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Friday, March 12, 2010

The college kid in every legislator

Reading piles of papers you neglected when they were assigned, meeting frantically with study groups, pulling all-nighters – are you thinking of your college days yet? This week the inner college student in legislators seems to have emerged due to today’s first committee deadline.

All week committee hearings have stretched from early in the morning until late at night to accommodate the last-minute bills that still need to be approved by policy committees in order to be considered during the remainder of the session. Some legislators have even pulled all-nighters to keep up with the influx of bills that arrive in their offices.

While it certainly seems like a painful process for adult lawmakers to subject themselves to such torturous conditions, committee deadlines are important to keep the legislative process moving. Just like most college students, legislators appear unable to make progress unless there is a deadline looming over their heads.

Today is the time for legislators to fish or cut bait.