AZ Republicans show their true colors

From The Guardian (UK) -

Arizona Republicans block abortion-ban repeal after denouncing court ruling

Republicans in Arizona halted an effort by Democrats on Wednesday to repeal an 1864 law banning almost all abortions, which the state supreme court this week ruled could go into effect.

The move came after Republican lawmakers in the state had denounced the court’s decision, including some who previously expressed support for the law. Donald Trump and other high-profile Republicans, such as the Senate candidate Kari Lake, had also declared their opposition to the ruling with Lake urging lawmakers to “come up with an immediate commonsense solution that Arizonans can support”.

[snip]

Some Republicans in the state had, surprisingly, come out against the court’s decision. “This decision cannot stand,” Matt Gress, a Republican state representative, said. “I categorically reject rolling back the clock to a time when slavery was still legal and we could lock up women and doctors because of an abortion.”

Gress had tried to bring forth a bill to repeal the ban but then voted with other Republicans to move to recess.

The move to adjourn was MIS005.

It passed by one vote

.

That vote -

I don't think that there was any real doubt that the adjournment motion was going to pass.  Nope, the only real question about this was whether the grifters lobbyists at the Center for Arizona Policy (CAP) were busy tugging on the leash that runs between them and the Rs in the AZ legislature or if they spent their time rubbing their hands together gleefully.

My guess is that it wasn't the leash, and I have two reasons for believing that:

1. The AZ legislature doesn't need any prompting to come to CAP's heel.

2. CAP does seem rather gleeful.

House R admits what most folks already knew

The GOP is Vlad's vassal.

From The Hill (emphasis added by me) -

Intel Chair Turner: ‘Absolutely true’ that Russian propaganda has infected US Congress

House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio) stressed the expansive reach of Russian propaganda and said Sunday it has even presented itself on the floor of the U.S. Congress.

In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” with Jake Tapper, Turner said he agreed with Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who singled out conservative news outlets and said, “Russian propaganda has made its way into the United States, unfortunately, and it’s infected a good chunk of my party’s base.”

[snip]

“I mean, there are members of Congress today, who still incorrectly say that this conflict between Russia and Ukraine is over NATO, which of course it is not,” Turner said. “[Russian President] Vladimir Putin having made it very clear, both publicly and to his own population, that his view is that this is a conflict of a much broader claim of Russia, to Eastern Europe, and including claiming all of Ukraine territory as Russia’s.”

Cheeto seems to have delusions of greatness

From USA Today (emphasis add be me)-

Donald Trump says he would go to jail for free speech rights but stops short of gag order

Donald Trump said Saturday he would "gladly" go to jail in defense of his free-speech rights – but appeared to stop well short of crossing the red line set by a New York judge.

Trump is under a limited gag order in the so-called New York hush money criminal case that prevents him from speaking out about people involved in the case, including witnesses, jurors and prosecutors, other than the judge.

[snip]

"If this Partisan Hack wants to put me in the “clink” for speaking the open and obvious TRUTH, I will gladly become a Modern Day Nelson Mandela — It will be my GREAT HONOR," Trump wrote in the post.

To the best of my knowledge, Nelson Mandela never bankrupted a casino or cheated at golf, so I'm not sure he would be considered to be great in Cheeto's world.

Maricopa County primary candidates for 2024

Note: this is based only on signatures submitted and could (and probably will) be changed by legal challenges.

From Maricopa County's list of primary candidates -

Note2: The "Signatures Needed" column info is from Maricopa County here.

All countywide seats have challengers (which is a good thing for democracy) and only one race will be decided in the primary as all candidates for that office are from one party (County Treasurer with only two Republican candidates)

The 2026 election cycle has already started; some potential candidates have already filed statements of interest for offices up for election then.  Countywide offices up for election will be this year so the statements of interest for 2026 are only for constable and JP races.  So far.

Note3: Just because a candidate expresses "interest" in a particular race doesn't mean that they will be on a ballot.

Legislative schedule - week starting 4/7/2024

Nada.  As in there are no bills slated to be considered by a committee, though there may be some floor activity when our legislators get back from the vacation, on Wednesday.

Nearly three years ago, I wrote a post about holding an AZ Constitutional Convention to rein in the state legislature.  There were many suggestions that I made then, but recent events have made a couple more seem advisable.

