The Role of a Legislator

Until I have time to prepare a proper page for it, here is a copy of a short article sent to me by John Martin of Elmore County. Thanks, John.

THE DUTY OF A LEGISLATOR
by John Martin

As the next regular session approaches this February, what would
cross most people's minds when asked about the duty of their
legislators (and likewise their Congressmen, Senators, county commissioners,
etc.)? Some might answer, "To pass laws--to legislate" or a similar
response. Another frequent answer is to bring money--i.e. pork
spending--or "growth" to his district. Alas, too many people judge their
legislators by how much money they can dip out of the public pie and
spend on programs instead of standing up for individual liberty and
free enterprise.

So what, exactly, is the duty of a legislator? The first thing,
it is NOT to jump up and pass as many laws as he can. If anything, it
is to do just the opposite--to PREVENT the passage of any law that is
unconstitutional, oppressive, or unnecessary. Today, that would be
99 percent of all the bills that come up to the floor. Let me repeat
that--99 percent.

What are these 99 percent? They include all bills that do any of
the following--increase taxes, impose new taxes, increase revenues,
impose or intensify regulations or mandates, violate individual
liberty or property rights, seize or condemn property, annex property into
cities without a vote of the people, invade privacy, create or
condone "crimes" that have no victims, create or maintain programs that
should be left to the private sector, overspend (appropriate more money
than was collected last year), expand the size or power of
government, or violate the U.S. or Alabama Constitutions in any way--the
Constitution's PRINCIPLES, even if there are loopholes or inappropriate
amendments that otherwise might make them "legal."

Every legislator should understand that America was founded on
individual liberty, independence, and a very limited role for
government. This is the bedrock that made America the greatest and most
prosperous nation in the world. It is a sharp contrast to socialist and
communist nations that let government run people's lives, stifle
productive work ethics, and enslave the people to eternal poverty.

This principle is also clearly illustrated in the most important
statement in the Alabama Constitution--Article 1, section 35: "That
the sole object and only legitimate end of government is to protect
the citizen in the enjoyment of life, liberty, and property, and when
the government assumes other functions it is usurpation and
oppression."

If any legislator does not understand what is a legitimate law and
what is not, he should resign right away. If he doesn't have the
guts to do that, he should at least have enough principle to always vote
"no" on bad bills. And if he just doesn't understand what a bad bill
is, he should vote "no" on everything. If he did that, he would
automatically be right 99 percent of the time. No Alabama legislator in
recent history has even approached a figure that high.

A frequent excuse from some legislators is: "If I voted "no" on
everything, I wouldn't get any legislation passed." Sorry, but your
job is not to just pass legislation. Your job is to protect the
liberty and the rights of the people. Voting "no" on bad legislation
always takes priority over getting one's bill passed.

Another frequent excuse is not having enough time to read a bill
or not having a copy of the bill to read. Sure, things like that
happen, and they happen a lot. A bill recently came through Congress
that weighed 44 pounds. Who could read that? The answer is
simple--VOTE "NO."

Of course, a legislator has to pass budgets and other routine
business to run the state, but even here, he has a duty to vote "no" on
any that obligate debt or extra taxes. He should do everything he can
to keep the budgets limited so taxes can be minimized.

The duty of a legislator is not to pass new laws. It is NOT to
"bring home the bacon"--create pork barrel projects in his district.
It is NOT to trade off the people's liberty for safety. It IS to
protect the people's rights, liberty, and property. It is to be a
guardian against the numerous unconstitutional and unethical bills that are
routinely brought up every session. If he wishes to pass any new
laws, he should seek the repeal of oppressive government actions that
are already on the books. He should always seek to make government
smaller, less intrusive, and less expensive.