'Message' bills: Are they important or a waste of time?

The current legislative session has sprouted a new crop of "message" bills — more than a dozen so far.

Message legislation is meant to deliver a statement as much as to make public policy. Some such bills are never expected to win final passage, and some that do aren't expected to have a practical impact on society.

Message bills can come from the left or the right. This year, the bulk of message legislation targets the federal government's perceived interference in state affairs.

Proposed legislation ranges from resolutions prohibiting federal regulation on guns manufactured in Utah to statutes prohibiting agencies from participating in federal health care programs without legislative approval.

Are message bills important to the legislative process or a waste of time?

Pignanelli: "Now and then an innocent man is sent to the legislature." — Frank McKinney Hubbard. My emotional response to message legislation is akin to the reaction when encountering my children lounging on couches watching television and playing video games: initial irritation and angst quickly evolving into relief they are not on the streets involved in greater mischief. Legislators are often criticized for spending too much time on message bills instead of debating more important issues. Wrong. The last thing we want is health care reform, tax policies, etc., developed on the floor of the House or Senate. The crafting of state policies is best accomplished behind doors, and then scrutinized in the committee process.

Accomplished in grandstanding and media hounding, I have some experience in sponsoring and defeating message legislation. A proud moment in my legislative career was leading the crucial three-day debate as to whether school lunch employees were tools of the New World Order destroying the family fabric of our society (yes, we actually discussed this). Legislators on both sides are attracted to message legislation for a simple reason: EVERYTHING ELSE IS BORING. It is much more fun to flip the oratorical finger at the federal government or the Sutherland Institute than to review technical amendments to the insurance code.

However, parental supervision is needed. Sound legislative leadership ensures message legislation quietly disappears when the threat of litigation becomes a reality. Utah taxpayers will not tolerate enriching lawyers in quixotic adventures through the courts.