RALEIGH — North Carolina has a part-time legislature. Serving in our part-time legislation is rapidly becoming a full-time job.
There is no contradiction here, as can be seen this week as the NC Senate reconvenes for a special session to consider reforms of the medical malpractice system. This is an important issue that came up during the regular session but failed to draw a consensus. House leaders have said they’re not interested in trying to get a bill passed before the next regularly scheduled session, which begins in May 2004. But Senate leaders are pressing forward anyway.
There are a number of factors at play here. Powerful constituencies are involved in the malpractice debate: doctors, lawyers, insurers, and business groups. Some lawmakers probably think it’s about time to remind these folks, both as individuals and within their lobbying groups and PACs, that the political season has begun and it’s time to start answering the mail. Others are convinced that the public is demanding action on the malpractice crisis and so holding a special session is a good way to gain some headlines and put some pressure on recalcitrant House members.
But don’t discount the value some perceive in reconvening for the sake of reconvening.
By custom and by policy, the North Carolina General Assembly remains a part-time lawmaking body. Its members are expected to earn outside income either from a profession — be it law, accountancy, medicine, education, or business — or from retirement income from a past career. Lawmakers enjoy little staff help, unless they head major committees or hold top leadership jobs, and for the most part retain residences in districts sometimes many hours away by car (occasionally a rep who hails from a faraway clime spends a suspiciously predominant amount of time in Raleigh — but that’s a topic for another day).
Even on legislative pay, about which you will hear a lot of twaddle a lot of the time, the part-time nature of the job predominates. The actual salary for serving in the House or Senate is very low. But when you add in expense payments of varying sorts, received as tax-free income, and other perks of the office, the job can pay $30,000 to $40,000 or more. Few can actually live on this income. But if you can mix legislative work with other income-generating activities, you can come off quite well. The problem is that since we apportion so much of the compensation based on the length of service in Raleigh, there is a strong incentive to draw things out and hold special sessions like the one going on this week.
Actually, I’m not going to argue that the desire to maximize expense reimbursements is the prime motivation for the September session. As important to many as the few extra dollars is just being on the scene in Raleigh. You see, the dirty not-so-secret about serving in the General Assembly is that for all of its frustrations, it gives one quite a rush. When they are in Raleigh, in their offices and their committee hearings and populating the various eateries and drinkeries around town, state senators and representatives are treated like VIPs. Their words are wise, their questions profound, and their jokes hilarious.
If this all sounds a lot like the reason kids run for student body vice president or sophomore class treasurer, then you’re starting to catch on.
Why hold a special session on medical malpractice reform, even though it is physically impossible to pass a bill on malpractice reform until next summer? Because important people should have important meetings to talk about important things — after which other important people should feel obligated to take them out to Sullivan’s.
It’s important, don’t you know.
Hood is president of the John Locke Foundation and publisher of Carolina Journal.