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Health & Fitness

Down The Rabbit Hole

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE!

June 5, 2013, at the stroke of midnight, this years session of the Connecticut General Assembly comes to a ceremonious end.

State Senate Majority Leader Looney says the magic words "sine die" (meaning the session is adjourned with no appointed date for resumption); and POOF! The session ends and any bill not passed by both houses vaporizes and dies with the proponents left to try again from scratch next session.

This practice, I respectfully submit, is not in the best interests of the people of Connecticut who shamefully and visibly are not being served so long as this practice continues; a practice many of us mere mortals know little about.

Last year (2012) scores of bills, passed by at least one branch of the legislature, never came up for a final vote since "time ran out".

The bills that died "at the stroke of midnight" took up countless hours to draft, be heard by various committees, had testimony offered by citizens both for and against passage who drove to Hartford to appear before committees during the session, took up time by still other bodies to analyze financial impact and in fact were argued before one ofthe House or Senate...and PASSED!

The shame of it all was for at least a week before the "witching hour"  the "people's business" of bringing all of these bills to the floor was simply not done.

Case in point, a truly deserving member of the Senate who was retiring, was lauded by her colleagues over a 2 day period over which many of the bills that. "went down the rabbit hole" could have been brought to the floor,  debated  and voted on.

This is an example of how the people's work just does not get done at session end.
Most people I am afraid, are not aware of this practice.

Tune into CTN, the state TV network, around 11pm on June 5thand watch the carnival "Alice In Wonderland" atmosphere unfold before your very eyes!

Groups huddling in and just out of camera range to broker what bills get "called" in the sessions waning minutes. often on a no debate "consent calendar".  Legislators frantically trying to get the bills they sponsored passed.

All this after many wasted hours on things that could be done post session, like honoring a colleague, rather than consume the people's time; condemn good bills to oblivion; and put on TV the shameful, visible spector of power brokering at its worst to get a bill passed before midnight.

There has got to be a better way!!

No "personal privileges" extended near end session, no hours spent lauding retiring colleagues; and keeping members in session to do the people's work to hear, debate and give every bill that passed at least l chamber, the up or down vote it deserves.

Citizen K 

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