FRANKFORT — What happens when you throw a fish in water?

        It swims.

        When happens when you send legislators to the legislature?

        They legislate.

        And that's what you can expect from the Frankenstein that is annual sessions for the Kentucky General Assembly.

        Is it really a good idea to give state lawmakers more of an opportunity to enact laws, implement regulations, spend money and generally make the government bigger than they already have?

        The writer P.J. O'Rourke once said that giving politicians money and power was like giving teen-age boys whiskey and car keys. The odds are good in either instance that a bad wreck is about to happen.

        To hear so many of our politicians in Northern Kentucky tell it — both Republicans and Democrats — big government is bad. Many strive to reduce the influence government programs, taxes and regulations have on the daily lives of their constituents.

        For instance, Senate President Pro Tem Dick Roeding, a Lakeside Park Republican, is again pushing a bill designed to diminish the power of the executive branch of state government. Specifically, the bill will endeavor to reduce the number of executive orders and administrative regulations issued by the governor and others in the state government.

        It's still difficult to assess how exactly that bill would work and how it would be enforced, because it is still to be tinkered with by Senate Republicans.

        “But I think that's a good example of how we can use our ability as legislators to take some of the burden off people and reduce the overall size and scope of government,” Mr. Roeding says.

        Sounds good. We'll see whether it works and whether it even passes. Gov. Paul Patton vetoed a similar bill last year, so this one is still up in the air.

        But let's be real. Mr. Roeding's bill is pretty much an aberration. Most of what will be proposed, introduced and voted on down here will increase government, not downsize it.

        There is an argument to be made for lawmakers taking more time on the really important bills now that they'll be meeting annually. A good example is the legislative pay increase that was hurried through during the final days of the 2000 session.

        Many lawmakers said they didn't realize what the bill contained but voted for it anyway. One of those was Republican Sen. Jack Westwood, R-Erlanger, whose vote for that bill cost him some votes in his re-election campaign in November.

        Mr. Westwood is now sponsoring a bill to do away with the sizable increase — in some cases pensions would be doubled — stealthily included in the original bill.

        OK, so we'll clean up some bad bills and take more time with important legislation. Shouldn't lawmakers be doing those things anyway?

        “The important thing about this session is not necessarily the major pieces of legislation,” House Speaker Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green, said Tuesday. “It's the workaday, important things that are important to keep our commonwealth going, to keep it running smooth — just everyday items.”

        Again, a laudable idea. But can our lawmakers keep to it?

        Doubtful. There are already bills out there to lower taxes, to post the Ten Commandments in schools, to install seat belts on buses, to put deposits on drink containers and to require students to speak to teachers and other school personnel in respectful terms, the so-called manners bill.

        The session may run smoothly, as the House speaker hopes. Or it could be a car wreck waiting to happen.

       Patrick Crowley covers Kentucky politics for The Kentucky Enquirer. He can be reached at 578-5581, or by e-mail at crowleys@cinci.infi.net.
       

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