Monday is the last scheduled meeting of the commission. The report, including about 50 pages of appendices, is 77 pages long.
The problems with these types of reports are at least two-fold: (1) No one reads past the executive summary, and (2) No matter how rational and well written it is, the question is political.
First, people are busy. Legislators are even more so. Each year, thousands of bills are introduced (Bill SB2763 meet Bill HB2264). No one has the time to read each one, much less understand the complex issues involved.
Hence, when a 77 page report hits legislator's desks they have to rely on others to read, understand, and report to them. Sometimes these others are his or her own staff. Sometimes it is the committee report from the committee the bill is assigned. Sometimes it's from interested members of the public who give testimony before the committee. And sometimes it's from lobbyists paid to put forth a particular point of view.
Second, in the Legislature, all issues are political. This is not a Bad Thing. Politics has been described as the art of the good deal. If a deal is good, then by definition all parties can live with the consequences of a bill. In order for that to happen, everyone must be listened to and accommodated. This is a cornerstone of a democracy, not a barrier to it.
Having said that, deciding who gets helped and who gets hurt is not an easy task because no matter what you do, you will be making someone angry at you. Perhaps angry enough to vote against you and perhaps angry enough to persuade others to follow their lead.
So, even though I think the Commission has done an excellent job of discussing the issue of judicial salaries and even though I think I've written a report, based on objective data and criteria that reflects that discussion, I'm not entirely sure what will happen at the Legislature.
Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!
