This was not a particularly good day for the Democrats. We were outnumbered and lost several key votes.
| Bill | Motion | Type of vote | My vote | Result of vote | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HB 398 | Concur | Voice | Yea | Concur | |
| HB 1060 | Concur | Voice | Yea | Concur | |
| SB 592-FN | OTPA | Voice | Yea | OTPA | |
| SB 459-FN | OTPA | Roll call | Yea | OTPA 270-94 | |
| SB 537-FN | Indefinitely Postpone | Division | Nay | Indefinitely Postpone 187-179 | |
| SB 63 | OTP | Roll call | Nay | OTP 186-180 | See discussion below |
| SB 349 | OTPA | Division | Yea | OTPA 338-28 | |
| SB 185-FN | ITL | Division | Nay | ITL 188-171 | |
| SB 413-FN | OTPA | Division | Nay | OTPA 188-178 | See discussion below |
| SB 422 | Indefinitely Postpone | Division | Nay | Indefinitely Postpone 187-178 | See discussion below |
| SB 462 | OTP | Division | Yea | OTP 191-174 | OTP motion followed motion to Indefinitely Postpone, which failed on division 175-187; I voted Nay |
| SB 507-FN | OTP | Division | Yea | OTP 190-170 | See discussion below |
| SB 576 | OTP | Roll call | Nay | OTP 182-180 | See discussion below |
| SB 383-FN | OTPA | Roll call | Nay | OTPA 184-177 | |
| SB 532-FN | OTPA | Voice | Yea | OTPA | |
| SB 387-FN | Table | Division | Nay | Table 187-168 | |
| SB 589-LOCAL | OTP | Voice | Yea | OTP | |
| SB 432-FN | ITL | Division | Nay | ITL 296-60 | |
| SB 574 | OTPA | Roll call | Yea | OTPA 352-7 | |
| SB 426 | OTP | Division | Nay | OTP 194-160 | |
| SB 508-FN | OTPA | Division | Yea | OTPA 210-143 | |
| SB 481 | ITL | Division | Nay | ITL 194-154 |
This bill would have allowed municipal clerks to start processing, but not counting, ballots before Election Day, allowing voters to cure any errors that they may have made.
This bill curtails the authority of municipal public health officers and limits the ability of towns and cities to enact ordinances in response to public health threats. It had been tabled a week earlier, but the Republicans had the votes to remove it from the table (185-180) and pass it.
The underlying bill was good. It creates a private right of civil action for PFAS contamination. The problem was that the committee amendment tacked on HB 1115, the bill that allows a landlord to evict a tenant when the lease ends, rather than only for just cause. The amendment passed by a single vote, that vote being Speaker Sherm Packard. Once the amendment passed, we wanted the amended bill to fail, but it passed.
This one was a bit of a mess. The underlying bill changes language in parentage and birth records to allow for non-traditional families. But the bill had an amendment that added in both HB 1115 (see above) and HB 1412, which removes the requirement for court reporters to be licensed. HB 1412 passed the House, but the Senate voted ITL, and this was an attempt to bring it back. I actually voted for HB 1412 the first time around, against the wishes of my party. Anyway, first there was a motion to Table this bill, which failed on a division vote, 136-228 (I voted Nay). Then, after a good committee amendment passed, the amendment that included HB 1115 and HB 1412, failed on a division vote, 181-183 (I voted Nay). Another motion to Table failed. And then a motion from the Republicans to Indefinitely Postpone passed on a division vote, 187-178 (I voted Nay). So we lost that one.
This bill extends the time to petition for a new trial from three years to indefinitely for any felony conviction or class A misdemeanor in which there was newly discovered evidence, new or additional forensic testing, or new scientific understanding that would have been material for the fact finder. The committee motion for Interim Study failed on a division vote, 172-182 (I voted Nay). An amendment that would have weakened the bill also failed. Finally, after Rep. Zoe Manos delived a laser-focused floor speech, the OTP motion passed.
This bill, about reporting the death of voters, is unnecessary. Even the Secretary of State thinks so. And it almost went down. The committee motion of ITL failed on a roll call vote, 179-179 (I voted Yea), with Deputy Speaker Steven Smith casting the deciding vote. A motion to Table failed by one vote, 180-181 (I voted Yea, hoping that we could bring back the ITL motion at a future time). And then the OTP motion passed by two votes on a roll call, 182-180.
I note this bill only because I was one of the few votes on the losing side. The bill would have licensed Advanced Deposit Wagering for creating and depositing funds for betting on live horse racing. It seemed like an OK idea to me, though I certainly (ahem) do not have a horse in the race.