1. The legislature would get one week after the budget is finished in order to finish dealing with any loose ends; after the week, the legislature would be out of session and all payments of public funds, other than their base salary, to legislators would cease unless called into a special session by the governor (and those would be limited to twice a year, and for a week at a time).  Certain legislators find "per diems" (and other payments) to be rather lucrative.

2. All laws crafted by the legislature would have a clause that people who violate them would receive the same punishments regardless of their wealth (or lack of it), well-connected status, or marginalized status.  We can call this the "Charles Ryan" clause.  Any police officer, prosecutor, or judge involved in contravening this clause would receive a year and a day in prison PLUS the harsher of the sentences in question.  And the harsher of the two sentences imposed (that started all of this) would be reduced to the lesser of the two sentences.

Note: HHR refers to a hearing room in the House building; SHR refers to one in the Senate building.

Note2: Generally, I'll only specify bills that look to spread propaganda.  Other bills may be more conventionally bad (think: corrupt or other misuses of public monies and/or authority).  My recommendation is that if an agenda covers an area of interest to you, read the entire agenda.

Note3: Each chamber's respective Rules Committee meets on Monday, the House's in HHR4, generally at 1 p.m. and the Senate's in Senate Caucus Room 1, generally also at 1 p.m.  Both committees serve as rubber stamps for bills leadership wants to be advanced and gatekeepers for measures that leadership wants stopped.

Note4: Meeting start times may be listed, but are flexible.  Before journeying to the Capitol or viewing the meeting online, verify the start time.

Note5: Watch for strikers, or strike everything amendments.  Those involve inserting language that replaces the entirety of a bill.  Those can be introduced at any time and can make a previously harmless bill into a very bad one. 

On Wednesday, 4/10 

-

Senate Health and Human Services meets at 2 p.m. in SHR1.  No bills on the agenda; just some executive nominations.

House Rs declare that Dulles Airport is about to go bankrupt

Actually, they said they want to name it after Cheeto.

They've introduced H.R. 7845 to do just that.

And one of the original cosponsors?  One of Arizona's own, the ever-bigoted Paul Gosar.

As expected,  the gambit wasn't received.

From The Hill -

Virginia Democrat slams proposal to name airport after Trump: ‘I’d suggest they find a federal prison’

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) on Tuesday criticized a recently-introduced GOP bill that would rename Washington Dulles International Airport after former President Trump.

“Donald Trump is facing 91 felony charges,” Connolly, whose district includes a portion of Dulles, said in a statement. “If Republicans want to name something after him, I’d suggest they find a federal prison.” 

Personally, I think that an immigrant service center, a place where they help immigrants, should be named after him.

He will *absolutely* hate that.

Legislative schedule - week starting 3/31/2024

This week: Nada is on the schedule. No committees will meet to consider bills, not even the respective chambers' Appropriations committees.  The Rules committees of the respective chambers will meet, but since they only care about whether a bill is Constitutional (though a court may disagree) and don't take testimony on a bill, I don't regard that as "consideration."

Note: HHR refers to a hearing room in the House building; SHR refers to one in the Senate building.

Note2: Generally, I'll only specify bills that look to spread propaganda.  Other bills may be more conventionally bad (think: corrupt or other misuses of public monies and/or authority).  My recommendation is that if an agenda covers an area of interest to you, read the entire agenda.

Note3: Each chamber's respective Rules Committee meets on Monday, the House's in HHR4, generally at 1 p.m. and the Senate's in Senate Caucus Room 1, generally also at 1 p.m.  Both committees serve as rubber stamps for bills leadership wants to be advanced and gatekeepers for measures that leadership wants stopped.

Note4: Meeting start times may be listed, but are flexible.  Before journeying to the Capitol or viewing the meeting online, verify the start time.

Note5: Watch for strikers, or strike everything amendments.  Those involve inserting language that replaces the entirety of a bill.  Those can be introduced at any time and can make a previously harmless bill into a very bad one. 

On Tuesday, 4/2 

-

Senate Health and Human Services meets at 2 p.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: no bills, just three executive nominations, if those are assigned to the committee.

Cheeto learns a little Latin

I'm sure he and his attorneys said an Ave Maria* before they proposed this one.

* = for you folks who don't have a Catholic upbringing, "Ave Maria" translates to "Hail Mary."

