State lawmakers introduce hundreds of bills every year. And some are the same bills, year after year, that never go very far. That raises the question of why those lawmakers keep introducing bills that aren't likely to do anything but take up time at the Statehouse?One of those bills that's come up before deals with the number of women's toilets in state buildings. Rep. Joe Brown, a Columbia Democrat, proposed the bill that would require all new state buildings, or buildings to be occupied by a state agency, to have twice as many women's toilets as men's. He says the bill is not a waste of time. "What I've gotten basically from so many people is thanks for introducing this kind of legislation. This is something not frivolous. It's not foolish. It is something that's a need," he says.
Another odd bill would create a new state license plate, with the message "Choose Death". Charleston Republican Rep. John Graham Altman introduced the bill after a federal judge said the state could not issue a "Choose Life" plate because there was no comparable plate for the pro-choice side.
Asked if the bill were frivolous or a waste of the legislature's time, Rep. Altman says, "It absolutely is not. Remember, I didn't start this. The pro-abortion people sued and went to federal court. If there's any frivolity there, it's them taking a license plate to federal court." He says he's getting more and more support for the bill.
The House passed bills Tuesday that would shorten the legislative session. But representatives have passed similar bills before, only to have them defeated in the Senate. That's likely again this year, since Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell is against shortening the session.
