Hybrid sausages
Sep. 3rd, 2004 01:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
zdashamberI've been stalking a bill in the California legislature that would allow hybrids in the HOV lanes with just the driver. (Yes, I can be bought.) The interesting thing, though, is how very easy it's been. Someone in Sacramento is doing a very good job at getting information about the sausage-like making of laws out to the public. The California legislature website is updated every day; you can search for bills and subscribe to them to get updates on their status; it will tell you when they're in committee, who's on the committee, where the committee meetings are...
A couple months back I noted that the bill was going into the Transportation committee, discovered that my particular assembly member was on that committee, read the analysis of the impact of the bill, and then sent him an e-mail with my own analysis of the bill and rebuttal of the negative points of the other analysis. Didn't get any response, but hey, he voted for it, so it's all good.
Today I checked in on it again, with the vague idea that the legislative session was over, had it ever gotten out of Appropriations? It had, there had been positive votes on the floor of the Assembly, it was going back to the Senate to get concorded... It was listed as inactive. Eh?
So I tracked down the phone number of the bills' author's Sacramento office, and called. Got a tired-sounding person on the first ring, who was glad to answer my questions; yes, the legislative session was over; but for her the bill was listed as waiting for the governor's signature... So all it needs now is Arnie's autograph. The bill's author sheparded it through the entire multiple revision bouncing-around-though-committees-and-readings process safe and sound. Impressive!
Damn, but being a legislator would be frustrating at times...
So now I'm wondering whether I should harass Arnie, what he feels about the bill. The executive branch isn't so together as the legislative when it comes to letting the people know what its up to. I think I will go poke him.
And then I'm going to have to get out the reeeeal long stick and start poking people on the Federal level, since it requires a federal bill to allow single-occupancy cars in HOV lanes for whatever reason. See, now that's the part of federalism that I can't stand... What the hell are they on about, telling the states they can't run their HOV lanes as they see fit? Feh.
A couple months back I noted that the bill was going into the Transportation committee, discovered that my particular assembly member was on that committee, read the analysis of the impact of the bill, and then sent him an e-mail with my own analysis of the bill and rebuttal of the negative points of the other analysis. Didn't get any response, but hey, he voted for it, so it's all good.
Today I checked in on it again, with the vague idea that the legislative session was over, had it ever gotten out of Appropriations? It had, there had been positive votes on the floor of the Assembly, it was going back to the Senate to get concorded... It was listed as inactive. Eh?
So I tracked down the phone number of the bills' author's Sacramento office, and called. Got a tired-sounding person on the first ring, who was glad to answer my questions; yes, the legislative session was over; but for her the bill was listed as waiting for the governor's signature... So all it needs now is Arnie's autograph. The bill's author sheparded it through the entire multiple revision bouncing-around-though-committees-and-readings process safe and sound. Impressive!
Damn, but being a legislator would be frustrating at times...
So now I'm wondering whether I should harass Arnie, what he feels about the bill. The executive branch isn't so together as the legislative when it comes to letting the people know what its up to. I think I will go poke him.
And then I'm going to have to get out the reeeeal long stick and start poking people on the Federal level, since it requires a federal bill to allow single-occupancy cars in HOV lanes for whatever reason. See, now that's the part of federalism that I can't stand... What the hell are they on about, telling the states they can't run their HOV lanes as they see fit? Feh.
no subject
Date: 2004-09-07 07:12 am (UTC)Should work that way, but it doesn't.