This week saw some late night floor action, the start of “opposite chamber” policy committee hearings, and SB 5974 passed out of the House Human Services, Youth, & Early Learning committee this morning (9-2)!
Also exciting: the House and Senate budget proposals will be released Sunday and Monday. Monday is the last opportunity for the public to weigh in on the budget during the Appropriations and Ways & Means hearings on the proposals. Interested in testifying?
What we’ll be looking for in the budget:
- Full funding for Ninth Grade Success Initiative – $2.9 million
- Funding for the Administrative Office of the Courts to continue analyzing legal financial obligations – $165,000
- Funding to expand the juvenile justice block grant – $4 million
- Funding for Rally for College – $5 million
- Funding to fully implement HB 2214 and SB 5904 to remove barriers to financial aid access for low income students, and HB 2025 to expand access to the state work study program for community based organizations.
Actions you can take today:
- If you haven’t yet emailed your lawmaker to express your support for $2.9m for Ninth Grade Student Success, click here!
- Sign in pro on SB 5850, to address chronic absenteeism.
What’s next:
The next few weeks will continue to be a whirlwind as bill deadlines and budget negotiations come on fast and furious. Legislators (and their staff) will be working long hours to get bills through committees to a floor vote and to the Governor’s desk. Here are the remaining deadlines for bills:
- February 21 – Policy Committee – Opposite House Cutoff
- February 26 – Fiscal Committee – Opposite House Cutoff
- March 1 – Floor Cutoff except for bills that are necessary to implement the budget
- March 7 – Sine Die/Last day of Session
In advocacy,
Liz Trautman
Government Affairs Director
