From the Director: Legislative Activity Shifts to Floor Action

With this session of the Legislature due to adjourn sine die on April 22, the pace of floor action has rapidly picked up.

This has been an extremely busy session for the standing committees with over 2600 measures introduced in the legislature, and many of them subject to public hearings.

So far this session we have seen a number of good bills move towards passage, and unfortunately a number of other good bills die. Currently, a number of AWC supported measures are positioned for floor action, and we are guardedly optimistic about outcomes this session.

With barely two weeks until adjournment, the Legislature still has many issues to address, including the state’s operating, capital, and transportation budgets. In the final analysis, the success of the session will hinge, to a large extent, on various elements of the budget, including: the overall size of the budget; the appropriations for various purposes; and the amount of unspent revenues available for the following biennium.

At this point, the 2007 session is turning out positively for cities and towns. While we will not get everything that we wanted, we also will not get saddled with many new responsibilities. Nor will we be adversely impacted by the loss of fiscal capacity or reductions in authority. Once again, the session has been a defensive one, but also one that has been characterized by sensitivity to the concerns of local officials.

In Closing

While committee action is for the most part concluded, we still need local officials to contact their legislators regarding pending measures. Please continue to make those invaluable contacts from home to help give that final "push" that often spells the difference between success and failure. If we at AWC can be of any help, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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