What a difference a week can make
This time last year, legislators were home, recovering from their frantic 45-day session.
This year, they are in the thick of the muss, and Senate Budget Chairman Lyle Hillyard is thankful they still are.
Last November, voters approved a constitutional amendment, pushing back the start of the session by a week and taking Presidents Day off.
The theory behind the amendment at the time was to avoid starting the session on Martin Luther King Day.
But legislators liked the idea of having an extra week to put together the budget after they get the updated revenue figures, which actually tell them how much they have to spend. Those numbers come in mid-February.
It's a convenience, to be sure. But this year the extra week is a life-saver.
With the passage of the federal stimulus package, lawmakers, legislative staff and the governor's office are still trying to untangle the massive bill and all the hoops the state has to jump through to get all the money.
Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, who is not a fan of the stimulus package in the first place, said recently that there are so many strings attached it reminds him of a puppet show.
-- Robert Gehrke
This year, they are in the thick of the muss, and Senate Budget Chairman Lyle Hillyard is thankful they still are.
Last November, voters approved a constitutional amendment, pushing back the start of the session by a week and taking Presidents Day off.
The theory behind the amendment at the time was to avoid starting the session on Martin Luther King Day.
But legislators liked the idea of having an extra week to put together the budget after they get the updated revenue figures, which actually tell them how much they have to spend. Those numbers come in mid-February.
It's a convenience, to be sure. But this year the extra week is a life-saver.
With the passage of the federal stimulus package, lawmakers, legislative staff and the governor's office are still trying to untangle the massive bill and all the hoops the state has to jump through to get all the money.
Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, who is not a fan of the stimulus package in the first place, said recently that there are so many strings attached it reminds him of a puppet show.
-- Robert Gehrke
11:22 AM
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1 Comments:
Considering how cheaply our legislators have sold themselves to Energy Solutions, I think "puppet show" is pretty fitting.
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