Legislative Update

On the morning of the house of origin cutoff, SB 5175 passed the Senate. Many thanks to all of you who engaged with your Senators and sent emails encouraging them to support this bill. Senator Lisa Wellman sponsored SB 5175, which allows districts to offer principals up to a three-year contract. We see this as an option that districts may choose to use to recruit and retain leaders, especially for high school positions. We support this bill because we hope school districts see this as an opportunity to maintain consistent leadership. Dismantling bad-for-student systems takes time and consistent, effective leadership. Principals deserve this job security due to the complex nature of their jobs and the years of experience required to become a highly effective and impactful school leader.

We are halfway to the end of this year’s legislative session, and we are fast approaching the next legislative cutoff date when bills must pass out of their house of origin. We need SB 5085 and SB 5175 to get pulled to the Senate floor by Wednesday, March 8th for a vote, or their journey this legislative session ends. I’ve heard this week that SB 5175 may get a vote but SB 5085 may not. There is a potential concern with the salary piece in SB 5085, so I told Senator Wellman to remove that section if that is what is needed to keep the bill moving.

Both houses were and remain in caucus or in debate on the floor, considering various bills on their respective calendars. Committee work will begin in earnest once the deadline to pass bills from their house of origin. (March 8th). House bills that passed will then be heard in Senate committees and vice versa.

For an outsider looking in, it is extremely frustrating that much of the action that fine tunes/amends bills occur behind closed doors, out of sight of the general public. This is particularly true of the development of the budget, but as one can observe, amendments often crop up on bills the day of their final hearing or on the floor once brought forward for debate. The net effect is that the public often has little time to read and understand any proposed change(s). This is particularly galling when the budget proposal itself is often released in the morning with a same-day public hearing. But this is the system. So be it.

As today comes to a close, so does another cutoff date. All bills with a price tag must be passed out of a fiscal committee (either House Appropriations or Senate Ways and Means) by Friday, February 24. This means the list of bills moving through the Legislature is getting smaller.