Well, I sure didn’t see the Equal Rights Amendment imploding on the Senate floor, but that’s what happened. What started as a simple basic statement of equality–“”Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged on account of the sex of the person”–got mired in a bunch of Rethug-pushed talking points. Talking points like coed prisons and mandated state payments for abortion. Led by litigator/senator Anthony Delcollo, the R’s tied the Senate up in knots with proposed amendments, and the bill went down on a largely party line vote. (BTW, people I know and respect have told me that it’s not Ken Simpler, but Delcollo, who is the most likely future R governor in waiting.) The bill requires a 2/3 majority vote, meaning 14 yes votes in the Senate, so, even if Cathy Cloutier who (note to the News Journal) is from Heatherbrooke, not from Arden, shows up and votes yes, the bill is still one or two votes short. I’m reaching the conclusion that the story of this legislative session will be the utter ineptitude of the people running the place.
Here is yesterday’s Session Activity Report. You’ll note that Gov. Carney signed several notable bills, incuding the ban on marriage of those under 18 years of age. Oh, and the ‘Build An Electoral Wall Around Karen Hartley-Nagle’ bill.
Looks like the House either plans a quick getaway or perhaps a protracted session. Today’s Agenda notes that ‘(t)here will be no caucus break’ today. For you newbies, on days that the House works an agenda, there are generally party caucuses presumably to discuss the respective agendas almost immediately after the official ‘change of the legislative day’ and various ceremonial activities. They can often last upwards of two hours. There’s no way that today’s negligible agenda requires anything approaching that. If I were forced to choose a highlight, it would probably be this bill, which establishes a 10-year residency requirement in order for senior citizens to qualify for a property tax break.
Today’s Senate Agenda holds even less interest for me than the House Agenda. Feel free to scour it and discuss anything that intrigues you. Me? Like the House, it’s time for a quick getaway.