Filed under: General — shadow @ 11:00 pm
The Senate is headed for an extremely close vote Wednesday on the controversial nomination of Judge Leslie Southwick for a lifetime appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit based in Louisiana. Full Story
Filed under: General — shadow @ 5:00 pm
Democratic presidential candidate demonstrates deference to Bill Gardner after handing over a check and registration to get on the primary ballot.
Filed under: General — shadow @ 5:00 pm
October is a Busy Month in State Capitol
The month of October, in non election years, is a busy month for legislative study committees and work on re-referred bills. Re-referred bills are legislation that was not passed by either the House or Senate and sent back to a committee for further work. The Ways and Means Committee which I chair, for example, had one bill re-referred to it. It deals with updating statues affecting the Department of Revenue Administration. Another committee I serve on, Energy, Environment and Economic Development, has seven bills. Overall, 51 bills were re-referred by the Senate.
The rules of the Senate require that the committees work on these bills so that they can be acted on by the third legislative day of the second year session. That means all re-referred bills must be voted on by the Senate during one of the first three Senate meetings held next year.
The seven re-referred bills in the Energy, Environment and Economic Development Committee cover a range of issues. One bill (SB 196) would require the Office of Energy and Planning (OEP) to establish a position of director of climate change. As a courtesy to the sponsor, this bill is still alive but the discussion around it shows that several people in state government, including at the OEP, already keep watch on climate change issues. The OEP and the Department of Environmental Services (DES) will have a place on their websites so citizens can identify who is handling what aspect of climate change policy. Thus, my guess is that the bill is not needed and is likely to get an inexpedient to legislate recommendation from the committee. Full Story
Filed under: General — shadow @ 5:00 pm
The United States has opened a diplomatic “full court press” to urge Turkey not to invade northern Iraq, the State Department said Monday, as tensions between the two countries soared following an ambush by rebel Kurds that killed 12 Turkish soldiers and left eight missing.
Filed under: General — shadow @ 11:01 am
Jim Neal, the Democrat who plans to challenge Sen. Elizabeth Dole, is gay, a camapign spokesman confirmed Monday
Filed under: General — shadow @ 11:01 am
October is a Busy Month in State Capitol
The month of October, in non election years, is a busy month for legislative study committees and work on re-referred bills. Re-referred bills are legislation that was not passed by either the House or Senate and sent back to a committee for further work. The Ways and Means Committee which I chair, for example, had one bill re-referred to it. It deals with updating statues affecting the Department of Revenue Administration. Another committee I serve on, Energy, Environment and Economic Development, has seven bills. Overall, 51 bills were re-referred by the Senate.
The rules of the Senate require that the committees work on these bills so that they can be acted on by the third legislative day of the second year session. That means all re-referred bills must be voted on by the Senate during one of the first three Senate meetings held next year.
The seven re-referred bills in the Energy, Environment and Economic Development Committee cover a range of issues. One bill (SB 196) would require the Office of Energy and Planning (OEP) to establish a position of director of climate change. As a courtesy to the sponsor, this bill is still alive but the discussion around it shows that several people in state government, including at the OEP, already keep watch on climate change issues. The OEP and the Department of Environmental Services (DES) will have a place on their websites so citizens can identify who is handling what aspect of climate change policy. Thus, my guess is that the bill is not needed and is likely to get an inexpedient to legislate recommendation from the committee. Full Story
Filed under: General — shadow @ 11:00 am
The United States has opened a diplomatic “full court press” to urge Turkey not to invade northern Iraq, the State Department said Monday, as tensions between the two countries soared following an ambush by rebel Kurds that killed 12 Turkish soldiers and left eight missing.
Filed under: General — shadow @ 5:00 am
Democratic presidential candidate recognizes that lawmakers will hardly sign on but suggests linking pay to deficit reduction would force Congress to do ‘the people’s work.’
Filed under: General — shadow @ 11:01 pm
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won a straw poll of conservative ‘values voters’ on Saturday; Mike Huckabee finished in second place, while Rudy Giuliani finished in eighth place among the 2008 GOP contenders. Full Story
Filed under: General — shadow @ 5:00 pm
Vice President Dick Cheney said Iran’s efforts to pursue technology that would allow it to build a nuclear weapon are obvious and that ‘the regime continues to practice delay and deceit in an obvious effort to buy time.’ Full Story