The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1913-07-10
Committee if Named Will Work on
Legislation During Time Between
Sessions and Have Reports Ready
When Regular Sessions are Called.

the legislative interim and make
recommendations to the next legisla-
i tive session of more elastic forms Of
legislative procedure, together with
plans for expediting business before
the legislature so that if possible the
| length of the sessions might be short
ened to some extent, again turned the
j eyes of the legislators to the question
of methods for shortening the session.
Probably the plan which is most
favored by majority of the legisla-
tors here and one which will be un-
douDtedly urged on members of the
Legislature who might form a legisla-
tive committee on the subject would
be plan for providing some method of
introducing the bills in advance so
that when the legislature convened the
members would have the bills on their
desks ready for consideration.
This plan was always advocated by
the late Assemblyman A. R. Hall, who
always thought some scheme could be
devised by which the bills could be
filed with the secretary Of state during
the month Of November and thus that
the members Of the legislature when
the session convened could be all pre-
pared to give the measures attention
and not wait until the bills were in
troduced before beginning any real
legislative work. There is only one
objection to this method Of procedure,
and that is that there are many SUBJ
jects upon which it becomes appar-
ent that legislation is necessary which
do not come to light until after the
session is started, and if the rule for
the fling of the bills in advance
should be adopted it would have to
have as a complement measure
which would require very easy
method for the introduction Of bills
which had not been included in the
list filed with the secretary of state
prior to the beginning Of the session.
The limitation of the session, to
fixed number of days is not a popular
idea in Wisconsin, and several legisla-
lures past have defeated constitutional
amendment resolutions, which have
been very speedily Indefinitely post
poned. In fact a resolution on this
subject received more recognition from
the present session than it has from
any session in years and a constitu-
.tional amendment resolution which
would have limited the session in Wis
consin to one hundred and twenty days
had it run the gamut Of two legisla-
lures and been adopted by tic people,
was adopted by the assembly at this
session only to be finally Indefinitely
postponed in the senate. The issue on
this question even became so import
ant before this legislature at one time
that Senator LaFollette in his weekly
thought it worth while to devote a
front page editorial to the question in
which he very strongly condemned the
idea of limitation on legislative
sessions.
Another plan which is proprscd to
shorten the sessions is one that will
require all appropriation bills to be
before the legislature by March 10,
with provision that they must be re-
ported out from the finance committee
within six weeks after that time. AS
semblyman Douglas Anderson thinks
there may be merit in that proposition,
but men who have had experience with
ture say that the work Of preparing
the state budget cannot be carried cut
in the time proposed to allot to the
work and that if finance committee
budget is to amount to anything the
finance committee must be given plenty
of time for the consideration Of appro
priation questions and that any prop
osition which proposes to limit that
committee to forty-two days to work
on the budget would be just as futile
as a plan to limit the length of legis-
lative sessions.
It is the fact that there are so many
varied views on the subject of plans
and methods for the limiting Of the
length Of the legislative sessions that
has caused Mr.. Anderson to decide
that the subject can only be handled
with any results through special COM
mittee which shall sit in the legisla-
tive interim and shall give great
deal of care and attention to the
subject.
D One OF the plans which will I'M
doubtedly be proposed to a special leg
islative committee for an investio}sIen