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  • Fred Yancey | The Nexus Group
    Feb 19, 2021
    The deadline for policy bills has come and gone, and the deadline for fiscal bills is imminent. Both Houses will now focus on ‘floor’ action, or in this case ‘zoom’ action. Simply stated, at this point, bills will have either been moved out of the policy and fiscal by end of day, Feb. 22nd, moved out of the respective Rules Committee, placed on the floor calendar awaiting action, passed by the bodies, and sent to the opposite house by the March 9th or they are ‘dead’. The cycle then repeats in the opposite chamber.
  • Fred Yancey | The Nexus Group
    Feb 12, 2021
    “What campaigns are for is weeding out the people who, for one way or another, weren’t making it for the long haul.” ~ Calvin Trilling. Substitute the word “bills” for “people” and the current legislative process is summarized. As cut-offs happen, bills ‘die’ (with the caveat that any bill can be resurrected at the legislature’s will). They don’t make it for the long haul. Lobbying, (campaigning) is the primary vehicle for either ‘killing’ a bill or keeping it alive. That is why contact with legislators throughout the session is so critical.
  • Fred Yancey | The Nexus Group
    Feb 5, 2021
    Legislators propose policies and budget dollars. Sessions, also, often focus on main themes. This year’s focus issues are Budget, Covid–19, Equity (Racial and Police-related) and Climate issues. “Education” is woven throughout most of these, and often acts in one area have consequences in another. Thus, it’s tricky.
  • Fred Yancey | The Nexus Group
    Jan 29, 2021
    Hearings are being held every day and the challenge is to communicate one’s position within the one minute typically given to testify. Because of the limited time given for public testimony, constant phone and email correspondence with legislators remains critical this session.
  • Fred Yancey | The Nexus Group
    Jan 22, 2021
    Even though the Democrat leadership has asked members to limit the number of bills they introduce, clearly, they and their Republican counterparts didn’t listen. Even so, the reality, however, given that the session is an entirely virtual one, is that just a fraction of these bills will make it through the process compared to previous sessions.

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