(I'm posting this diary again... the first half has worked itself out but the second half is just as true three weeks later. The legislature needs to clean up its mess! - promoted by Clem Guttata)
By Clem Guttata
In yesterday's Daily Mail, Jared Hunt reports that House Speaker Rick Thompson is unhappy with how the preparations for the next legislative session are going.
Thompson says that acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin isn't doing his job of acting Gov. effectively. Preparations for the Jan. session are not moving along as usual.
Thompson says he's not getting the information he needs to properly prepare for the upcoming legislative session.
"I've not had any communication from him whatsoever since he's become acting governor," Thompson said in a phone interview Wednesday. "Nothing at all. I've seen him at a few events, but there was no discussion on anything."
[snip]
With the regular 60-day session to begin in less than three weeks, Thompson says he's still unsure as to what Tomblin's legislative agenda for the next year might be.
A Six Day Plan
Here's an idea. How about the legislature just cut this 60-day session down to 6-days and pass a single bill: one resolving the constitutional mess around governor succession and separation of powers.
Legislative leadership totally dropped the ball in the past by creating ambiguous legislation for a widely anticipated event. So far, they're not showing much better leadership in dealing with the circumstances. Here's a chance to set things right.
Clean up your mess and then take some time off until there's a duly elected Gov. leading the administrative branch of government.
Then all the members of legislative branch can return in a constitutionally unambiguous manner, end all this squabbling, and get back to the people's business. |
