejected it with a "No, let's try and rework this now" attitude.
Agree or disagree with these actions, it's good to know that important things, such as the state budget, face heavy scrutiny in more than one governmental body.
