WEEKLY LEGISLATIVE UPDATE 04/28/2025
The Mood at the Capitol
We are down to three weeks remaining in this year’s legislative session. The battle continues between the Republican majority in the Senate attempting to overturn Proposition A and the Senate Democrats holding the line using the filibuster. The threat of ending the filibuster using the motion of moving the previous question (PQ) looms over the remainder of this session however negotiations continue as the Senate leadership will likely require cooperation with the Democrats to pass the budget which has a constitutional deadline on May 9th. The final week of this legislative session will likely be the moment all of these issues come to a head. The House is continuing to pass legislation that will likely not become law as there simply is not enough time to go through the proper procedures to clear passage. The House is preparing for House bills in the Senate that have been amended which will either require approval from them or will be sent to a conference committee. We are expecting the majority of appropriations bills to go to conference the week after next among other bills. With such a short time frame and other leadership concerns taking priority, we are unlikely to see many more voting rights bills to be brought up this year.
political power
SB22 was officially signed into law on April 24th. We are highly disappointed in our Governor Mike Kehoe for signing this egregious affront to our system of checks and balances. What was interesting about this signing is that usually bill signings are done with much fanfare and publicity. This bill was signed quietly with only the bill sponsor, Senator Rick Brattin, and the house handler, Representative Ben Keathley, in attendance with no formal announcement until after it was signed. This indicates that the Governor and all involved are aware that this bill is highly contentious and may perhaps indicate that even they are aware that it is problematic. As a reminder, the bill’s emergency clause only pertains to the ability for the Attorney General to appeal preliminary injunctions so that part is the only statute that is law at this time. The part pertaining to the challenges and rewriting of ballot titles and summaries will not go in effect until August 28th of this year. We are expecting a flurry of lawsuits to begin as most if not all of this bill is likely to be found unconstitutional. We would like to once again thank everyone for their efforts to stop this bill. We may have lost this battle, but we will win the war.
Tracking Lists
Criminal Justice
Health and the Environment
Opportunity, Race and Justice
Political Power
Education Innovation
*These lists are continually updated and improved. If you have questions, please contact Sharon Geuea Jones at sharon@jonesadvocacy.com.
RECENT ARTICLES
