General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Weds., June 15, 2020

Unionization, anybody?  Now, that’s how to kick off a session.  I find it almost impossible to envision the Petes and Vals of this General Assembly moving forward with total equanimity for the staff involved in this effort. The best part is, they dare not do anything about it lest they be revealed for the hypocrites they’ve always been.  Just one more great thread to be woven into this year’s legislative soap opera.

Before I proceed to the ‘just the facts, ma’am’ portion of the post, let’s first focus on Dave McBride and Nicole Poore’s first shot at perfidy (or semi-redemption) for the session. Who knows, perhaps Darius Brown’s as well:

After almost six months in legislative limbo, HB 212 (Cooke) finally found its way into a Senate committee.  The bill, which would cap the height of the landfill in Minquadale (Minquadale, Dave, you used to represent Minquadale, remember? I do) passed the House on June 25, 2019, and then disappeared from view until it finally surfaced…in the Senate Executive Committee. An odd committee choice, to be sure. So, here’s what’s gonna happen for all to see. You will either side with Bobby Byrd and Waste Management and kill this bill, thus opting for environmental racism over your former constituents, or you will do the right thing, release it to the floor, and put it on an agenda sooner rather than later. Either way, I will be combing through your annual campaign finance report when it’s released on January 20, and reporting on just how much corporate cash you have pocketed to the detriment of your constituents. Not to mention every penny you’ve pocketed from Bobby Byrd’s clients. Count on it. Same for you, Nicole. You too, Darius.  Just sayin’.

Man, I’m feeling better about my legislative coverage than I have in a long time. So, let’s, um, cover stuff:

Here’s yesterday’s Legislative Activity Report.  Not much, which is not surprising.

For you newbies, Wednesday is generally Committee Meeting Day.  The House never conducts other substantive business on Wednesdays, the Senate does run the occasional Agenda.

Today’s House Committee highlights:

*HB 265(Jaques) ‘fully exempts county property taxes and local school taxes for a disabled veteran with a 100% VA rated service-connected, permanent and total disability or for a disabled veteran who is receiving 100% disability compensation due to individual unemployability’ (Veterans Affairs).  I’ll say it again, those who think that Jaques will be easy pickin’s ignore the fact that he’s a pretty good legislator on stuff like this.

*Here are a couple of relatively harmless special interest bills. HB 237 (Q. Johnson). HB 244 (Gray). For you newbies, these are characteristic of the easy way that lobbyists and legislators mingle. Don’t worry, far more harmful examples will follow as session picks up steam.  These bills are in the ‘House Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce Committee’ which, from now on, will be referred to as the Business Lapdog Committee, aka the committee where Speaker Pete sends minimum wage bills to die.

*Yet another special interest bill in the House Administration Committee. For you newbies, this committee is the House version of the Senate Executive Committee. Its members comprise the leadership of both caucuses, and bills are placed here solely at the discretion of the Speaker. Who has decided that HB 275, which is sponsored by Speaker Pete, and which takes a brave stand on behalf of dogs being permitted to visit outdoor beer gardens or patios of eating establishments, belongs there. How can you not love legislators who love dogs?  He asked rhetorically.

*I like HB 267 (K. Williams), which:

will allow a critical need reimbursement to be distributed directly to an institute of higher education or Secretary of Education approved Alternative Routes to Teacher Licensure and Certification program for an eligible teacher who is taking noncredit-earning seminars or workshops or credit-bearing coursework in order to attain a Standard Certification in a state-approved critical need area.