Weekly Update 02/08/15

Week 2 is in the books

And the bills just keep on coming!  Fortunately, I have been able to keep my commitment to read bills before I vote on them.

What Have I Learned?

Several people have asked me if it has been as I expected or what I have learned from being here.  Here are a few things to note:

1. The vast majority of what we do doesn’t really make a difference.  We could manage just fine if most of the bills that we pass didn’t pass.
2. One of my seasoned colleagues reminded me that this isn’t a contest or race to see how much we can get done or how many of our bills get passed.
3. I really wish we could spend less time on petty issues and more time working on the substantive issues of our time.
4. Not all conservatives are conservative when it comes to their special interest.
5. There is a lot going on, but the system keeps it all manageable.  If you understand the process and the flow, it’s not that hard to make good decisions.

Base Budget Process

There was a lot of confusion and concern about this week’s base budget process.  It’s probably worth taking some time to explain what has happened.  A few years ago, the legislature decided to implement a plan to ensure that if the legislature and governor come to an impasse about the final budget we would avoid a government shutdown.  The process we followed this year requires each appropriations subcommittee to recommend a budget that is based on last year’s appropriation but with a 2% reduction.

While this might seem counter-intuitive in a surplus year, it actually has two beneficial results.  First, the crisis-preventing base budget is workable but not popular.  While it will avoid a shutdown, it creates significant incentive for the legislature to continue to work on a final budget that all can agree to.  Second, the 2% reduction process encourages the executive branch to evaluate their past spending and identify any possible areas of inefficiencies or programs that are not performing as expected.  We know that this is difficult for the agencies, but we believe it is a healthy step in accountability.

In the remaining weeks, we will continue to work on final budgets.  You should expect a significant increase in the public education budget over last year, although we may not fund every special project or proposal that comes our way.

My Bills

I now have six bills that have been numbered and referred to the Rules Committee for assignment to a standing committee (links are available on the Main Page.) It’s going to be a challenge having almost all of my bills at the same stage in the process, but I will do my best to prioritize.  If it turns out that some of them do not make it through the process it will be important to remember that there is always a next session.

Coming to the Hill?

I love seeing friendly faces!  A couple of you have made it up to the capitol in these first two weeks.  If you are planing to come to the capitol, please let me know the day before so we can arrange a time to meet and give you a chance to visit the House floor.

On a similar note, there is still a possibility of a District 64 day on the hill, but I’ve only had a couple of takers so far.  If you are interested in participating, please let me know, otherwise, I will arrange private visits for those that have responded.

See you up there!