01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, April 14, 2005

IN HEMINGWAY'S The Old Man and the Sea, the old fisherman, Santiago, hooks a giant blue marlin. It is so large that it will not even fit into Santiago's boat. Only through fierce determination is Santiago able to pull in the mighty fish and begin towing his epic catch home.

Last fall, after 150 years of struggle for change, the people of Rhode Island made separation of powers an integral part of our state government. By more than a 3-to-1 margin, the people served an eviction notice to the special interests and insiders who had controlled state government for so long, for the benefit of so few, at the expense of so many.

Now it is time to implement separation of powers. This requires the indulgence and cooperation of the General Assembly. Under our constitution, as amended, the governor appoints and the Senate must give its "advice and consent" to some of the people chosen (for the more important posts) in the executive branch. Only the governor chooses who, exactly, will help him steer the ship of state.

To comply with separation of powers, the General Assembly must rewrite some laws. The new laws must reflect how executive departments are to be run (and how much money they need), but no more.

For decades, the leaders of the General Assembly and their special-interest constituencies have controlled the state's boards and commissions. Now, the General Assembly must yield this power to the governor, who will be under public scrutiny to keep it free from the special interests and insiders who have been part of it for generations.

As Hemingway wrote: "The shark closed fast astern and when he hit the fish the old man saw his mouth open and his strange eyes and the clicking chop of the teeth as he drove forward in the meat just above the tail."

Under the U.S. Constitution, when Congress tells the president whom he may appoint, it typically tells him to give "due consideration" to certain qualifications for the job. The U.S. Supreme Court has said that Congress can do little more.

But in Rhode Island, legislation that has been advanced by the General Assembly leadership tells the governor not only whom he may appoint. It also requires that applicants either be a member of or receive a "recommendation" from special-interest groups.

And what groups are we talking about? Here's a sample "catch" from pending legislation coming to the floor of the House:

The International Association of Fire Fighters, the Alliance for Social Service Employees, the Rhode Island Medical Society, the Rhode Island Health Center Association, the Hospital Association of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Building Trades Council, the Sierra Club, the AFL-CIO, the Gray Panthers of Rhode Island, the vice president of Brown University's Division of Biological and Medical Sciences, the president of the Rhode Island Funeral Directors Association.

These are just a few. Under the leadership's legislation, all of them have either direct appointment power to boards and commissions (using the governor as nothing more than a conduit, to make the appointments seem gubernatorial) or "gatekeeper" status as an organization that "recommends" whom the governor shall appoint, and the governor must give "due consideration" to the special interest's "recommendation."

Many of these organizations actively lobby in the General Assembly, spending many thousands of dollars to protect their special-interest initiatives, and making campaign donations to senators and representatives -- the perennial hearty harvest from the sea of Rhode Island politics. If the General Assembly's leadership has its way, the waters in and around the State House will remain infested with the same dangerous and hungry species as before separation of powers.

Hemingway wrote: "[T]hey were up to the bow now and driving in one after the other and together, tearing off the pieces of meat that showed glowing below the sea as they turned to come once more. One came, finally, against the head itself and he knew that it was over."

Legislation passed by the Rhode Island House and Senate should, as under the federal constitution, require the governor to give nothing more than "due consideration" to real qualifications for potential nominees -- not special-interest "recommendations" and membership. The integrity of the appointment process must remain intact, so that the governor can appoint free-thinking people to help run the government.

All Rhode Islanders should feel a kinship with Hemingway's Santiago. We are still a long way from shore, sailing for home with a sense that we have done something good for our state, and hoping that the General Assembly will not allow special interests to destroy or consume our hard work before we get there.

If the leaders of the General Assembly allow this, maybe it is time to take a long, hard look at their fitness and qualifications. If the General Assembly is more interested in feeding sharks than getting to shore with the constitution intact, maybe it's time for a sea change in the General Assembly.

Nicholas Gorham, a Republican representing Foster, Glocester and Coventry in the Rhode Island House of Representatives, is the House minority whip.