Do we not have a rocket forum? We find out Saturday if the Earth is flat I guess.

[Luke'sScreenName]

Corporate lobbyists (also all lawyers) write bills not elected politicians silly.

 

[/pine]

Corporate lobbyists (also all lawyers) write bills not elected politicians silly.

Where do you get your information?...all legislation is basically written by underling employees of elected legislators...not titled lobbyists...they are the suck puppies...

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

Where do you get your information?...all legislation is basically written by underling employees of elected legislators...not titled lobbyists...they are the suck puppies...

Hah! Slash, that is how it's supposed to work but...

This is common knowledge. Happens at the State and Federal level. It's actually how lobbyists exert much of their influence. They buy access to simply hand a prewritten bill to your elected representative for him/her to shill.

Here's just a few news articles from a quick Google search.

When Lobbyists Literally Write The Bill : It's All Politics : NPR

Google's CEO: 'The Laws Are Written by Lobbyists' - The Atlantic

Lobbyists writing bills: It's OK.

http://www.cpr.org/news/story/its-common-lobbyists-write-bills-congress-heres-why

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Hah! Slash, that is how it's supposed to work but...

This is common knowledge. Happens at the State and Federal level. It's actually how lobbyists exert much of their influence. They buy access to simply hand a prewritten bill to your elected representative for him/her to shill.

Here's just a few news articles from a quick Google search.

When Lobbyists Literally Write The Bill : It's All Politics : NPR

Google's CEO: 'The Laws Are Written by Lobbyists' - The Atlantic

Lobbyists writing bills: It's OK.

It's Common For Lobbyists To Write Bills For Congress. Here's Why | CPR

I think it's true that a lot of legislation is drafted by the lobbyists. Nothing unusual about that; the problem is that the legislators have a duty to have their staff, attorneys and bill drafters review the legislation in depth. They already know the legislation is acceptable to the lobbyists; they need to make sure it is compatible with the interests of their constituency and the people.

I have personally drafted one major bill in my time, along with amendments to other statutes. This was my task simply because I was in the trenches trying to make the statutes work; knew the shortcomings and what was needed to fix it. For the most part, these things went through without a hitch. I have seen legislation I believe was drafted by lobbyists; in particular regulatory language that set out standards and requirements, but with a maximum penalty of something like $200? That's like no penalty at all.

The Bill I drafted was a comprehensive environmental regulatory law with a lot of very stringent compliance requirements and severe penalties. The draft was circulated to all interested agencies, lobbyists and law firms; we even had a seminar or two to discuss and receive comments. It took close to a year, but we ended up with a bill that was, for the most part, acceptable both to the agency, the legislature, the environmental groups and industry. It sailed through the legislative hearings and the legislature; to my knowledge the bill drafters never changed a word; but they did write the description.

The point being, having an outside source draft your bill is not necessarily a bad thing; what is bad is when the legislature does not do its job, and review an modify the bill accordingly. It will always be slanted toward the interests of the lobbyist.

 

[/pine]

What's "common" is lobbyists submitting "drafts"...they do not actually write legislation...the exact text/verbiage may even remain...

a majority of lobbyists are former legislators or former hired staff of legislators...

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

What's "common" is lobbyists submitting "drafts"...they do not actually write legislation...the exact text/verbiage may even remain...

a majority of lobbyists are former legislators or former hired staff of legislators...

It's ok. Learn something new every day! Like the earth its flat. Who knew!

 

[/pine]

It's ok. Learn something new every day! Like the earth its flat. Who knew!

You seem to think that legislative bills are all written for individual subject laws...most all legislation bills are composites that may cover a wide spectrum of subjects...lobbyists are earmark specialists...they usually only wear one hat...

It doesn't surprise me that you think the planet is flat...!

 

[2LaneCruzer]

You seem to think that legislative bills are all written for individual subject laws...most all legislation bills are composites that may cover a wide spectrum of subjects...lobbyists are earmark specialists...they usually only wear one hat...

It doesn't surprise me that you think the planet is flat...!

Our state has a Constitutional prohibition against multiple subjects in one bill. I think they stretch it a bit from time to time, but they also get called on it too.

 

[Jstpssng]

Nope. I have worked with regulations that were written by non lawyers; they were for the most part a disaster. Don't forget, a lot of statutes and regulations end up in the courts. If you want them to survive, you best have lawyers involved. I have rewritten numerous regulations drafted and passed by non lawyers; they often are not aware of such things as due process, ambiguity, fundamental fairness, etc.

We are going through that here. The lastest "fad" in Maine is legislation by referendum; partly because our elected leaders won't do their jobs, but also because if you put it on the ballot often enough eventually people will get tired of voting on it, so it will get passed.
The trouble is that the initiatives don't always pass state and/or federal law, which turns things into a conundrum.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

We are going through that here. The lastest "fad" in Maine is legislation by referendum; partly because our elected leaders won't do their jobs, but also because if you put it on the ballot often enough eventually people will get tired of voting on it, so it will get passed.
The trouble is that the initiatives don't always pass state and/or federal law, which turns things into a conundrum.

And it seems like your Governor thinks he got elected king!