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At the risk of repetition, the legislative session and Governor’s actions have concluded. This was a session that was akin to a sprint to the finish line with the Democrat majorities in both houses pushing many pieces of legislation that had stalled in previous sessions. There were 1,425 new bills introduced and 310 passed during this 60-day session. In 2017, for comparison, for the 193 days of regular and special sessions, 377 bills passed.
So, what happened regarding pensions, health care, financials and other issues?
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Many policy bills that have been proposed earlier in the Session failed to advance by the numerous Sine Die’s. Therefore, the legislative focus on these issues and resulting legislation has shifted and they appear to be “dead” or in a deep sleep until the start of the next shorter session in January 2016 where they may be revived and returned to their house of origin.
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Session number one has ended, some would say, with a whimper. And now we must wait.
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There are over 500 pages in a proposed budget, and there are always details and provisos hidden within the budgets that may not be where they are expected. One such detail is the proviso about funding a consolidation of health care coverage. In addition, numerous proposed bills may or may not be ‘dead’. So all this means that tracking bills and updating status is like trying to describe a moving target, especially when the speed increases as the Legislature nears the April 15 deadline for moving bills out of their respective chambers. Then, hang on. The sprint begins to finish by April 26, the ‘last’ day of the session.
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First, a caveat - numerous bills still remain alive and are included in either the Senate or the House budget proposals. Because of this, these bills are deemed “necessary to implement the budget” (NTIB) so remain ‘alive’ until the eventual end of session (whenever that will occur). In addition, any bills still in House Appropriations or Senate Ways and Means have until the April 7 deadline to advance.
