Editorial:

Worthwhile bills merit time

Published March 7, 2008

We’ve written editorials in the past few weeks about some ineffective, time-wasting bills in the Missouri House of Representatives, specifically, the bill that effectively made midwifery illegal and the bill that compromised the availability of Plan B. That’s why we’re so pleased that finally, there is a bill we can look to that is an effective, creative way of solving a problem affecting everyone.

The Textbook Transparency Act, sponsored by Rep. Jake Zimmerman, D-Olivette, essentially requires supplemental materials that are normally bundled with textbooks be available for separate purchase. The bill would also require textbook companies to disclose the cost of the textbook and associated materials to professors before they make decisions about which they assign. The bill is based on legislation that has been passed in other states.

The bill is a great example of what overwhelmingly positive benefits result from groups working together to reach a common goal. Zimmerman clearly listened to all concerned groups — textbook companies, professors and even students — and used their input to find a creative, effective solution. It’s a better fix to the situation of the ever-increasing cost of higher education than mandating a lower price for textbooks (we’d just end up with terrible books) and it’s a simple, obvious enough idea that it could be implemented without many hang-ups. We wish every bill were like this one.

Unfortunately, though, they’re not. Aside from the glaringly wasteful bills we’ve already mentioned, a number of equally awful bills passed every year further illustrate this. Three bills are working their way through the Missouri Senate attempting to establish more Missouri state symbols. Apparently having a state dinosaur (the hadrosaur) isn’t enough. This year, the Senate is working to pass an official state dessert, mushroom and game bird. The justification for these essentially useless bills is that they are simple enough that young students will understand them easily and learn how the legislature works. Apparently such bills also attract tourists.

Except neither of these reasons have any root in practicality. The bottom line is that if the state of Missouri wants to improve children’s education, they should sink money into schools and teachers instead of the roughly $10,000 it costs to sponsor and pass a bill. We’d rather those second-graders who are learning about the essentials of legislature be able to afford college down the road instead of recite the state game bird (if legislators had their way, it would be a Kansas Jayhawk, which is neither a game bird nor a real animal). The same goes for tourism.

Unproductive, wasteful or one-sided bills have no place in the House or the Senate. We just hope our representatives learn from the Textbook Transparency Act and find ways to sponsor and eventually pass more bills like it — concise, simple, creative and trying to keep represented, if not helped, groups that are involved.