Lawmakers Will Not Wait 24 Hours To Vote On Budget
Air Date:02/02/2011
By Kealey Bultena
State legislators have killed a measure that requires waiting 24 hours after amending the budget bill before a vote, and the House State Affairs Committee split down party lines.
Republican Representative Val Rausch says Appropriations started work on day one, and lawmakers should know what’s in the budget bill before the final legislative day.
"I don’t think it enlightens anybody more or less because they’ve had the whole session to work on it," Rausch says. "To require us to spend another 24 hours of quiet time to look at these amendments is totally unnecessary."
Rausch says anyone can read the budget bill right now. But Democratic Representative Peggy Gibson says last-minute amendments happen quickly, and 24 hours before a vote would give lawmakers time to understand them.
"In response to Representative Rausch, I have been in some of those budget meetings in my spare time, and I have listened to them online, and I am trying to understand the budget process, and I am working at it, and I do read all my bills, etc. but a little extra time would help me out," Gibson says.
The bill failed in committee by a partisan vote.
Member stations download audio file here.
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