DE-BUNKING THE PART TIME MYTH

Although the Legislature may appear to be out of session in Charleston, work still continues back home. The term part time legislature can be somewhat misleading, the fallacy that some residents buy into is that all legislative work is only performed within the Capitol walls, in reality a majority of legislators continue to meet with constituents and constituent groups on a regular basis ironing out local problems and planning for the next regular session. The weeks, even months leading up to the regular session is often filled with planning sessions, drafting and redrafting legislation, and corresponding with central bill drafting in Charleston in an effort to have legislation prepared in time to be introduced early in session, rather then later.

Additionally, just this past year 2006 legislative days far exceeded the 60 day regular session and the additional 24 day interim session as mandated by state constitution. All in all, the West Virginia legislature spent 102 days in active service in 2006. However, this number is not the record, during the Wise administration the Legislature in 2001 spent in excess of 120 days in active service. An interesting fact to note is that both West Virginia 2001 and 2005 legislative days in office exceeded our full time legislative neighbors to the north . . . Pennsylvania.