BLOG: Perfect attendance for one State House member

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Throughout the 2009 legislative session, the policymakers of the Michigan House of Representatives had the opportunity to vote on 682 bills; State Rep. Bill Caul, R-Mount Pleasant, didn’t miss one.

“As a responsibility to my constituents in the 99th district, it’s important for me to be there each day to vote on issues that affect their lives,” he said.

According to a press release, only about 28 percent of Michigan lawmakers had a perfect voting record. That is, out of 110 representatives, only 31 were present during session to vote on every issue.

Caul said if some representatives are missing when a vote takes place, the ‘board,’ as he described it, is kept open to give the absentees time to get back to the chamber of the House to cast their vote on behalf of their district.

Still, representatives do miss opportunities to vote if they don’t make it back to the chamber on time.

Caul said representative may not be present when a vote takes place, subsequently foregoing the opportunity to cast a vote on the issue, because they’re attending to problems in their district or may be at a committee or negotiation meeting.

“All (representatives) feel like they have a responsibility to their constituents but, for a variety of reasons, they may have missed a session because of a critical issue,” Caul said. “I certainly couldn’t say that there are people who ignore their responsibilities.”

To see the voting record of any lawmaker in the state of Michigan, visit www.michiganvotes.org.

Questions: Should representatives and senators be allowed to miss legislative sessions in which votes will take place? Does it bother you, as a constituent, that your elected official is not always present to represent your voice? Should elected officials be subjected to punishment if they miss a certain amount of votes and if so, what?

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