A Shining Example of Government Efficiency

Frequent readers may think the title is one of sarcasm. It's not.  A commonly-held perception is that government workers are overpaid, lazy, and inefficient. This past week, a friend and I have been making the rounds at the Capitol to try and get appointments with Legislators that sit on the committees that will hear our driver's license bill (HB 109 / S 220) and at the same time "shop" for a sponsor for the red light camera bill, the Motorist Rights Restoration Act (MRRA). In the process of so doing, we encountered one such worker that was none of the above. I write about vehicles with State Legislator tags passing by over the speed limit on I-10, so I think when good work is found it should likewise be documented.

First, some background. The idea-to-a-law process is complex and would be worthy of it's own post and corresponding flowchart. What I'm writing of here are the very preliminary steps that must be taken.

The MRRA deals with making the traffic infraction detector (known to most as red light cameras) accountable to the same standards of law as are other violations, and also establishes an accuracy check for the devices. What has to happen is a Legislator in each chamber (House and Senate) must sponsor the bill. Getting to that point usually requires meeting with the Legislators (although this was not the case for our driver's license bill). Getting to that point means making an appointment via their aide. This is where we've experienced a great deal of frustration. Just like buying something off Craigslist, some sellers prefer you to call, while others want a text or others will only accept e-mails (and may never reply, but that's another blog post as well). Some aides will make an appointment via a phone call, others ask for an email.

This past week, we had the good fortune to meet with several representatives regarding our driver's license bill. While there, we brought up the MRRA, since both would likely be heard in the same committees. In our meeting with Rep. Peter Nehr, he not only listened to the driver's license bill, but also the MRRA. He went so far as to ask us to submit it electronically so it could be sent to bill drafting (one of those steps in the idea-to-law process above). That's where this posting comes in.

It's been said behind every good man is a great woman. I can say from personal experience that's the case in more ways than one when I consider my wife and a female colleague of mine that donates hours of her life to help in these political causes. In this case, Rep. Nehr's aide, Sharon, made the appointment, kept us up to date on what was going on, and then listened to our presentation so she was up to speed on both issues. When Rep. Nehr asked that the bill be sent to drafting, Sharon made sure we had the correct information to do so. Here's the timeline of events:

• We met with Rep. Nehr on Sept. 21.
• I emailed the bill to Sharon Sept. 22.
• Sharon submitted the bill to drafting on Sept. 22.
• On Sept. 27, I had a response from her with a preliminary draft for review.

That's six days, two of which were a weekend.

We did not have a similar experience with any of the other aides we spoke to.

This young lady is an example of how we should all strive to do our jobs. When I asked if it was OK to write publicly about this, her response was indicative of her good character:

Of course I don’t mind (a little) pat on the back, but please understand I am only doing my job.  One that I happen to believe in and enjoy.

One thing I learned as a supervisor on the highway patrol was that unlike the public sector, we could not give a bonus for exceptional work. We could give something nearly as powerful though, recognition. I'm recognizing the superior job done by this employee, and set her forth as the standard for others to be measured against. I'll be sure to write a letter to her boss so he's aware of it, although I suspect he probably already is.