Citizens flooded with legislation - is it needed?

As legislative sessions in our region are underway, one cannot help but look at the list of bills being introduced and be overwhelmed.

While we are still waiting to see the bulk of legislation in Idaho (which doesn't allow pre-filed bills), there is plenty of legislation being introduced in Montana and Washington.

So far, we have seen nearly 400 bills introduced in Montana and 483 introduced in Washington State.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, we still have a long way to go.

On average, more than 109,000 bills are introduced in state legislatures each year. An average session length is approximately 120 calendar days.

Throughout our region, the number of bills introduced typically depends on the state.

Some states, including Montana and Wyoming, have limited the number of bills a legislator can introduce, a policy which forces lawmakers to focus on important issues, and not spend time naming official state rocks or dinosaurs.