SAVE Commission's findings - La Follette School of Public Affairs ...

has a common language, uses
benchmarking and, like business,
provides for activity-based accounting.
3. Institute Sweeping Sunsets. Government
must continuously renew itself,
stopping what does not work and
closing the door on work that is complete.
The Legislature is challenged to
establish a Sweeping Sunset and base
closing process that is credible and
implementable. The U.S. Congress and
elected officials everywhere have
difficulty making tough decisions that
affect their districts or special interests.
By adopting the Sweeping Sunsets
process, the Legislature can slow the
process of throwing good money after
bad.
4. Require excellence in deliberation. The
Legislature represents the grass roots
wisdom of the people. The way it
defines its work, solicits input, hires and
directs its staff, schedules debate and
evaluates its products will determine
how well it meets the needs of this
generation and future generations. The
21st Century role of leaders is more to
paint vision and frame issues than
provide answers. The role that informed
deliberation plays in the Legislature
should be improved and the level of
debate enhanced.
5. Reject the temptation to manage
details. Legislators want to provide
constituent service, but the existing
system of government has almost forced
them into the primary role of government
service representative. The new
management system for state agencies
should require agencies to deliver
satisfactory service, freeing legislators
for policy discussion. Agencies and
legislators each should redefine their
roles and relationships.
6. Become better equipped to deal with
science. Major policy issues and budget
decisions will be directly affected by
new scientific discovery and technology.
Just as the reforms a century ago
required a major rethinking about what
kind of technical expertise the Legislature
needed to be effective, legislators
for the new century must have the
capacity to evaluate highly emotional
and sometimes scientifically subjective
issues involving ethics, risk analysis,
liability, personal rights and other issues
that are redefined almost daily by
changing technology.
7. It’s one government system; it should
work together. As part of the recommended
reforms, the budget, management
and personnel process ideas
assume the taxpayer expects government
to act as one system, not stepping
on one another but working together
when it makes sense. Today’s practices
and relationships between and among
units and levels of governments are
built more on distrust and turf protection
than collaboration. The Legislature
has the singular responsibility on a
statewide basis to address that problem,
as well as to see that the state’s public
and underutilized infrastructure are part
of one system, without regard to who
owns the title.
The news media also are a factor in effective
lawmaking. The media, sometimes tempted
by politicians, can have an even shorter attention
span than elected officials. Moreover, the
media is driven by a desire to report the quick
hits of conflict and corruption rather than the
more difficult in-depth, solution-focused, civic
journalism.
As with the other parts of society, the
media’s Constitutionally protected rights may
come with implicit responsibilities. In a state
like Wisconsin, where government is good and
people are capable of taking government seriously,
the media may have a special obligation
to give citizens steak along with the hot sauce.
That might mean, for example, asking not just
what a program costs, but also asking what is
its value.
To address the need for better public understanding
of the legislative process, the Commission
endorses current efforts underway in
the Legislature to use technology, public education
and other tools to help restore understanding
about and respect for that institution.
17.5
Delay appointments to
state positions.
17.6
Develop a modern view
of public input.
17.7
Place the Legislature on
a sum certain budget.
17.8
Require non-legislators
to pay for bill drafting.
17.9
Participate in shared
experiences to gain
understanding.
17.10
Achieve “higher level”
campaign as condition
of public financing.
17.11
Require legislative
impact statements.
17.12
Reduce number of
committees and require
term limits on
committee chairs.
17.13
Require 24-hour cooling
off period between bill
introduction and vote.
17.14
Prohibit proxy voting.
17.15
Limit the number of bills
a legislator may
introduce.
17.16
Require public hearings
on all bills before floor
vote.
CITIZEN • COMMUNITY • GOVERNMENT — WISCONSIN: THE 21 ST CENTURY 47