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Managing the Play Clock Not Easy

S. Lincoln

“Don’t make any plans yet,” House Speaker Taylor Barras told the lower chamber’s members. “We have only next week and four days after that to complete the work – not counting the weekend dates.”

Barras is apparently attempting better play clock management in this second special session than during the first special session earlier this year, as he gave representatives a rundown of the plan of attack.

“Thursday morning, we are attempting to schedule an Appropriations Committee meeting to send House Bill 2 to committee; to suspend the rules and be able to hear HB 2 – tentatively -- on the floor Thursday afternoon.”

The rules to which he referred state a bill has to “lie over” one day between the committee hearing and the chamber vote.

House Ways and Means has already okayed HB 2 – the Capital Outlay bill – and that committee’s chairman Neil Abramson says he expects the full House vote will include some Senate items.

“The plan is to get from the Senate staff, as well, all of the proposed changes that we need to make to HB 2 and make them on the House side,” Abramson explained. “Then when we send it over to them, it already incorporates all the changes that they would otherwise make.”

Barras said he’s hopeful Abramson’s committee will advance several of the revenue raising bills today, so the full House can vote on them quickly, too.

“We will also attempt Thursday afternoon to hear whatever comes out of Ways and Means, if we can suspend the rules to make that happen,” the Speaker said. “We’re trying to get most of this to the Senate by Friday, so they can begin taking it up on Monday.”

That could be problematic, since no Senate committee can take up the bill until the full Senate has officially “received” it, and assigned it to committee. And after meeting for five minutes this morning -- just long enough to take roll call, pray, and say the pledge – the Senate adjourned and is not scheduled to meet again until Monday at 4 p.m.