March 8th, 2010 by Waldo Jaquith
An editorial in Saturday’s Virginian-Pilot explained the new Senate trend of killing bills in subcommittee. It was the House that started this new system, four years ago, making it possible for just four delegates to kill a bill that had already passed the Senate unanimously. Senators thought this was just awful. But now they’re doing the exact same thing, killing bills in subcommittee meetings with as few as two members present. Like Delegates, Senators use these little-attended, unrecorded subcommittee meetings to kill bills that they worry would be too popular with constituents to vote against, but that they can’t stomach voting for, or vice versa.
March 9th, 2010 at 6:44 am
yet another reason for citizens to obtain the right to citizen-initiated referenda. The arrogance of some legislators is breathtaking. They literally treat citizens, voters like crap.
These guys come back to their districts and hobnob with the voters.. get elected to office and then go to Richmond and do this…
So… bills disappear into subcommittees never to emerge with no other explanation that an unrecorded vote killed them?