The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Luke W. during the 2009-2010 League.
Mission: Observe a Legislative Session and Committee Meeting
Michigan Senate Session
On the Michigan Senate floor an interesting piece of the legislative puzzle came into view during my visit on Oct. 14, 2009. The interpersonal relations of the legislators are fascinating. The line between silence and jabber can be crossed very quickly. When a high ranking member of the Michigan Senate is speaking it is so quiet you can hear a pin can drop in the room. When a lower level lawmaker speaks almost no one listens and business continues as usual with the other senators talking amongst each other.
In some ways, the atmosphere of the Michigan Senate floor is akin to a high school lunchroom. The cool kids drive the agenda forward, and some of the other kids are just happy that they have a seat at the table and a chance to share their ideas.
An excellent example of the "lunch table phenomena" would be the Senator Martha G. Scott, a Detroit Democrat. For seven years the senator has tried to get her colleagues to approve a controversial measure dealing with auto insurance. Scott gives a floor speech every day, one assumes, to crusade for what she believes. While Scott will likely never get the legislation passed, she would be remiss not to fight for it while having a seat at the table.
Another example of how the "cool kids" drive the information forward was also found during the statements period that comes at the end of each Senate session. A Democrat senator stood up and excoriated his fellow members for not passing a smoking ban. All the senators were talking among themselves as he addressed the chamber. Senator Majority Floor Leader Alan Cropsey, however, stood up and put the issue to rest. He reminded the previous speaker that the Senate had approved a full smoking ban but the measure had failed in the House. When Cropsey spoke, the chamber fell silent and nearly everyone listened. Being in the majority is the key to ruling the day.
Senate Committee Meeting
I attended the Senate Appropriations Committee meeting in the Michigan Capitol on Oct. 14, 2009. The meeting was called to order by Chair Ron Jelinek and numerous, interesting aspects of the legislative process came into view.
First I learned that today's enemy can be the person you work together with tomorrow. Sen. John Pappageorge of Oakland County is the vice chair of the panel. Testifying before the committee that day was Andy Levin, an official in the Granholm administration who ran against Pappageorge in 2006 and was defeated by just a few hundred votes. Although they had been opponents, they now addressed each other with decorum. There is value to a system of government where people can be ideological adversaries and yet work together after the election is over.
The main issue before the committee dealt with where some Obama stimulus dollars would go. Lawmakers were debating a bill that offered Michigan $38 million for workforce training in areas of the state had suffered a sudden spike in layoffs for a three-month period this year. The presence of political maneuvering was apparent. Senator Cropsey took Levin to task because his district, despite massive unemployment, would not be receiving any funds. Each senator predictably wanted large amounts of money designated for their district. All politics is local. There was a suspicion that the localities that benefitted the most were those places with officials in high places of power.
It seems necessary to have good political relationships. One never knows when yesterday's enemy needs to be tomorrow's friend. Democrat districts will probably receive more federal stimulus dollars -- not because of their superior need but because it's a Democrat governor who appoints the people who go after the stimulus dollars proposed by a Democrat president and approved by a Democrat-controlled Congress.
