Enlightened Leadership.

• Author: Hillegonds, Paul

An 18-year veteran of the Michigan House of Representatives, who served as minority leader, co-speaker and speaker, reflects on the awesome responsibilities entrusted to and required of leaders in this new century.

The exquisite restoration of the state capitol in Lansing, Mich., brings alive the ornate building's design and colors, but much of its 19th and early 20th century function has changed. Ground floor rooms once served as stables for the horses of legislators and a small corps of executive branch administrators. Today they are rewired for desktop computers used by full-time legislators and their staff.

Indeed, social and economic upheaval in 20th century America was so dramatic, it is remarkable that the form of representative government envisioned by our Founders survived.

Think about the impact of transportation and communications advances on our political system during the past 100 years. Then try to imagine a pace and magnitude of 21st century change that will be exponential.

The adaptability and societal relevance of our legislative institutions will be tested even more severely in the years ahead as lawmakers wrestle with issues such as:

* Economic growth. To sustain the prosperity we enjoy, competitive pressures will keep pushing state policymakers to reduce costs and regulatory barriers to marketplace productivity. Yet state and local governments will still be expected to provide services such as education, public safety, environmental protection and infrastructure support. Increasingly, legislators will have to focus on restructuring tax policies and service delivery systems in ways that reflect the rapid transition to an information- and service-based economy.

* Land use. In my home state of Michigan, the population is projected to grow by 11 percent; that's 1.1 million more residents by the year 2020. But if current state land use trends continue, the next 1.1 million citizens will fill up as much open space as was developed to accommodate the 9.2 million residents counted in 1990. These trends are not unique to Michigan. The need to encourage wise regional and local land use planning without overmanaging economic growth will require a balancing of interests, from private property owners and the community to local, state and federal governments.

* The opportunity gap. We are at risk of becoming a more polarized society where unequal educational opportunity and a history of racial and ethnic distrust feed each other--resulting in a society of haves and have-nots and the loss of community civility. How constructively lawmakers participate in the ongoing debates over educational quality, affirmative action and other race-related policies may well affect the long-term future of our states and nation whose population 50 years from now is likely to be more brown and black than white.

* The values debate. The different values our society holds on issues like abortion, gun control and school vouchers are challenging enough for elected representatives. In the still-dawning age of information technology and genetic engineering consider the conflicting legal, moral and ethical viewpoints that legislators will bring to our state capitols.

You may have another list of issues that legislators in your state must confront in this new century. Whatever our lists may include, they will surely challenge the durability of legislative...