AUGUSTA — If the state can tell school districts to consolidate, the state Legislature should consolidate too, Rep. Linda Valentino says.
How would that work? By creating a unicameral Legislature with 105 senators to represent the entire state.
The Saco Democrat thinks Maine should put a lock on the Senate chamber door and create a one-body Legislature that would provide a strong counterbalance to the executive and judicial branches.
To make such a radical change, it takes an amendment to the Maine Constitution. That means Valentino has to convince two-thirds of the current Legislature to go along with the idea before it would go to voters.
"I do not feel we have had transparency or accountability, after being here four years," she said.
Valentino's idea is one of several attempts by legislators this year to amend the state constitution. At least six lawmakers want to reduce the size of the Legislature, a proposal that hasn't gained much traction in recent years.
Other proposals include the popular election of the attorney general and secretary of state, allowing early voting across Maine, and requiring a two-thirds vote for the Legislature to institute any broad-based tax increase.
When it comes to reducing the size of the Legislature, Rep. Ed Finch, D-Fairfield, is proposing to keep the same number of senators – 35 – but reduce the House from 151 to 105.
It's the second time he's sponsored the bill.
"I think that's what the public wants," he said. "I hear from all kinds of people they want a reduction. They want a chance to vote on it."
However, Finch knows the bill is a long shot. He said it's hard for lawmakers to support something that may mean the elimination of their jobs.
"I recognize this is probably a futile effort," he said. "We'll throw it out and see what happens."
For Sen. Debra Plowman, R-Hampden, it's time for the Legislature to give up its power to select the state's top attorney and the secretary of state.
She is sponsoring two constitutional amendments. One calls for the public to elect the attorney general; the other would have voters choose the secretary of state.
She said the last time the Legislature chose an attorney general, which was in December 2008, all three candidates were current or former legislators.
All three were Democrats, and because Democrats hold the majority, they had the power to pick the winner.
"It's a closed nomination process," she said. "You should be required to take out papers, get signatures, face the public and see how you stand up."
Maine is the only state in the country in which the Legislature picks the attorney general. In most states, the attorney general is elected by voters. In a handful of other states, the governor appoints the attorney general, according to the Council of State Governments.
And if Maine decided to go to a unicameral Legislature, it would be only the second state in the county to have such a system. Nebraska has a unicameral, nonpartisan Legislature, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Valentino said the idea isn't as radical as it sounds.
She said much has changed since Maine broke away from Massachusetts in 1820. For one thing, legislative districts can be bigger now because lawmakers don't have to travel by horse to visit their constituents, she said.
The advent of e-mail and cell phones makes it much easier for legislators to know what their constituents are thinking, how they want them to vote and whether they need help dealing with a state agency, she said.
And by combining the House and Senate, it not only results in far fewer legislators – from 186 to 105 – but would mean real cuts to the staff needed to support the operation.
As it is now, the House and Senate leaders in both parties maintain separate offices with separate staff....
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