This is a reposting from last year.  As ‘Crossover Day’ came and went this past Wednesday (the day when bills must be passed out of their house of origin, i.e. Senate bills must pass the Senate and House bills must pass the House), it reminded me again of the pre-Oliverio days when the last week of session, as each House tried to deal with the other bills in a matter of 6 days, the pure and utter chaos that took place during that time.  Oliverio changed that - and the post I wrote last year is below.

****

Some Senators will certainly scoff at that assertion (Oliverio’s change), but it’s true.

During my time in the Legislature everything has pretty much remained the same.

Faces changed, but “the process” did not. Until a few years ago.

Democratic State Senator Mike Oliverio came up with a fairly simple idea that has completely changed the way the Legislative process has worked. No other Senator can make that claim.

My first few years here in the House and Senate saw the session end with people banging on their desks, asking to be recognized and total, complete and utter confusion on the last night of session.

Anyone watching this performance on PBS had to be completely appalled that this was the way our Legislative process worked.

Oliverio’s change was simple. He contended the process would be improved if we just moved the dates back when each House completes the work on their bills and insure the last week is spent working on the other body’s bills.

In layman’s terms, the Senate does their bills and passes them to the House. The House does the same and passes them to the Senate. Previously, it was just the last few days that were devoted to the Senate working on the House bills that were passed and the House doing the same for Senate bills.

This meant total chaos because you were working in three or four days all the bills that it took the other House 55 days to pass.

Oliverio’s change took that back to a week, so the entire last week and a half is devoted to the other House’s bills, leaving plenty of time to work them.

In fact, in the last several years, the only reason there was any activity on the last night was to insure that PBS, which broadcasts the last four hours of session, had something to put on the air. Otherwise, we’d have been out of there in the early evening.

Oliverio’s change has completely changed the process.

He won’t get the kudos he deserves, but people will now see a reasonable ending to Legislative sessions, as opposed to the sheer absurdity of people standing on their desks.