Rush to Judgment Week – Except for Health Care

This will be a busy week for legislators and anyone else who cares about what's happening in Salem. That's because Thursday, April 21, is the first of a series of important deadlines when a bill must move in its house of origin or die. Except, of course, for health care bills.

Actually, nothing is ever dead until the legislature adjourns "sine die."  But that's another story.

The first deadline is causing a flurry of activity as legislators try to avert having pet bills tossed on the scrap heap by imploring their colleagues with committee chair gavels to schedule their bills for action. 

Lobbyists are doing the same, though they don't have one of the main points of access – access to House and Senate members on their respective floors, where lobbyists are prohibited.

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