It is all about “;I feel your pain.”;

For legislators the question is not just how many good ideas you have, it is how many good ideas your neighbors, friends, constituents and campaign donors have.

Take all those new ideas, write a bill for each one and what happens?

The Legislature in an average year winds up with about 3,843 bills introduced. As you might suspect, there really aren't that many good ideas in the Legislature.

Every year legislators feel a need to regulate opihi, instruct us in pet ownership, find new names for the weeks , such as “;Ocean Awareness Week”; and clamp down on noisy neighbors and car alarms.

Legislative leaders this year have been “;constantly preaching,”; according to Rep. Joe Souki, to cut down on the more frivolous measures, so that there could be more time to decide how the state gets out of its budget shortfall without raising taxes.

This year the legislators introduced just 2,112 bills, a 45-percent reduction.

The attempts at adult supervision were not enough to forestall Sen. Clayton Hee's call for a rigorous examination of banning the sale of foie gras produced by force-fed geese. Bigger, weirder places than the Hawaii Legislature, such as Chicago, have banned foie gras, but after two years of smirking and irate French chefs, the Chicago ban was lifted.

Souki, with 28 years legislative experience, says the system allows for lots of free discussion without shutting anything out.

“;Until something died, all the supporters get a crack at it,”; Souki (D, Waihee-Wailuku) said.

The politician in Souki says “;there are just a lot of good ideas wanting to be heard,”; but Souki the realist admits “;most of them don't have a chance.”;

In the Senate, veteran Sen. Fred Hemmings says the yearly flood of inconsequential ideas is “;done to curry favor with the public, no matter how problematic.”;

But Hemmings (R, Lani-kai-Waimanalo) warns there is no way to curb the flood of frivolous legislation.

Bills this week have to clear a committee vote to remain alive, but that hurdle rarely stops a bill. It isn't until the bills hit the big money or judiciary committee that their fate is known.

So why don't the bills just go straight to the big committees, presumably staffed with grown-ups with little sense of whimsy?

It just wouldn't be the same.