In the core principles blog, Jack reminds us of how state government works.
One of the things that caught Michigan off guard last October, was a use tax surprise in the final budget drafted hours before signing. The Michigan constitution specifically addresses with the following, the fact this issue could arise:
§ 26 Bills; printing, possession, reading, vote on passage.
Sec. 26. No bill shall be passed or become a law at any regular session of the legislature until it has been printed or reproduced and in the possession of each house for at least five days. Every bill shall be read three times in each house before the final passage thereof. No bill shall become a law without the concurrence of a majority of the members elected to and serving in each house. On the final passage of bills, the votes and names of the members voting thereon shall be entered in the journal.AND… if you read the following as well :
§ 24 Laws; object, title, amendments changing purpose.
Sec. 24. No law shall embrace more than one object, which shall be expressed in its title. No bill shall be altered or amended on its passage through either house so as to change its original purpose as determined by its total content and not alone by its title.
The point is, in the current dyslexic reading of the Michigan constitution, lawmakers have deemed that used as a vehicle, a bill can have its entire purpose and function rearranged without review by taxpayers. It means, that a seemingly innocuous proposed legislative measure can become a blood-sucking disaster (as the Oct 2007 fiasco showed us) before anyone realizes it.
Those legislators were WRONG.
There can be no question as to why the language reads as it does. There can be no question there must be a chance for the public to interact with it’s elected representatives prior to nearly life changing legislation being enacted. There can be no question that the ABUSIVE treatment of our state’s constitution needs to stop.
Who will stand up to them? Our Attorney General? Some brave lawyers? The constitution is being violated often with the use of these bills.
I invite any reader to show my assertions are incorrect. Demonstrate the legitimacy of vehicle bills which wind up as NO reasonable facsimile of their original form. You can’t.