"Buenas Tardes"--2/23/17

Today I began on the floor, which was immediately resolved to go to caucus. This time, instead of watching the Democratic caucus, I went to the Republican caucus to see the other side. The Republican caucus seemed to contain much more debate than the Democratic caucus (though that may just be the bills debated or just the fact that their unity is not as necessary considering their majority), as representatives asked questions of each other and commented on their stances on different issues. Unlike the Democratic caucus, different members floated in and out of caucus over the course of the meeting, and of course, no bills were taken off the consent calendar. Furthermore, many representatives used this opportunity to argue for their own bills and praise each other on their work.

Next, I went to the floor, where there were more second readings of bills, meaning more debates and questions about bills. If you want to see the whole thing, be sure to click here[LINK]. If I haven't been clear before, let me explain second and third readings. When a bill is introduced, it is read the first time, after which it is assigned to one or more committees. After it passes those committees, it is read again on the floor in the second reading, where all the final amendments are adopted to the bill and needs to vote upon again to move onto a third read. At the third read, members cast their final votes, and if passed, is moved over to the senate.

However, before all of this, the House and specifically Rep. Rivero introduced the mayor of Puerto Penasco, as well as a Senator from Mexico, both gave a speech which was too long to quote but very moving, and so I encourage all of you to watch it here:

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"Tip my hat"--2/22/17

Today I started the day on the House floor, where they did second reading of bills, which is an opportunity for members to debate and ask questions about a bill. Things were especially heated as Rep. Blanc was accused of impugning the state legislature, which was a violation of the constitution; however, they eventually let it pass.

Another interesting moment was during one of Rep. Ugenti-Rita's bill, which after much debate eventually had to be called into division, meaning that the vocal vote of aye/nay was too close to call and had to be done by way of standing/sitting. When the division resulted in a vote of 26/25 against the bill, the house was forced to go into a roll call, meaning people had to press their buttons to vote as with a third read. Again, the bill failed to pass; however, at the end of the session, Rep. Ugenti-Rita requested that her bill be placed back on the calendar to be voted upon again. Once again, the vocal vote was too close to call, and it once again had to be counted by a sitting/standing vote. it actually passed, so the bill is placed back onto the calendar for a second reading again (so none of the members get to officially vote yet). It was very dramatic and tense- oh and also, the bill was about greenhouses.

I had to leave the floor at 5, though the House continued until 10. But before I left, I managed to hear what is the quote of the day. Rep. Allen was praising Rep. Leach for his efforts in working with both parties to reach a favorable bill that they could all agree with, which I also thought was commendable. Even when legislators disagree, they often reach out to their opponents in attempts to reach an agreement, and if not that, an agreement to disagree. I would like to tip my hat to the legislature for respecting one another throughout this session and for extending hands towards their opponents to attempt to reach an understanding of one another

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"Let's open the bids for the ten year old car with new tires"--2/20/17

Hello everyone! Today, instead of going to committee, I sat in on the Democratic caucus meeting. Because it's the minority party, it is much more strict than the Republican caucus and is held much like a committee meeting. Members go through each bill on the calendar and discuss or ask questions, many times directed towards the democratic members who sat on the committee in which the bill was heard. If the members decide that they either want more information or they disagree with the bill, they choose to move it off of the consent calendar, which lets the speaker know that they are in disagreement over the bill and will debate on the floor. It was interesting to see some of the bils that I saw passed in committee be reviewed once more in caucus and see some of the amendments made since then.
Caucus is also where the quote of the day comes from. When discussing the bills, many members drew from their personal experience to ask questions about bills, including Rep. Alston commenting that age needed to be included when evaluating used tires, commenting that she had a car that she hasn't used for at least a decade and that those tires were clearly shot. As members laughed, Rep. Friese cracked a joke about selling her car, which is the quote of the day.

I think that this quote shows the value of our representative legislature, that we have people in the House from all different parts of the state with different backgrounds and different life experiences to weigh in on these issues. Though its diversity could always be improved, it is encouraging to see representatives pulling from their own life experiences to make laws for others.


Also, if you want to watch some awkward footage of me in the background of caucus, here you go: (look Trey I'm so engaged)

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