01:00 AM EST on Tuesday, December 21, 2004

WHAT PART of the word "no" don't Rhode Island House Speaker William Murphy and Senate President Joseph Montalbano understand?

On Nov. 2, almost four out of five Rhode Island voters passed a constitutional amendment bringing separation of powers to the state. It specifically requires legislators to get out of executive functions.

These two leaders are pretending now that the voters didn't really mean it, at least in cases in which millions of dollars and hundreds of jobs are on the line: the Lottery Commission, which runs gambling, and the Coastal Resources Management Council, which oversees coastline development. (As Common Cause found, Rhode Island is the only state reckless enough to let lawmakers directly run lotteries, a dangerous concentration of power.)

"I think the constitution itself is pretty clear that the General Assembly controls lotteries in the State of Rhode Island.

. . . [I]t's my feeling that the Lottery Commission should have representations from both the House and Senate on it," said Speaker Murphy, appearing on Channel 12's Newsmakers show.

Senate President Joseph Montalbano added that the Coastal Resources Management Council should also include legislators: "In the constitution, as you know, the General Assembly regulates the shoreline."

In short, they are boldly trying to nullify the landslide vote of Nov. 2. If they can get away with this, they can get away with virtually anything.

It is patently clear voters have demanded that legislators stop wielding executive power. The matter was debated for over a decade, and citizens worked hard to roll back the General Assembly's excessive and corrupting power. In every other state, power is more evenly divided between the branches.

Messrs. Murphy and Montalbano carefully drafted the language and pretended before the election that they supported separation of powers. That they are now pulling a bait-and-switch is worse than disgraceful: It appears to be an attempt to usurp the voters' basic right to self-government. One might expect the thugs who run the military dictatorship of Myanmar to ignore a 78-percent to 22-percent vote. But such men are obviously not fit for positions of trust in a representative democracy.

Here is what the Rhode Island Constitution, as amended Nov. 2, now says: "No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he or she was elected, be appointed to any state office, board, commission or other state or quasi-public entity exercising executive power under the laws of this state. . . . "

Similarly, no executive may serve in a legislative role. No exception is made for the Lottery Commission and the CRMC, and no exception was intended by the voters.

The state's voters' guide said this: "The approval of the proposed amendments to the Constitution of the State are intended to have the collective effect of ensuring the separation of government power among the three branches of government. . . . The phrase 'separation of governmental power' as used above means that one branch is not permitted to encroach on the domain or exercise the powers of another branch."

Again, the guide presented no exception for the Lottery Commission or the Coastal Resources Management Council. That was the basis on which citizens voted.

Why do Messrs. Murphy and Montalbano think that they can get away with double-crossing the voters? Two sections of the constitution, they assert, offer them wiggle room:

Article VI, Section 15, states that lotteries "are subject to the prescription and regulation of the general assembly." But that can -- and, after the Nov. 2 vote, must -- be done legislatively. Legislators may no longer run the daily operations of state-sanctioned gambling, which is clearly an executive function.

Article I, Section 17, states that it is the duty of the legislature to protect natural resources "by law" and "by providing adequate resource planning." But, again, there is nothing in there to justify seizing executive power.

Why would they think such flimsy arguments could ever pass muster before the Supreme Court? Does this have anything to do with the unholy alliance rammed through at the eleventh hour in the last legislative session -- whereby, at Chief Justice Frank Williams's urging, legislative leaders cut the governor out of decisions affecting the judiciary's budget? If legislative leaders hold all the strings on money and perks for judges, with no check any longer from the executive branch, will judges then shade their constitutional rulings in favor of those leaders? The way politics is conducted in Rhode Island, unfortunately, forces decent people to raise such awful questions.

Or are Messrs. Murphy and Montalbano merely convinced no one is paying attention to this bloodless coup during the hectic holiday season?

The only thing that citizens can do is call their legislators immediately (you can find out who your legislators are, and how to contact them, at www.state.ri.us/RIELEC/FINDOFF.htm). Demand that they reject their leaders, stand by the right of Rhode Islanders to self-government, and fully implement separation of powers. You may reach Speaker Murphy at (401) 222-2466, and President Montalbano at 222-6655.

Edward Achorn is The Journal's deputy editorial-pages editor. His e-mail address is eachorn [at] projo.com.