Monday, April 11, 2016

Roar

You hear my voice, your hear that sound
Like thunder, gonna shake your ground...

I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter

Dancing through the fire
'Cause I am the champion, and you're gonna hear me roar
~Katy Perry, "Roar"

On Wednesday, April 20th, the General Assembly will reconvene to discuss and vote on the Governor's vetoes and recommendations. Per the rules of the Reconvened Session, we will only consider these bills and not take up any other business.

I'm proud to say that I voted against every bill that the Governor vetoed and also spoke against several of them on the House floor. Next week, I hope to have the opportunity to once again speak up in defense of the Governor's vetoes.

To watch the floor debate and hear my previous remarks, please click through the links below:

HB 259
- This legislation required the State Board of Education to have General Assembly approval before adopting Common Core standards. This bills is unnecessary as the Governor and the State Board of Education have already reiterated their intentions not to do so. Video for HB 259

HB 1096
- This legislation attempted to overturn the Governor's Executive Order 50, which prohibits firearms in executive branch buildings. Video for HB 1096

HB 1234
- This legislation provided for school resource officers to be able to carry a firearm while on duty. Allowing this would create a slippery slope to future legislation allowing staff, teachers, and even students to carry on school grounds. Video for HB 1234

SB 41 - This legislation is a so-called religious freedom bill. In reality, the legislation legalizes discrimination based on one specific religious belief, effectively establishing a state religion that is preferred above all others. I spoke against SB 41 and it's House companion bill, HB 773. Video for SB 41 and Video for HB 773

When we go into Session at 12pm on April 20th, you can watch live by clicking here.

Governor's Vetoes & Recommendations

During the 2016 Session, 3,286 bills and resolutions were introduced and, of these, 1,803 passed both the House and the Senate. To further put this in perspective, here are some bill statistics:
  • 811 - bills passed the General Assembly
  • 732 - bills that passed and were signed by the Governor
  • 24 - bills were vetoed
  • 47 - bills have Governor's recommendations
You can view the full list of vetoed bills here and the full list of recommendations can be seen here.

Pimmit Run Creek Clean Up

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Pimmit Run Creek Clean Up on April 2nd. We cleaned up over 300 lbs. of trash and recyclables!