By Chris Fitzsimon
House Speaker Joe Hackney and his leadership team met with reporters Thursday afternoon to talk about the legislative session, what was accomplished, what wasn’t and how the legislative process worked this year.
The message was much different than the talking points from the anti-everything right that have seeped into columns and interviewers’ questions, claims that the budget spends and taxes too much and that the session has dragged on without much to show for it.
Hackney made the opposite case, that this General Assembly made significant progress on issues like education, health care and the environment while ending the county share of Medicaid and giving local governments ways to raise revenue to pay for their exploding growth.
Hackney’s view of the session rings far truer, and the first-term speaker deserves much of the credit, though he seems uncomfortable taking it. Instead he matter-of-factly lists what the General Assembly has done.
That fits with Hackney’s allegiance to the legislature as an institution and helps explain his approach to restoring public confidence that has been rocked by the scandal surrounding former House Speaker Jim Black.
Hackney points out that lawmakers opened ethics hearings this year, regulated legal defense funds and passed legislation denying pensions to lawmakers convicted of official wrongdoing.
Most importantly, the General Assembly passed a public financing plan for three Council of State races, experimenting with a way to remove the influence of special interest money from elections and the legislative process.
Lawmakers have been criticized for not passing more reforms, and there is some validity in that, as lobbyists can still raise money for legislators and political parties can still funnel huge dollars to individual candidates.
Hackney says ethics is also a day-to-day proposition, reflected in the way the House operates, and that restoring public confidence takes time. By all accounts, the process is more open and inclusive than in recent years. The budget procedure could stand some more improvement – but Hackney’s right, things are different.
Responding to a question about his first term leading the House, Hackney said it has been a learning experience and that he has tried to govern in the middle of the road, not from the left or the right.
The one disappointment of his first term was the lack of progress on addressing the state’s transportation problems, though it looks like a high-powered commission may be appointed and a special session on transportation may come later this year.
There’s a lot more that could have been done of course, more investments in human services like affordable housing and child care, and the tax cut for the wealthy was ill-advised.
But for almost every shortcoming, there is a positive development, none larger than allowing local governments to raise the local sales tax or the real estate transfer tax if the public approves it in countywide referenda.
The battle over the transfer tax extended the session by several weeks, but it was a watershed moment for Hackney’s first term. In the face of a massive and misleading campaign by the realtors and the homebuilders, the House leadership stood firm while the Senate Democrats continued to bow to political threats.
The transfer tax is more than just good public policy, it’s a signal that not every single issue in the General Assembly will be decided by campaign contributions, misleading television ads and a battalion of well-connected lobbyists. Occasionally, political courage and patience can be more important. Let’s hope it’s the start of things.
Patience is also a word that could describe Hackney’s leadership style. Serious, determined and thoughtful are too, and they were all on display Thursday afternoon in his session with reporters.
Hackney isn’t a backslapping, jovial politician. He just answers questions and tells you what he thinks. And he leads the House with a steady, progressive hand, which bodes well for all of us.