It's amazing how fast lame ducks can move. As the 124th Ohio General Assembly wraps up its legislative business in a post-election spasm, there has been some incredible maneuvering, even by Statehouse standards. From requirements for legislators to file campaign report electronically to medical malpractice awards, the lame ducks are sprinting so fast they must all be wearing Nikes.

What's the rush? Republicans will still be in charge next year, when a new two-year legislative session begins. They will maintain control of all statewide executive offices and gain real control of the Supreme Court.

The answer lies in the wheeling and dealing that's possible when many different measures are up for grabs, and the opportunities the hurly-burly creates to slip something in when nobody is noticing.

The latest example of trying to slide under the political radar can be credited to state Sen. Jeff Jacobson, the Vandalia Republican who altered a little-watched elections bill to exempt state legislators from a requirement that they file campaign finance reports electronically.

The requirement was set for January, but would not have affected legislators who ran this year. Only about 50 legislators in the 99-member House and 33-member Senate would have faced electronic filing.

What a burden. Jacobson's amended bill would have also rolled back an electronic filing requirement already in effect for statewide officeholders.

Electronic filing makes it possible to post numbers on the Internet, giving everybody a good look at what's going on in terms of contributions and expenditures.

Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell raised a stink, accurately labelling the amendment ``a step backward.'' At the least, the measure needed some public debate.

Gov. Bob Taft threatened a veto. Jacobson backed off, and the House voted down the bill, at Jacobson's request, 81-0. Jacobson then said he wanted more discussion about the difficulties of electronic filings on small-town candidates. Blackwell began negotiating.

Finally, a compromise was reached that would reinstate the electronic filing requirements for legislative and statewide candidates, but delay the effective date for the legislators until March 1, 2004. Blackwell said he would work with legislators on ways to streamline procedures.

The other prime example continues to be the rapid agreement reached on a bill that would limit awards for pain and suffering in medical malpractice cases. There is no question that doctors are being squeezed by rising insurance premiums, but the legislature seems bent on the assumption that runaway jury awards are the problem.

There are strong indications the cost of defending a large number of suits is a big part of the problem. The bill under discussion now would study the situation after the fact by creating an Ohio Medical Malpractice Commission. It would require county clerks of court to report the number of malpractice cases and their dispositions.

Act first, think about it later. Such is the legislative logic when the lame ducks are in a rush.