This was my first session day of the biennium for voting on bills, as I had missed the February 6 session while quarantining with COVID. I was prepared to lose many votes, and indeed we did.
| Bill | Motion | Type of vote | My vote | Result of vote | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HB 238-FN | Indefinitely Postpone | Roll call | Yea | Indefinitely Postpone | 200-180 |
| HB 346-FN | OTP | Division | Nay | 183-185 | ITL on voice vote |
| HB 127-FN | OTP | Division | Nay | OTP 198-180 | |
| HB 174 | OTP | Division | Nay | 188-190 | ITL on voice vote |
| HB 203 | ITL | Roll call | Nay | ITL 215-162 | |
| Suspend rules | Roll call | Nay | 199-176 | Requires 2/3 vote; see below | |
| HB 332 | ITL | Roll call | Nay | ITL 196-171 | |
| HB 334-FN | ITL | Roll call | Nay | ITL 199-171 | |
| HB 422-FN | ITL | Roll call | Nay | ITL 196-175 | |
| SB 4 | OTP | Voice | Yea | OTP | |
| HB 55 | OTPA | Voice | Yea | OTPA | |
| HB 64 | OTP | Voice | Yea | OTP | |
| HCR 8 | OTP | Division | Nay | OTP 250-123 | |
| HCR 9 | OTP | Roll call | Nay | OTP 204-163 | |
| HR 11 | OTP | Division | Yea | OTP 328-41 | |
| HB 201-FN | ITL | Division | Nay | ITL 191-177 | |
| HB 369-FN | OTPA | Voice | Yea | OTPA |
Yet another “Right to Work” bill. We defeated HB 1377-FN last year, and a similar bill came back.
To repeat what I wrote last year:If only some of the workers at a company are union members, the non-members also pay a fee to cover the expense of collective bargaining and contract maintenance. On the face of it, that might seem unfair: why should someone not in a union pay for the union? The answer is that they are receiving the benefits of being in the union.
This bill would have made it so that non-members don’t pay a fee, so that they would be free riders.
Once again, Rep. Dan LeClerc delivered a terrific floor speech. But it came after Republican Rep. Stephen Pearson moved to Indefinitely Postpone the bill and spoke against the bill. Enough Republicans supported unions and voted with the Democrats to kill the bill.
This was an unscheduled motion to suspend the rules so that we could impeach the magistrate who let the stabbing perpetrator in Manchester go free. Although the motion received a majority, it fell short of the 2/3 majority required to pass. Various facts about the case were not publicized. I wish I could go into more detail, but I’m writing this description several weeks later, and my memory is not clear. If you want to talk to me about this vote, I’m willing to go back and listen to the debate.
Like HB 231-FN from 2023, this bill would prohibit declawing cats. I don’t care for cats any more than I did two years ago when I voted against declawing, and once again I voted against declawing. Declawing a cat is like cutting off your fingertips at the last knuckle.