A Hail Mary is a desperation American football passing play used at the end of a half by the team that is behind and almost never works (at least, when it does work, it's big news in the sports world.)  

It got its nickname because it was said when that the quarterback heaved up the pass, he would say a Hail Mary prayer, hoping that the pass would be caught by one of his teammates

From USA Today -

Donald Trump's lawyer in Georgia: election lies are protected speech

Donald Trump’s lawyer argued Thursday the former president can’t be prosecuted in Georgia for trying to steal the 2020 election because his alleged conduct was political speech that must be protected under the First Amendment − even speech that was lies.

“Falsity alone is not enough,” Trump's lawyer, Steven Sadow, said. “Clearly, being president at the time, dealing with elections and campaigning, calling into question what had occurred – that’s the height of political speech.”

So, they're positing that speech intended to rationalize overthrowing the Constitution is protected by that same Constitution?

Dear Cheeto: People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones

I'm not a fan of the "open letter" format, but as I'm never going to meet Cheeto (at least, I hope not), so I'm going with it here.  Maybe someone in his circle will read it to him.

Dear Cheeto,

First from AP -

Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in New York hush-money criminal case

Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order ahead of his April 15 hush-money criminal trial, making a fallacious claim about his daughter and urging him to step aside from the case.

In a social media post, the former president suggested without evidence that Judge Juan M. Merchan was kowtowing to his daughter’s interests as a Democratic political consultant. He also made a claim — later repudiated by court officials — that she had posted a social media photo showing Trump behind bars.

Ummm...two points here -

1. Don't involve family.  Even if the target of your bile  treats you fairly (and I expect that this one will), it'll tick off a lot of other people. .Even some of folks who support you might lower their opinions of you (OK - probably not.  They're thoroughly besotted.  But some undecided voters...)

2. If you're going to criticize someone else's children, yours better be better.  They're not.  Not even close.

Me

Short attention span musing - democracy isn't for dilettantes edition

- If, in 2019, someone told me that our election center should nicknamed "Fortress Democracy." I would have laughed.

Then 2020 happened.

From AP -

Arizona expects to be back at the center of election attacks. Its top officials are going on offense

The room sits behind a chain-link fence, then black iron gates. Guards block the entrance, which requires a security badge to access. The glass surrounding it is shatterproof.

What merits all these layers of protection is somewhat surprising: tabulating machines that count the votes during elections in Arizona’s Maricopa County. The security measures are a necessary expense, said the county recorder, Stephen Richer, as Arizona and its largest county have become hotbeds of election misinformation and conspiracy theories that have led to near continuous threats and harassment against election workers.

[snip]

The false claims, promoted by prominent Republicans such as presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump and Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake, have driven protesters to rally outside vote-counting centers and to patrol drop boxes. The claims have fueled death threats against election workers and their families and prompted top election officials to quit across Arizona.

The battleground state also has become a target for attacks from election meddlers and other bad actors who repeatedly attempt to hack or disable the state’s electronic systems, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said.

- It seems that throwing ideological bombs is preferable to actually, you know, governing.  At least it is for certain people..

From The Independent (UK) -

Marjorie Taylor Greene insists she doesn’t want ‘chaos’ after second threat to oust House Speaker

Marjorie Taylor Greene has defended her bid to oust Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson - after threatening to do so in January - and insisted that she was not seeking to throw the government into “chaos”.

The Georgia representative and other far right members of the House opposed the $1.2trn federal spending package that passed Congress this past week, and claimed that it was full of wasteful spending.

She denounced Mr Johnson as “willing to do the bidding of [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer”.

[snip]

Ms Greene denied that the House’s paralysis is due to far-right conservatives, or the second effort to oust a speaker in six months.

“Those people stepping down early and leaving, are the ones leaving us at risk of the Democrats controlling the majority, not me,” the congresswoman said.

She's not the only GOPer in the House who is ticked at Johnson over the budget deal.

- It seems redundant to make a deep fake video about a dilettante, but it sure can be entertaining.

From Arizona Agenda, written by Hank Stephenson -

Hey Agenda readers!

We have a very special announcement today. 

To our great surprise, Kari Lake, the former newscaster turned political candidate and frequent subject of our derision, offered to film a testimonial about how much she likes the Arizona Agenda. 

