The Post-Modern Lawmaker and California's "Useless Laws"

From time to time I have written about the seemingly innocuous, but actually dangerous, practice of "post-modern" lawmaking.  European parliamentarian Daniel Hannan defines the practice as when a legislature passes laws where,

"the real purpose of such initiatives is to make the law-makers feel good about themselves.  Europe has reached a form of post-modern law-making, in which legal acts are designed to indicate disapproval rather than to produce effect."

California Governor Jerry Brown has let everyone in on this dirty little secret:  he signs many bills because of (not in spite of) their uselessness.  As quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Governor Brown admits,

"Just because a bill is useless doesn't mean I should veto it, because there's a certain comity required.  That's the word, comity, between the two branches," Brown said, adding later, "It's a bit discouraging sometimes to be a legislator and all you have is a few bills."

One would hope that at this point in the history of the Republic, the California State Legislature would function as more than a self-esteem factory for discouraged pols.  But as Hannan points out, there is real danger to this exercise in feel-good lawmaking,

"The trouble is that declaratory, aspirational laws are likelier to have unintended consequences than laws passed in order to remedy specific problems."

For those of you keeping score, the Chronicle reported on New Year's eve,

"A total of 745 were passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor this year and when lawmakers return next week for a new session, the lawmaking will continue."

Could it have anything to do with this Tuesday headline from an Investors Business Daily editorial, "The Great Golden State Business Exodus"?  IBD's editors write,

"California's in trouble.  Businesses are leaving along with intellectual and investment capital and skilled workers.  But rather than face up to serious problems, legislators pass silly laws.  One would think that given the serious nature of the state's problems, the legislature would focus on solutions at the exclusion of all else. Instead, lawmakers—what would we ever do without them?—found the time in 2011 to trespass even deeper into Californians' personal lives."

IBD puts the 2011 total at 761 new laws, but who's counting.