Given the size and diversity of the state and its citizens we quickly realize the tremendous amount of work that legislators must achieve in such a short time. Therefore, we study issues so much of the work is done during the year and half prior to the legislative session. This is the time when a legislator lives under the laws he or she recently passed, holds talks about recent changes, and most importantly listens to their communities. Personally, a call, a letter or a personal visit from anyone in my district means more than anything else. I truly appreciate and value my constituent's input, the same way other legislators do.
Public input is vital to the success of the process.
Once we realize most of the research and planning is done prior to the beginning of a legislative session, the frenzied pace is easier to understand. The second thing to know is that killing a bill is much easier than getting one passed. In the 76 th legislative session we filed 5,766 bills, but we sent only 1,622 to the governor. He vetoed 31. We discuss every bill among our colleagues, often weeks before we take any action on them.