What is Your Legislative Agenda?

When my wife ran for state representative, people told us that 85% of voters do not know who their state legislators are. I never found research to back up this claim but based on the discussions we had during the campaign, it sounds about right. People would ask if we would need to move to Washington if Kim were elected. Our state legislature meets at the state capital in Hartford, so that would not be necessary.

A recent poll by Pulse Opinion Research found that 65% of people surveyed in Connecticut support initiative and referendum, and I wondered how many of them know who their state legislators are, have contacted their state legislators, or have ideas for initiatives or legislation that they would like to see.

In two months, voters will go to the polls in Connecticut. They will have an opportunity to vote for state legislators as well as a new Governor and Lt. Governor. Some people have important concerns they would like to see the legislator address. Have they spoken with the candidates about their concerns? Will they vote based on what the candidates say about these concerns?

Many advocacy organizations have their legislative agendas thought out for the coming year. Some state legislative candidates may have thought out the key points for their legislative agendas. Some of these may be fairly specific, others may be very broad. How many voters have their legislative agendas thought out for the coming year?

It is with this in mind, that I am asking you, what is your legislative agenda? Do you work for an advocacy organization and can speak about your organization's agenda? Are you running for office and can you speak about specific legislation you would like to see considered? Are you a voter with specific issues you would like to see addressed? How detailed can you get about a legislative fix?

Let me start off with a couple examples. Next year we will begin redistricting based on the results of the census. Political districts have often been drawn to support incumbents and powerful communities. What can be done to make sure that political boundaries are drawn more fairly? One idea is to end prison based gerrymandering. An objection to just about every form of legislation is that it will cost too much. How much does it cost to determine where prisoners are from? Should we have this data for other purposes as well? I believe this is a key issue that Common Cause, where my wife works, will be addressing.

Then, there are the issues that are of most interest to my daughter. She is interested in animal welfare and I have spent a lot of time speaking with rescuers about what could be done legislatively for dogs in need. Currently, animal control officers are generally part of the police department in their municipalities. They focus on public safety and not on animal welfare. There are lots of different changes that could be done to improve animal welfare. Some of the simplest would be requiring a basic level of training for animal control officers. Rescuers often feel that many animal control officers do not have enough knowledge of animal issues such as testing for diseases or judging how aggressive or trainable an animal is. Yet, like with the issue of prison based gerrymandering, there remains concern about the costs. What would it cost for municipalities to make sure that their animal control officers are properly trained? What are the related costs, such as liability of having an animal control officer without sufficient training, or the loss of public goodwill?

Related to this is the issue of when animals picked up by animal control officers should be tested for communicable diseases. Should all animals picked up be given basic tests? Do animal control officers have enough training to make a judgment call on when a test should given? Should all animals that are being adopted be tested before adoption? Again, the cost benefits calculation looms large.

These are but a few examples of legislation that the General Assembly might want to consider in their coming session. They are fairly specific. The pros and cons need to be considered. The fiscal impact, especially during these difficult financial times need to be considered.

So, what is your legislative agenda? Are the advocacy organizations you are part of and the candidates you are considering voting for supporting your legislative agenda?

(Cross posted at DeliberateCT. Please add your comments there.)