House Approps hearing finally set

After weeks of stalling, (and LOTS of thumb twiddling) followed by several days of press coverage claiming that Speaker Andy Tobin had scheduled the Senate passed budget bills to be voted on in the House -- without any committee agendas to verify the claim -- John Kavanagh's House Appropriations committee finally has posted an agenda for Monday, June 10 (10am in House Hearing Room 1).

Good news? Well, given that only one of the 10 bills in question are included on it, I'd say -- not necessarily.

Which one of the bills, you ask? Well, of course it's the one that includes Medicaid restoration.

Hmmm, what was that old saying about idle hands?

And what about the other NINE Senate budget bills? Your guess is as good as mine at this point. However, Mary Jo Pitzl, reporting for the Arizona Republic last night wrote about Tobin having competing budget bills.

Tobin’s budget is likely to get a hearing in the House Appropriations Committee next week, setting the stage for a full-House showdown over the key sticking point in the budget: Medicaid expansion.

Of course, following the pattern Tobin set last week of announcing he had set the Senate budget for a vote in the House (without any hearing being posted until today), there is no evidence yet of Tobin's budget bills being introduced or assigned to committees for hearing. And they are certainly not (yet) on the House Approps agenda for Monday.

Oh, and there's a Senate CPS bill (SB1069) that's going to be sacrificed on the altar of homage to Cathi Herrod.

Kavanagh will apparently be offering a strike all amendment for SB 1069 to make abortion clinic licensing and regulation even more onerous than it already is.

Herrod apparently is good at drawing crowds for protests/rallies, even when it's close to 110 outside. God (and Arizona lawmakers) save the pre-born, but to hell with them a day after they take their first breath.