Speaker says meeting historic
House Speaker Seth Hammett said Thursday was a "busy, productive and historic day."
Legislators met in the historic House and Senate chambers in the Capitol after flooding caused them to evacuate the State House. Lawmakers met in the historic chambers for the first time since 1985. Officials cut power at the State House, which also controls the heating and air conditioning in the Capitol, so lawmakers worked with the windows open and without a cooling system.
Lawmakers suspended rules that require them to wear a coat and tie.
With the heat and lawmakers cramped into a smaller chamber, Hammett said he was unsure how members would respond. He said they were very productive, passing the General Fund budget and measures that some members had tried to get through for years, including one that creates a state boxing commission and another that increases the penalties for eluding a police officer in a vehicle.
"This is the most productive day we have had in a while," Hammett said.
He credited the productivity to the Senate beginning to pass bills sponsored by Republicans in the House and to the good spirit from lawmakers being in the historic chamber. The speaker said the decorum from House members was good.
Hammett said he enjoyed being back in the historic chamber, where he had been a legislator, but had not presided over the House.
The acoustics in the Capitol are not good and it was difficult to hear the proceedings.
-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen
Legislators met in the historic House and Senate chambers in the Capitol after flooding caused them to evacuate the State House. Lawmakers met in the historic chambers for the first time since 1985. Officials cut power at the State House, which also controls the heating and air conditioning in the Capitol, so lawmakers worked with the windows open and without a cooling system.
Lawmakers suspended rules that require them to wear a coat and tie.
With the heat and lawmakers cramped into a smaller chamber, Hammett said he was unsure how members would respond. He said they were very productive, passing the General Fund budget and measures that some members had tried to get through for years, including one that creates a state boxing commission and another that increases the penalties for eluding a police officer in a vehicle.
"This is the most productive day we have had in a while," Hammett said.
He credited the productivity to the Senate beginning to pass bills sponsored by Republicans in the House and to the good spirit from lawmakers being in the historic chamber. The speaker said the decorum from House members was good.
Hammett said he enjoyed being back in the historic chamber, where he had been a legislator, but had not presided over the House.
The acoustics in the Capitol are not good and it was difficult to hear the proceedings.
-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen
posted by South Union Street at
12:12 AM
1 Comments:
Wow! They actually got something done meeting in the place they are supposed to meet anyway. We don't need to spend multi millions on a new state house building. Move the legislature back into the Capitol where they belong. If memory serves me correctly, their move in the '80's to the "State House" was a "temporary move" while the Capitol was being remodeled. I knew then they would never go back. They do not need the amenities they have come to expect. The Capitol is perfectly suited and appropriate for them to meet in for the short period of time they are in session.
And, by the way, why in hades would we need a boxing commission??? Just another excuse to put someone on the state payroll. What a bunch of thieves.
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