The end is near . . . kind of
Both House and Senate leaders have told their members that they should be ready to work on Friday. Basically, they're trying to clear as much stuff as they can out of committee before July 28.
What's magical about July 28?
Nothing really, other than it's when the leadership says it wants to "close down committees." The committee system is the pipeline to the full House and Senate. If you shut off that spigot, the flow of legislation to the House and Senate floors stops and you lay the groundwork for the legislature to get out of town.
"We're trying to get the train rolling," said Rep. Hugh Holliman, a Lexington Democrat and the House majority leader.
Of course, there's still the small matter of passing the state budget (now 18 days over-due) that has to get taken car of. Both Holliman and Rep. Bill Owens, the House Rules Committee chairman, said that the two sides are getting closer on that as well.
"The money differences are not a lot," Holliman said.
Of course, the folks working through the appropriations (read: spending) side of things have been a little more simpatico all along. The big question is the tax side, where the House and Senate have been at odds over letting "temporary" taxes expire, earned income tax credits and what not.
When asked about the tax side of things by Owens, Rep. Paul Luebke put on his best poker face and said, "We're still working." Translation: they're not THAT close.
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