House Joint Resolution 5002 met such a swift execution on the House Floor yesterday that Senator Rusch might bring a bill to make the consideration of its demise more merciful.
(Okay, that’s a death penalty legislation joke, but you get my point.)
House Joint Resolution 5002, a measure that no one had asked for it, proposed a Constitutional Amendment to strip the power of legislative appointment from the Governor, and hand it over to the state legislature or their designee, despite the language in the constitution giving that authority to the governor.
Suffice it to say that it didn’t go well.
While it passed out of committee, the House of Representatives took the measure to the woodshed and beat it badly on a 23-46 basis.
Part of the reason House members rejected it was that it was poorly conceived, just as it had been when it was introduced in a past session. According to the Argus Leader:
Dennert suggested the legislature craft rules around vacancy appointments similar to the process of replacing candidates on a ballot. In the latter instance, ranking members of a political party within the open legislative district would make the selection.
And that was that. However, if you’re a fan of bad legislation, take heart. The sponsor of the measure is already threatening us with it’s return:
Dennert told the Argus Leader on Thursday on the House floor he will not attempt to revive the resolution during this session but will potentially reintroduce it in future years.
Given the measure’s track record.. I suspect I’ll be able to reprint the arguments against it at a future date.
Again.