Archive for May, 2004

I’ve been working on this entry for several weeks, although in its finished form the long, hard word on it will not be evident. Much the same can be said for the school finance bill, which officially died two weeks ago today. The House and Senate are adjourned sine die; the 4th Called Session is over. There is no consensus, no plan, and, for now, no imminent special session.
Most of the folks around the capitol figured it would take more than one special session to end Robin Hood as we know it, reform the tax code, and rehabilitate public schools. Not many figured it would go down the way it did. Even today, I’m still stunned at what happened on the House floor almost a month ago, on May 4, and what led up to it.
The bills passed out of committee on May 1, and the committee report was turned in the next day, capping a remarkable two weeks of cooperation between the chairman and his staff, the other committee members, the speaker’s staff, the committee coordinator, and the two volunteer clerks who kept the bills clean. There were no sustainable points of order on either bill, and none of the three that were called were sustained. So, happily I report that Greg Herzog did an excellent job as clerk, and my time volunteering to help him with the effort was successful and appreciated.
The collapse began on May 3.

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