How busy is the Legislature?

Note to Legislature: Handle the big stuff

In Olympia, one might argue, not very busy.

The State Senate has passed a bill making the Olympic marmot the state mammal. The proposal is now  before a House committee.

As is typical with such proposal, it started with a grade school class that leaned upon a local legislator to propose and pass the bill. In this case, the class is the Fourth Grade at Seattle’s Wedgewood Elementary, and the legislator is Sen. Ken Jacobsen, D-Seattle.

It’s not clear from Kathie Durbin’s story in The Columbian, but these are often an exercise in teaching students something about how their government, or the legislative process, works. Kids come up with something that would make a cute state something and learn how to turn the idea into a reality.

While this sounds like a great idea in theory, it could easily be argued this year it’s a bad idea to practice.