[snip]

At least, did you spot it before she told you?

Or — like most people that we’ve shown this to — did it take a second for your brain to catch up even after our “Deep Fake Kari Lake” told you she was fake?

 

Many commentators/outlets have bemoaned the effect of deep fake videos on politics.

My concern is the effect of AI-generated videos on credibility; nobody will be able to believe what they see.

And while I believe that the destruction of credibility, especially institutional credibility, is an end goal of MAGA types, it will go far beyond politics.

Can you say "reasonable doubt"?

Legislative schedule - week starting 3/24/2024

Many bills that died during the legislative session are coming back as strikers this week, and I presume, going forward until the lege adjourns sine die.

There's also a lot a sneakiness on committee agendas this week.  I expect that to continue until sine die, too.

Note: HHR refers to a hearing room in the House building; SHR refers to one in the Senate building.

Note2: Generally, I'll only specify bills that look to spread propaganda.  Other bills may be more conventionally bad (think: corrupt or other misuses of public monies and/or authority).  My recommendation is that if an agenda covers an area of interest to you, read the entire agenda.

Note3: Each chamber's respective Rules Committee meets on Monday, the House's in HHR4, generally at 1 p.m. and the Senate's in Senate Caucus Room 1, generally also at 1 p.m.  Both committees serve as rubber stamps for bills leadership wants to be advanced and gatekeepers for measures that leadership wants stopped.

Note4: Meeting start times may be listed, but are flexible.  Before journeying to the Capitol or viewing the meeting online, verify the start time.

Note5: Watch for strikers, or strike everything amendments.  Those involve inserting language that replaces the entirety of a bill.  Those can be introduced at any time and can make a previously harmless bill into a very bad one.

On Monday, 3/25 

-

House Appropriations meets at 1:30 p.m.in HHR1.  On the agenda: 12 bills, eight with proposed strikers.  Most are attempts to resurrect bills that didn't make it through the legislative process.  Lots of propaganda and bad government here, both in the basic bills and the proposed strikers.  However, the one looks to be the most interesting is Rep. David Livingston's proposed striker to SCR1010.  If passed, coming to a ballot this fall would be his plan to give legislators a pay raise by tying their salaries to the rate of inflation.  While this seems sneaky and underhanded and I oppose it for that reason, I am in favor of increasing legislative compensation.  I am a firm believer in "you get what you pay for"...and Arizona pays its legislators garbage.

Which explains some of the stinky nuggets that the AZ state legislature produces.

On Tuesday, 3/26 

-

Senate Appropriations meets at 2 p.m. in SHR109.  On the agenda: 10 bills, with two proposed strikers.  Some propaganda here but the paean to "sneaky" is Sen, John Kavanagh's proposed striker to HB2270.  It has the innocuous-sounding working title of "homeless; fund; audit."  But it's much more than that.

Among (many) other things, Kavanagh's proposed amendment would create a crime for someone to "intentionally be present in a drug-free homeless service zone to sell or transfer dangerous drugs or narcotic drugs."  A person convicted of such would be ineligible for suspension of sentence, pardon, probation or any early release except under some specified circumstances, and parole doesn't seem to be one of them.

It would also require that all facilities that serve homeless individuals or victims of domestic violence to post sign designating them as "drug-free zones" (guessing that this measure will be supported by Republicans who rail against gun-free zones) and would also require hotels that serve both homeless persons and the general public to post signs that say "THIS BUSINESS IS BEING USED TO HOUSE HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS ALONGSIDE THE GENERAL PUBLIC. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT ALL GUESTS KEEP HOTEL DOORS LOCKED, SAFELY STORE THEIR BELONGINGS AND REPORT ANY HEALTH OR SAFETY CONCERNS TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT."

Kavanagh *really* hates the homeless.

Actually, his hotel sign may have some merit, if it has a few words changed and goes up in places in addition to certain hotels.

"THIS BUSINESS CATERS TO LEGISLATORS  ALONGSIDE THE GENERAL PUBLIC. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT ALL MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC KEEP DOORS LOCKED, SAFELY STORE THEIR BELONGINGS AND REPORT ANY HEALTH OR SAFETY CONCERNS TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT."

