More new...AB657

So, I sent the following email to Senator Stepp's office:

Dear Senator Stepp,

I was wondering if you could fill me in on the state of the Senate's version of Assembly Bill 657. This is the bill that would prohibit the condemnation of property under certain circumstances.

I know that a public hearing by committee on Judiciary, Corrections and Privacy, in the Senate was held yesterday, January 11, 2006, but I do not know what happened at the public hearing.

Also, I am interested in when this bill will be up for a vote in the full Senate.

Thank you in advance for the information.

---

I received the following response from Senator Stepp's office:

Hi Julie,

Senator Stepp asked me to respond to you. There is no Senate companion to AB 657. AB 657 is now making its way through the Senate. You are correct, the Senate Judiciary, Corrections and Privacy Committee did hold a public hearing on AB 657 on January 11th and the committee will be voting on AB 657 on Wednesday, January 18th. They are expecting it to pass out of committee with unanimous support. AB 657 will then be referred to the Senate Committee on Organization, which is the Senate Committee that schedules bills for Senate floor action. We are hoping AB 657 will be scheduled for a Senate floor vote by the first week in February.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Senator Stepp again.

Sincerely,

Pat

Pat Rasmussen

Office Manager

Senator Cathy Stepp

---

So, I wrote a response back asking just why there wasn't a Senate bill earlier, especially since Senator Stepp had told me (in a snail mail letter) that she and her colleagues were working on one.

I haven't heard back, but I'm more than a little miffed at this whole process. When your Senator says she's working on something, they should follow through.

A lot of citizens in this state were pretty mad about the Supreme Court's Eminent Domain ruling, but apparently the only things our state senate can act upon in a timely manner are concealed carry and the anti-gay amendment. They found time to pass them. They found time to write a concealed carry bill that will not let police officers know who has a weapon and who doesn't, but they can't seem to write a bill to protect our homes from greedy developers.