- Sponsor:
- Sen. Sokoloa
SB 2 follows the very typical protocol of outlining the rules for the Senate at the start of the Legislative Session. What needs focus this time are the number of amendments that were filed and defeated.
Senators Lawson, Pettyjohn, Buckson, and Richardson all submitted thoughtful additions to the Senate Rules that would encourage transparency and limit government.
One such amendment recognized the large number of bills that are filed every Session that legislators are expected to understand enough to provide meaningful feedback and vote. It sought to address this issue by limiting the number of bills that can be filed by each member to 5 per year, totalling 10 during a full 2-yr Session.
Another would require all public commentors to receive at least 2-minutes to testify, rather than the shortened 60seconds that is often the case.
Unfortunately, each of the Republican written amendments were defeated by a pure party vote. Every Republican supported the additions to transparency while the Democrats voted against it.