When A Feller Wants To Take His Coat Off

Michael Cain says:

My state’s legislature has a coat-and-tie dress code. The Capitol building is not air-conditioned, so late in the session when the weather is warm the presiding officers often announce, “The coat rule is relaxed.” Members and staff can then go in shirt sleeves (ties remain mandatory).

I was on the Joint Budget Committee staff. By the end of my first session, I realized that the JBC staff were expected to work harder and longer and take on more difficult jobs than anyone else. As part of the childish elitism that produced, JBC staff never appeared without their coats on, relaxed rules or not. Some days I believed if the JBC staff director thought he could get away with it, he would have had us dress in the kind of silly uniforms some military units reserve for special occasions.Report