Post by Logan on Jul 3, 2016 17:48:14 GMT -6
The General Assembly’s 2016 short session lived up to its name. At 68 days, it was shorter (lawmakers have averaged 77 days lawmakers in election-year sessions since 2000).
And, except for some frayed nerves in the final hours before a late-night Friday adjournment, the session’s tone was mostly one of cooperation rather than partisan bickering.
On many issues the debate was among Republicans, while Democrats, far smaller in number, could occasionally played a role by making new alliances.
Looming over the session was whether the Republicans would do anything at all about House Bill 2, the LGBT law enacted earlier this year. Democrats could only make theatrical gestures: filing a protest petition in the House to force a vote on repeal, and then voting against the resolution to adjourn because Republicans wouldn’t allow such a vote.
But in one of the last actions of the session, lawmakers modified the section of HB2 that made it more difficult to file discrimination lawsuits. They left the rest intact, including restrictions on transgender bathroom use.
Read more here: www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article87477307.html
What they did not do was repeal HB2. Amending a bad piece of legislation still means it is a bad piece of legislation.
And, except for some frayed nerves in the final hours before a late-night Friday adjournment, the session’s tone was mostly one of cooperation rather than partisan bickering.
On many issues the debate was among Republicans, while Democrats, far smaller in number, could occasionally played a role by making new alliances.
Looming over the session was whether the Republicans would do anything at all about House Bill 2, the LGBT law enacted earlier this year. Democrats could only make theatrical gestures: filing a protest petition in the House to force a vote on repeal, and then voting against the resolution to adjourn because Republicans wouldn’t allow such a vote.
But in one of the last actions of the session, lawmakers modified the section of HB2 that made it more difficult to file discrimination lawsuits. They left the rest intact, including restrictions on transgender bathroom use.
Read more here: www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article87477307.html
What they did not do was repeal HB2. Amending a bad piece of legislation still means it is a bad piece of legislation.