Mr. Padgett Goes to Concord

I'm taking a course in lobbying this semester. I'm really enjoying it, and the professor is a practicing lobbyist. He's particularly enthusiastic about teaching us the ins and outs of the legislative system, and enthusiasm is one of the indicia of good teaching in my book.

One of our assignments is to actually observe the state legislature in action. I chose to follow a piece of legislation before the New Hampshire House of Representatives that seeks to abolish the death penalty. It is currently in committee (pictured). State law only allows the use of the death penalty in certain circumstances (e.g., killing a police officer, murder for hire), and a jury exercised that allowance this fall in the trial of Michael Addison. Addison was convicted and sentenced to death for killing a Manchester police officer who was pursuing him. So, the stage was set for a very emotional hearing.

One of the nice things about New Hampshire is that its legislature is highly representative. It's one of the smallest states, but it has the largest House of any state (400 members). The representatives are only paid $100 per year plus their mileage, so their task is truly a labor of love for the state. Be not mistaken; these are not yokels that operate as unripened politicians. From what I've seen, these are exceedingly smart and sophisticated people who know how to operate effectively within a political environment. [Author's Note: Notice in the picture above that the chairman of the committee gets a taller back on his chair. This is because political power and the degree of lumbar support are directly proportional.]

Anyone can attend and testify at a committee hearing, and it appears that some retired citizens make a habit out of coming to these hearings and offering their opinions of the issues. Generally, the committee chairperson recognizes people in the following order:

• the bill's sponsor
• any other representatives that want to testify
• organizations (NH Defense Lawyers, etc.)
• people with an identifiable interest (pastors, former police officers, etc.)
• everyday citizens

I expected that there would be some emotional fireworks at this hearing, but very few people attended. The testimony that I saw was carried out with civility and without excessive passion. While this is a good thing if you're trying to legislate, it is relatively boring to watch.

If you stick around for an entire hearing on an issue like this, you will hear all of the arguments spelled out in their most persuasive form early on in the hearing. From there, it's the same old song with a few exceptions that brighten the session. My favorite testimony came from a man that testified that he had read a book about San Quentin prison. In the end, he offered to loan it to the state should it fund a death penalty study commission--but declined to loan it to the committee itself because of his experience in loaning out books. This book seems to be out of print, so the committee has an exceedingly difficult decision to make now.