On Thursday, 3/28 

-

Senate Judiciary meets at 9 a.m.in SHR1.  On the agenda:  no bills, just one executive nomination to consider.

That's soooo Cheeto: Tell a lie and then sue others for telling the truth

From Politico (emphasis added by me)-

Trump laments $464M judgment, sues ABC News and George Stephanopoulos for defamation

Donald Trump on Tuesday posted a string of complaints lamenting the “practically impossible” $464 million he is unable to obtain a bond for in the civil fraud judgment against him, the day after hitting ABC News and George Stephanopoulos with a defamation lawsuit for an undisclosed sum.

The former president’s lawyers said in a Monday court filing that “ongoing diligent efforts have proven that a bond in the judgment’s full amount is a ‘practical impossibility,’” including “approaching about 30 surety companies through 4 separate brokers.” Trump’s inability to pay raises the possibility that the state attorney general’s office could begin to seize his assets unless the court agrees to halt the judgment while the former president appeals the verdict.

[snip]

“Judge Engoron actually wants me to put up Hundreds of Millions of Dollars for the Right to Appeal his ridiculous decision,” Trump wrote. “ … I would be forced to mortgage or sell Great Assets, perhaps at Fire Sale prices, and if and when I win the Appeal, they would be gone. Does that make sense? WITCH HUNT. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!”

Trump’s assertion that he needs to post hundreds of millions of dollars “for the right to appeal” is wrong. He can appeal the judgment without posting any money — and indeed, he already has begun the appeals process.

[snip]

Trump’s rants over his legal issues in New York come after he sued ABC News and Stephanopoulos for defamation Monday over a March 10 airing of “This Week.” The anchor said on air that Trump had been found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll during a heated interview with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.).

Legislative schedule - week starting 3/17/2024

Friday is the last day that bills can be heard in committee, though there are ways around that restriction (bills can still be considered in the respective chambers' Appropriations committees.  Other committees can meet to consider bills, but they'll need the permission of the respective chamber's Rules committees/head.

Note: HHR refers to a hearing room in the House building; SHR refers to one in the Senate building.

Note2: Generally, I'll only specify bills that look to spread propaganda.  Other bills may be more conventionally bad (think: corrupt or other misuses of public monies and/or authority).  My recommendation is that if an agenda covers an area of interest to you, read the entire agenda.

Note3: Each chamber's respective Rules Committee meets on Monday, the House's in HHR4, generally at 1 p.m. and the Senate's in Senate Caucus Room 1, generally also at 1 p.m.  Both committees serve as rubber stamps for bills leadership wants to be advanced and gatekeepers for measures that leadership wants stopped.

Note4: Meeting start times may be listed, but are flexible.  Before journeying to the Capitol or viewing the meeting online, verify the start time.

Note5: Watch for strikers, or strike everything amendments.  Those involve inserting language that replaces the entirety of a bill.  Those can be introduced at any time and can make a previously harmless bill into a very bad one.

On Monday, 3/18 

-

House Health & Human Services meets at 2 p.m. in HHR4.  On the agenda: 15 bills.

House Land, Agriculture, & Rural Affairs meets at 2 p.m. in HHR3.  On the agenda: seven bills, including a proposed striker for SB1410, relating to the interstate transfer of marijuana and its products.  Requires a 3/4 vote to pass.

House Land, Agriculture, & Rural Affairs meets upon the adjournment of the first LARA meeting in HHR3.  On the agenda: one bill, SB1403, which, with certain exemptions, would bar a "foreign principal" from a designated country from owning land in AZ.  The report containing the list of countries is here.

House Military Affairs & Public Safety meets at 2 p.m. in HHR1.  On the agenda: 11 bills, including a proposed striker for SB1196.  There two, related but different, strikers listed; I think that I've linked to the one that will be considered, but the other one is here.  Includes SCM1040, a love letter to Congress urging the creation of a Space National Guard.

House Military Affairs & Public Safety meets at upon the adjournment of the first MAPS meeting. in HHR1.   On the agenda: one bill.

Senate Elections meets at 2 p.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: 11 bills, including a proposed striker for HB2497.  The agenda looks to be mostly propaganda.

