Building a Legislative Legacy for the Future.

• Author: Jones, Rich

Strap on your seatbelt and hold on tight. The challenges of 2025 start today and lawmakers have a say in what the coming changes will mean to their institutions. They can start today to build the legislature of tomorrow.

you are now in a time warp. As you begin reading this, you are being transported to the year 2025. The rules for the trip are simple: Suspend disbelief, do not ask how this future came to exist--it simply is. Do not question its fundamental assumptions. You are living in this future and you must cope with it.

It is January 2025. There are no legislative sessions because there are no legislatures--at least none that are reminiscent of legislatures of 2001. Those that do still exist are mere shadows of what they were some 25 years ago and exist only to rubber stamp decisions made by the people through on-line initiative elections.

Or...it is January 2025, and the all-powerful governor is getting ready to deliver her state-of-the-state address. Again, there are no legislatures to speak of. The few people who vote have opted for a strong executive after growing disenchanted with both the legislature and direct democracy.

Or...it is January 2025 and lawmakers begin to assess the effects of the hundreds of initiatives passed in November. They are gearing up for busy sessions where they and their staff will maintain 24-hour constituent service centers, conduct numerous polls and focus groups, and consider thousands of bills on popular topics in an attempt to compete with the on-line initiative elections held each quarter.

Or...it is January 2025, and legislative sessions are opening with a high level of public confidence and the usual crush of business, lists of issues to address and legislation to consider.

Sound far-fetched? Not really. Legislatures in 2025 could look like any of these--or perhaps a different future is in store. Nevertheless, change is on the horizon, and legislatures need to be prepared to face it, respond to it and recognize their role as stewards of the people's will. So rather than accept the results that fate may deal them, state legislatures can begin today to shape the legacy they want.

In doing so, legislatures have another very important obligation: to protect the core values of representative democracy and the deliberative process. Future strength depends, to a great degree, on how well legislatures of today are able to act in accordance with core values and communicate the benefits of representative...