Second week! It's weird to think that I am already 20% of the way through my senior project. I began the day on the House Floor again, where they began with the third reading of bills. For the first time, I saw a bill fail to pass, HB2112, which was surprising to see. In the legislative process, when a bill is assigned to a committee, if the chairman or chairwoman decides that the bill was either ill-conceived or unlikely to pass, they will choose not to hear the bill in committee, meaning that most bills that see committee and eventually the floor will likely pass (even though it often is a difficult battle to get there). Of course, what I didn't know was that Rep. Finchem could put his bill back on the calendar to be voted on again, so I guess I did not see it "die" per say.
After that, I went back to the education committee, where they listened to a presentation from Early Childhood Alliance about the importance of parents in a child's education pre-kindergarten, and then they heard HB2210, HB2248, HB2252, HB2388, HB2385, HB2389, HB2394, HB2395, HB2396, HB2416, HB2458, HB2465, HB2473, and HB2480 (which I don't have the space to go into each of them but you can feel free to read more about). I would highly encourage all of my tenth grade readers to check out HB2210, because if it is passed could mean that instead of taking the AZMerit test next year you could get to take one free college-readiness test (AKA the ACT or the SAT, which would be great because those tests can each cost upwards of $50). The Education committee is also where the quote of the day comes from. It's actually from Plato, and was quoted by the Chairman of the Education committee, Rep. Bowers, at the beginning of the committee meeting. It reminded me of the philiophical passion that drives all of the legislators to pursue their careers in politics, but mostly I liked it because it reminded me of these blog posts and all the quotes I have gotten to share with you all.
Monday, February 13, 2017
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Hi Mimi! Glad everything seems to be going well with your project> I really wish we had that HB2210 bill last year; life would've been so much easier. In all, I think your project seems very intriguing and I'm so excited to read more soon :).
ReplyDeleteI know! Those SATs got expensive; but I hope it passes for the sake of our tenth graders
DeleteIt'a really interesting to see how much of a potential impact what these legislators are doing could have on students' day-to-day lives. It really closes that sense of detachment that people generally have towards the government and politics. Thanks for keeping us informed Mimi! Can't wait to see in what other ways these legislators could have an impact on us.
ReplyDeleteI agree Anuka! One of the reasons I was so excited to see the Education committee is because I feel like that committee has the most impact on us (also I understand it most having gone through high school vs. the environment committee I am no scientist)
DeleteHey Mimi! Congratulations on hitting Week 2. As a tenth grader, HB2210 is the probably the best thing that the state could do for us next year. Although, I must admit, I do enjoy getting a guaranteed break from homework. It's interesting how you noted a Rep. can put their bill back on the calendar to be voted on again. I was not aware this was a possibility until you told us. You're project keeps getting more and more interesting. I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavours. I'm looking forward to next week's post.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I also was surprised, I had no idea until the representative stood up and requested it. I'm glad you're learning something though!
DeleteHi Mimi! Thanks for keeping us informed on bills that could impact us such as HB2210. Considering what you told us about the process of how a bill gets selected for a vote, it is surprising that that bill didn't get passed. Your posts always remind me of the importance of the work legislators do. Can't wait to see more!
ReplyDeleteI was also surprised to see a bill not pass! But if you look it up, we are actually a fairly split legislature, with 25 democrats and 35 republicans in the House, meaning the minority party only needs 5 more votes to hold back a bill. Either way, I haven't seen it happen often
DeleteHi Mimi! Your blog is great! Did not realize the direct impact are legislators have on us. Also, had no idea representatives could put their proposed bill back on the agenda, super interesting. Good luck and keep up the good work!
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