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The Legislative Week in Review: April 18 - 22 Tuesday, April 19th marked the 100th and final scheduled day of the 2022 Legislative Session, and with it, the expiration of lawmakers’ per diem (the payments for their lodging, gas, and other expenses). This would usually jump start legislative action to reach final adjournment, but this year is much different. The word around the Capitol continues to be the distance between House and Senate Leaders and the Governor on the proposed school vouchers bill is holding up any movement on the state budget or other policy priorities. It is estimated the House is short 10 or more votes on the Governor’s school voucher bill, but she and the Senate are holding out for an agreement. The Senate worked a couple of days this week moving about a dozen bills off the Senate floor, approved several Governor appointees, and continued recognizing retiring Senators and Senate pages. On the House side, there was no activity as they have passed their main priorities and their version of all the budget bills except the final standings bill over to the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Whitver indicated the school vouchers bill, unemployment, and biofuels, along with other Governor priority issues, still need to be resolved before adjournment is possible. It is unclear if the House will be back this week as a final deal between the two chambers seems to be out of reach at this time. Only time will tell, but some expect that the session will go dormant until after the June primary elections. Due to the unpredictable schedule of session, this will be our last Legislative News Bulletin until further notice. With progress at a standstill and no movement on IEC’s legislative priorities in recent weeks, we are suspending our weekly email until there is an update and movement toward adjournment. Budget Process Another week passed by with no action on the FY23 budget. As negotiations continue, we understand the House and Senate are $80 million apart on budget issues and it’s all tied to their ability to resolve the final policy priorities mentioned above. We expect the Senate to move budget bills quickly when a final legislative deal is announced. Below is the updated chart outlining each individual budget bill, its number, and where it is in the overall process. |
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Legislative Dates of Interest |
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