This is a perfect example of an attempt to fix something that has not yet broken. No justification for these changes has been offered by the co-authors of this bill, nor has there been any statement of dissatisfaction with how the existing councils conduct their business. Proponents of this bill have not addressed how the members of the proposed "Legislative Environment Commission" will be soliciting expert advice to guide their recommendations to the legislature. This is surprising since one of the main reasons for replacing the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCMR) with its more recent incarnation, the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR), was to relieve the embarrassment of having poorly chosen funding proposals decided on a purely political basis, rather than by rigorous technical review of the merits of proposals. The conditions of appointment of citizen advisors to the LCCMR are clearly spelled out in the enabling legislation:
Per M.S. 116P. 05 as amended ML 2006 Chapter 243. (1) Have experience or expertise in the science, policy, or practice of the protection, conservation, preservation, and enhancement of the state's air, water, land, fish, wildlife, and other natural resources; (2) have strong knowledge in the state's environment and natural resource issues around the state...Proponents of the new bill argue that this "streamlines" government in Minnesota by simply requiring legislators to make the decisions they were elected to make. This specious argument simply avoids acknowledging that the LCCMR and the other citizen-legislative councils, act only in an advisory capacity to the legislature, thus, the legislators still make all final funding decisions. And, they need to be held accountable for their votes, especially when they fly in the face of informed opinion.
In the headlong nationwide rush to "make government more efficient" we are preparing to throw the baby out with the bath water. We are demonizing unions and civil servants because they have legally negotiated contracts that provide a living wage for essential services. We have reinforced claims of government inefficiency by creating a self-fulfilling prophecy wherein agency workloads are increased beyond the capacity of existing staff while positions authorized but vacated by retirement, deaths and resignations remain unfilled.
More and more these government efficiency pronouncements are being exposed as façades to cover a philosophy of "don't confuse me with the facts", cronyism, anti-intellectualism, and irrational legislation. By the refusal of elected officials to acknowledge the real costs of responsible governance, state agencies have been strangled and educational systems have been financed on the backs of an alcohol and gaming-addicted public, while the infrastructure essential to a prosperous business environment crumbles around us. Mystical mantras such as "no new taxes" and "invisible hands" are merely smoke and mirrors that substitute for carefully considered planning and legislation.
Surely, Minnesota, its citizens, and its natural resources deserve better.
Cross-posted to The Renaissance Post
The citizens were appointed to these committees to use science to determine the most beneficial uses for this money and to keep politics out. Politicians are not environmental experts. Apparently scientific facts make politics hard for politicians.
ReplyDeleteYes, we need to have a mecnanism to call out politicians for every uninformed opinion they register with their votes.
ReplyDelete