Whirlwind legislative session draws to a close
from Grassroot Institute
The fate of the final 146 legislative fiscal bills will have been decided after the last conference committee meeting today, which is currently scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
So far 80 bills have passed the Legislature for the 2011 session. See them here: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2011/lists/RptMeasuresPassed.aspx Of those, 30 have become law – see: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2011/lists/RptActs.aspx - and the rest are shown as having passed final reading or having been sent to the governor, where he can sign them into law, veto them or have them pass into law without his signature.
At 6:30 p.m. Friday, the Senate and House are each slated to go into session, and by the time they adjourn, the final fiscal bills that passed their conference committees most likely will have until 11 p.m. or midnight for the clerk to receive them into the journal. Then, on Tuesday, May 3, the legislators will vote on the bills that will pass as is, and give 48 hours to vote on any bills that they want to amend. On Thursday, May 5, the last votes will be taken and the regular 2011 session will come to a close.
Traditionally, about 10 percent of the bills introduced at the beginning of a session pass into law. By the time the Legislature adjourns, the public will know the final percentage of the 3,224 bills introduced this year that passed into law.
The public is invited to a potluck at the Public Access Room, on Wednesday, May 4, 2011, at 4 p.m. in Room 401 at the state Capitol to celebrate the (almost) end of session. For more information, go to page 4 of the Public Access Room’s April 2011 newsletter at http://hawaii.gov/lrb/par/pub/nl0411pdf
To see this post in Rooted in Reason, go to: http://wp.me/pFlrJ-n3 or see other posts there at http://rootedinreason.com/
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