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A Matter of Trust

Sue Lincoln

While the Senate was hoping for more revenue-raising bills to work on this week, the House took Tuesday off – though it appears lawmakers are getting back to work today. This morning, Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs will be doing the few bills they have received from the House, including amending and voting on HB 2, the Capital Outlay bill.

“It is unusual for HB2 to come to this committee without HB 3 following closely behind,” Revenue and Fisc chairman J.P. Morrell observed.

But HB 3, the funding bill for state construction work, is still pending action on the House floor. Morrell has filed his own back up.

“Senate Bill 14 is a duplicate of HB 3,” Morrell explained.

Since the Capital Outlay bill did not get done during the regular session that ended 10 days ago, at this point -- when it comes to the author of HB 2 and HB 3, House Ways and Means chairman Neil Abramson -- trust appears to be an issue.

His own colleagues are having trouble with that. Four of them – Republicans Chris Broadwater and Patrick Connick, and Democrats Walt Leger and Sam Jones -- filed their own versions of the Capital Outlay bill.

“When it comes to a matter of trust, trust is at a premium here right now,” Jones says, not mincing words.

Jones tried last week to get his version of the Capital Outlay bill through committee – just in case.  But with Abramson controlling the committee that moves revenue-raising measures, and only one third of the needed funding advancing, even New Roads Democrat Major Thibaut was urging Jones to back off.

“We’ve gotta have trust in our colleagues on the House side, as well as on the Senate side,” Thibaut stated. “We’ve gotta trust that the process works. And I’m willing to do that because I think it’s the right thing.”

Jones’ response?

“The trust that we’ve lost is the trust of the people of this state.”

Abramson’s committee is meeting this afternoon at one, to vote on just one more revenue-raising measure.