The Mississippi Legislature reached a deadline Monday. As of midnight, no new non-revenue bills could be filed. If you are keeping score at home — and your pocket book strongly suggests you should because these non-revenue bills have a way of costing money, too — the two chambers have presented 1,195 bills for consideration.
Typically, about a quarter of bills actually make it into law. So that means the Legislature will have added 300 new laws by the end of April, along with a sizable number or revenue bills — measures that require the state to set aside tax dollars to fund.
Each year, the sheer volume of bills ensures that proposed laws will run the gamut from ridiculous to sublime and it is interesting the wade into this sea of “we oughta” in order to find out what our legislators really believe.
That is why two bills about how the state conducts elections, one from each chamber and both from Republicans, are worth keeping an eye on.
Sen. Greg Snowden (R, Meridian) presented a bill that will make judicial elections partisan. That would mean judges would run as Republican, Democrats, Independent, etc., etc.
Meanwhile, Rep. Roun McNeal (R, Leakesville) has authored a bill that would allow municipalities and counties to go the other direction — making those elected positions non-partisan. That means if Bob and Tom both run for coroner, neither would run under a party affiliation.
The two bills represent different philosophies. We strongly favor McNeal’s point of view. We find that nothing does greater damage to an idea that aligning it with a political party. In this era of polarized politics, we already have plenty of that.
The idea that judges should be selected, in part, by their party affiliation is particularly disappointing.
We believe judges should be chosen on the basis of their knowledge of the law and how it is applied and interpreted. Party affiliation should not be part of the equation if justice is truly blind.
On the other hand, we find a lot of common sense in the idea of non-partisan elections on the local level.
There is no Republican way for a constable to serve a subpoena as far as we can determine, just as there is no Democrat way for a chancery clerk to record a deed.
Does it really matter if alderman Sally is a Republican or a Democrat when she is considering what to do about paving our streets?
It’s silliness, really, and seeks to divide us along party lines for no good reason.
It also would save hundreds of thousands of dollars in election costs, eliminating party primaries and run-offs. In budget-strapped Mississippi, that’s no small benefit.
So there are two competing philosophies among all those bills under consideration.
Snowden believes we are better served by becoming a more partisan state. McNeal believes just the opposite.
In this instance, McNeil’s view is far, far better for all of us — Republican or Democrat or Independent.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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