With only two legislative days left, the only bills that can still be passed are ones that have “crossed over”: bills that have passed one chamber and are now waiting on the other chamber to vote. If they are not passed in the other chamber before Sine Die on Monday, they are dead for this session. But as we all know, bills have often come back from the dead during these last two days.
Some of these are bad bills that we hope stay dead, and on whose grave we shall dance. Some, on the other hand, are good bills, that we would like to see get across the finish line.
So, as you are watching the final hours of this year’s General Assembly, here’s my list of bills to watch for. It’s not an entire list; there are 141 bills that have crossed over. But these are the bills that I will be watching for.
Bad bills that need to stay dead
- HB 95 – lowers required emergency personnel at coal mines from two to one
- HB 255 – loosens child labor laws
- HB 341 – a silly bill proposing a constitutional amendment saying that non-citizens cannot vote. (Which they already cannot do.)
- HB 367 – limits on SNAP benefits
- HB 509 – a bill saying that any communications done on private devices are not subject to open records laws, even if those communications are about government business
- SB 4 – limits teachers’ use of sick days in calculating retirement benefits
- SB 8 – makes state Board of Education a partisan entity, with partisan elections and no appointments by the governor
- SB 80 – can’t use your student ID to vote
- SB 239 – “my religion trumps your health care”
- SB 295 – yet another anti-vax bill
Bills that need new life
- HB 10 – the “Momnibus” bill
- HB 45 – rules around privacy and license plate readers
- HB 124 – second-chance employment
- HB 612 – getting rid of the three-cue reading instruction system
- SB 74 – establishing a child and maternal fatality review team
- SB 131 – outlawing the use of “deep fakes” in campaigning
- SB 142 – paid parental leave for state employees
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