Senate Finance and Commerce meets at 2 p.m. in SHR109.  On the agenda:15 bills, including HB2504, allowing insurers to not pay for genetic sequencing, organ transplants, etc., if a "foreign adversary" is involved and HB2661, mandating that all tablets and smartphones manufactured after 1/1/2026 that filter out "obscene" material for minors. I initially thought that this bill was pure propaganda...but as I was writing this a TV ad came on for a company that provides devices that do just this.  To many members of the lege this is just political propaganda; to others, it may be corruption.  To me, it's evidence that many legislators are capable of multi-tasking.

Senate Transportation, Technology and Missing Children meets at 2 p.m. in SHR2.  On the agenda: nine bills, including a proposed striker to HCR2049.  It, like much of this agenda, is pure propaganda.  On the plus side, this agenda includes a bill about missing children, which is kind of rare for this committee.  HB2479 seems to be about requiring DCS to do what it does in response to reports of abducted, missing, or runaway children...only quicker. There is a clause at the end of the bill that looks to be about enabling corruption -

Legislators get to decide if someone is following the laws crafted by the legislators themselves, and will siphon public funds into private pockets in response.

Hmmm...

On Tuesday, 3/19 

-

House Commerce meets at 2 p.m. in HHR3.  On the agenda: five bills, three of which have proposed strikers.  While one seems bad, the really bad one is a proposed striker to SCR1040, a scheme fronted by Rep. Justin Wilmeth to allow employers to pay tipped employees 25% less than the mandated minimum wage.

House Education meets at 2 p.m. in HHR4.  On the agenda: two bills; both are propaganda.

House Natural Resources, Energy & Water meets at 2 p.m. in HHR1.  On the agenda: six bills, including two with proposed strikers.  Both seem bad, but the one for SB1242 would siphon public money into private pockets.  Both these and the other bills on the agenda read as if they were written by industry lobbyists.

Senate Appropriations meets at 2 p.m. in SHR109.  On the agenda: 11 bills, including HB2506, mandating that people acting as agents of a "country of concern" register with the state's AG.

Senate Health and Human Services meets at 2 p.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: 12 bills.

On Wednesday, 3/20  -

House Judiciary meets at 8:30 a.m. in HHR4.  On the agenda: Lots of ugly. 13 bills, including SB1687, expanding the definition of drive by shooting.

House Government meets at 9 a.m. in HHR3.  On the agenda: seven bills.  Lots of usurping of municipal authority here.

House Ways & Means meets at 10 a.m. is HHR1.  On the agenda: eight bills. mostly running the gamut from pure propaganda, thru conduits for corruption, to simply bad government.

House Appropriations meets at 2 p.m. in HHR1.  On the agenda: six bills.

House Municipal Oversight & Elections meets at 2 p.m. in HHR4.  On the agenda: nine bills, mostly propaganda.  My personal favorite (that's sarcasm, folks) - SCR1044, removing term limits from judges subject to specific term lengths or retention elections, with specified exceptions.

House Regulatory Affairs meets at 2 p.m. in HHR5.  On the agenda: five bills.

House Transportation & Infrastructure meets at 2 p.m. in HHR3.  On the agenda: nine bills.

Senate Education meets at 2 p.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: four bills, including HB2095, expanding eligibility for STO scholarships (school vouchers).

Senate Military Affair, Public Safety and Border Security meets at 2 p.m. in SHR2.  On the agenda: eight bills, including two with proposed strikers (text not available as of this writing.)  The one that raises the most red flags has a working title of  "military; public safety".  This agenda has lots of propaganda on it, including two bills to make undocumented immigration a state crime, HB2748 and HB2821.

On Thursday, 3/21 

-

Senate Judiciary meets at 9 a.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: eight bills. including two with proposed strikers.  The texts aren't available as of this writing, but one has a working title that raises red flags - "elected officials."  Lots of propaganda on this agenda.

Senate Natural Resources, Energy and Water meets at 9 a.m. in SHR2.  On the agenda: two executive branch nominations and 17 bills, three with proposed strikers  (texts not available as yet).  All bills read as if they were written by industry lobbyists.

Senate Government meets at 1 p.m. or upon adjournment of the other committees in SHR1.  On the agenda: 21 bills. Includes HB2591, barring public entities and public power entities from entering into or renewing contracts with persons or companies that utilize forced labor or "oppressive child labor."  I don't disagree with the sentiment but have to ask -

Would this impact companies controlled by Cheeto or Vanky?