We don't need no stinkin' legislature

We don't need no stinkin' legislature

January 4, 2019

The 2018 election showed that Michigan has no need for a state legislature. The Senate has always been useless as tits on a boar (to use an old family expression) and now it has become clear that we don't need the House of Representatives, either. It was voter initiatives, not the legislature, that wrote this year's most important state laws.

Proposal 1 legalized recreational marijuana. No more prison for users or dealers.
Proposal 2 established an independent commission that will set voting district boundaries. No more gerrymandering.
Proposal 3 eased the process of voter registration and voting, including allowing anyone to vote by mail.

In addition, three successful initiatives did not appear on the ballot because they were enacted by the legislature:

Repealing the prevailing wage law. Republicans could have passed the repeal in the normal legislative process, but Governor Snyder was against it. Passing it first as a voter initiative shielded it from the Governor's veto.
Establishing a $12 dollar minimum wage. This was passed by the legislature so they could change it. The original proposal gradually increased the standard minimum wage from $9.25 per hour to $12 per hour by 2022. Wages for tipped workers would have increased from $3.52 per hour to $12 per hour by 2024. The altered version increases the minimum to $12.05 per hour by 2030 and does not change the tipped minimum.
Requiring paid sick leave. This too was passed by the legislature so they could change it. In the original proposal, employees accumulated an hour of leave time for every 30 hours worked and employers would have to offer 72 hours of sick leave per year. In the altered version, an hour of leave is accumulated for every 35 hours worked and the annual amount offered is 40 hours. And the law doesn't apply to businesses with less than 50 employees.

It took millions of dollars and thousands of volunteers to get these proposals on the ballot, all - with the exception of the prevailing wage repeal - because our $132.6 million per year legislature (source: page B-39 of this document) failed to act. While it is true that the ballot initiatives might not have been necessary if Democrats controlled the legislature, it shows that direct democracy is feasible. Let's eliminate the House and Senate and make the legislative process direct and online. Here's how it might work:

Any individual could write legislation, although it would usually be an interest group of some kind. The proposed legislation would be registered under the name of one or more registered Michigan voter, each of whom would have the authority to change or withdraw it. Upon registration, the clock starts ticking: the proposed legislation would have 365 days to gather the support of 10 percent of voters. That support would come in the form of online votes.

If the legislation succeeds in getting the support of 10 percent of voters, it becomes a bill and has 60 days to pass or fail. It can pass in two ways: 1) a majority of all registered voters vote Yes; or 2) at the end of the 60 days, the number of Yes votes exceed the number of No votes.

The writing of legislation could occur online as well. Although a proposal would have no official standing until it is registered, its development could be open for public consideration and input in an online setting.

While there would be an official government website that lists proposals and bills and their status, the media would report on what's hot and what's not and interest groups would promote or pan pending legislation. Money formerly spent buying legislators would be spent on persuading the public.

The online system would also be used to vote for all currently-elected officials (other than legislators, who'd no longer exist).

Registered voters would be assigned a voter ID number and each time they use the system they'd have to verify their identity using a password or some other means. Records of their votes would be maintained in the system, but available only to the voter for any purpose other than counting. Keeping records allows the voter to change his or her vote up until the question is decided, which makes it difficult for anyone to coerce a voter to vote a certain way.

No U.S. state currently has online voting, but at least four countries have it in some form. The Baltic state of Estonia has taken it the furthest:

In 2005, Estonia became the first country in the world to hold nation-wide elections using this method, and in 2007, it made headlines as the first country to use [Internet voting] in parliamentary elections. (source)

In fact, nearly 99% of government services are available online in Estonia. (source)

A constitutional amendment to eliminate the legislature and establish direct democracy would require an unwieldy, multi-page petition form, making doing so through voter initiative impossible. But the Michigan Constitution requires that the question of a constitutional convention appear on the ballot every 14 years, and that will be 2026. We should be able to get the details worked out by then.

While I strongly believe in democracy and that democracy simply means majority rule, I know I won't always agree with the majority. For example, I favor the free market and don't think government should be setting wages or requiring employers to provide paid sick leave. To ease my concerns, I tell myself that the majority will have the power to correct its mistakes.

Send comments, questions, and tips to stevenrharry@gmail.com, or call or text me at 517-505-2696. If you'd like to be notified by email when I post a new story, let me know.

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