,x ra z r >xouo THE MICHIGiAN DAILY
PAGE 1
Study Notes Legislati
By the Associated Press
ByICAOHasstePrass ofbills There is evidence that the 7,783
CHICAGO-Has the mass of bills state lawmakers, many of them
clogging the hoppers of America's farmers and small businessmen
50 state legislatures bogged down with litle government experience,
these traditional centers of repre- often feel overwhelmed.
sentative government to the point "It is impossible for an individu-
where they no longer can do al legiclator to be informed on all
their jobs? the bills," a reporter said in as-
A survey by the Associated Press sessing Missouri's legislative prob-
shows the amount of work tackled lems.
by state lawmakers this year was "Most are accepted on faith, on
staggering. They worked their way the recommendations of the com-
through more than 81,000 bills, an mittees which are supposed to
average of more than 1,600 per consider and study them before
state. letting them out for floor debate."
Reporters compiling the figures Below Average Amounts
made repeated references to a The 1,154 bills introduced in
struggle to cut this mass of legis- Missouri was below average for
lation, find time to give bills pub- the nation and compared with a
lic hearings, and to get them out high of 8,977 for New York. The
for debate before jammed session- totals ranged down to Vermont's
end windups. 477. The reports showed more than
30 state legislative bodies handled
RESEARCH:* 1000 or more proposals.
________________The figures compare with 17,230
d measures introduced in the two-
c _t p R1year 87th Congress, which ended
Jan. 3. Of this total, 1,569 became
law.
f0 M OW ERa.The problem of clogged legisla-
tivehoppers is not new and has
been studied by committees both
in and out of government.
Most Americans eventually move
to a different area from that in Unshackle Legislatures
which they were born, a study by The legislative processes and pro-
the Survey Research Center re- cedures committee of the National
the rveyled a n Legislative Conference, for ex-
emple, observed in a 1961 report,
Only 35 per cent of all heads of "In recent years the people have
families were born in the area come to realize, in increasing de-
where they are now living, the gree, that the capacity of state
report indicated, governments to meet the demands
The SRC based their facts on placed upon them .. . requires the
three waves of national interviews unshackling of the legislatures."
conducted in 1962. The report was If the number of bills passed is
prepared for several United States an indicator, the lawmakers are
government departments as an aid getting something done. The sur-
to their continuing program of vey shows nearly 25,000 measures
research into the causes of long were passed this year. The fig-
term employment and appraisal of ores reported for some states in-
solutions for the problem of chron- cluded point resolutions.
ic depression in various areas of
the nation. DIAL 2-6264
Social Welfare Research .._. __ ___i__
Sponsorship of the study by the ,a
Social Security Administration is
part of its grants program for re-+ STARTING
search in the field of social wel-
fare. The United States Employ- 4 SHOWS ONLY AT 1
ment Service of the Department
of Labor is directly concerned with
the placing of people in jobs, and
placement sometimes concerns
movement to a different geo-
graphical area.
While most Americans move at
some time to a new area, there is
great diversity in how far away .. |.
they go, the report indicated. Six-
teen per cent are in a different
area, but within 100 miles of their
birthplace; one family head out of
five is now living over a thousand 3
miles from where he was born.
Most of this mobility takes place
during people's younger years. Of
those 30 years old, 60 per cent
already have moved from the area
where they were born.
Among college graduates under
35 years old, half had moved in
the last five years, compared to SEE.a.hak horem
one fourth of those with grade
school education or less. Profes-
sional and technical workers are SAMUEL BRONSTON
much more mobile than farmers PRSMTS CHARLTON
and self-employed workers.fESTON
~ DIAL
8-6416 AVA
kN HAS MADE A
GROSSING, ( 1 DV
.. PIERCING,InIL
TTLING!"
-Bosley Crowther, N.Y.imes
IwwP YORDALBERMARD ON
KS ANONYMOUS" I ow.0CMIMSUERNIRMATIaCINI
ve Freeze
Short sessions, biennial rathE
than annual sessions, small re
search staffs, so-called "nonsenE
business" and unwieldy committe
systems have been requent targel
of critics of the present lawmakin
system.
Rapid-Fire Work
The sessions usually end in
frantic rush with bills passed i
rapid-fire order.
Even in Hawaii, admitted I
statehood only four years ago, tlY
bills pile up. Lawmakers in Honc
lulu considered 2,675 proposa
during a 60-day session, includir
a last-minute speedup that Res
Walter M. Heen said led to pa;
sage of "a lot .of junk."
Lawmakers wound up Rhoc
Island's 60-day session with a, f
nal 50(h)-hour meeting in whic
273 bills were passed-about on
third of the total of 733 approve
Forty-seven of the state lav
making bodies met this year i
sessions ranging from the legal'
set 40 days in Wyoming to state
such as Wisconsin and New Jerse;
where lawmakers normally quit f
several weeks in late summer an
finish up in the fall.
Group T o Honor
Pakistani Liberty
The University Pakistan Sti
dents' Association will present
program commemorating Pak
stan's 16th anniversary of ind
pendence Friday at the First Bal
tist Church, Ann Arbor. Minist
M. Masood of the Pakistanian En
bassy will be the guest speake
Also included in the program wi
be movies on Pakistan, a varies
show and the display and sale 4
native handicrafts.
& ENDING TODAY *
JOHN WAYNE
"DONOVAN'S REEF"
THURSDAY *
:00-3:35-6:15 & 9:00
4G ACTION!
TODAY
"INGMAR BERGMA
THOUGHTFUL, ENI
SHOCKING FILM.
STARK AND UNSE
INGMAR BERGMAN'S
is
EOGD~iN ORFMMN IJURiTKAM ULUKAS
WDIM[[R DMEN
INICHLAS RAY 1SAELRONTON
Ir S~~u rAEDMIIS
"CRoo
Clayboy and his girl climbed a mountain to grow up...
I U1I5IAINlmuiARM IKE 1I(TUIff'W.UE lEW 191 121