Last week was the longest of budget weeks, and it was the strangest of budget weeks. Now we settle in for Round 2 as tromps over to the Senate chambers.
On Saturday, the House passed the long bill, the name given to the 600-plus-page spending measure adopted each year. But not without some short-lived intrigue: Earlier in the week, Rep. Brandi Bradley, a Republican, triggered the legislative equivalent of the nuclear option and asked that the entire bill be read aloud.
That request — all 15 hours of it, in this case — must be honored. A computer in the House began reading the bill Thursday night, then picked up again Friday morning and finished a half-day later.
When the reading finally concluded Friday night, House leaders quickly moved to wrap things up. They invoked a rule that limited debate on the budget to one hour, and the chamber then passed the full budget — and several dozen subsidiary spending bills — on Saturday.
As an aside (and warning of things to come): Working weekends isn’t all that unusual for the legislature, especially in the final weeks of the session and double-especially when the minority caucus (or, in this case, one member of the minority) slows down the House’s proceedings.
Bradley’s move, which she made to protest how the House handled her ethics complaint against a fellow Republican, was significant in how unusual it was and how long it took to overcome. Still, it only modestly upset the legislature’s apple cart.
The Senate will begin deliberating on the budget this week, as it was scheduled to, and that chamber should have its work wrapped up by week’s end. After that’s done, the lawmakers who write the budget will gather in committee to consider — and definitely not instantly smite — the various changes their colleagues made to the document on the floor during its two-week legislative voyage.
Once that's all wrapped up (likely next week), the budget will roll down the Capitol stairs to the governor's office for signature into law.
Given how much time and energy the budget takes up, expect little else to happen in the Senate this week. The House has a modest committee schedule, with more legislation likely set for debates in the full chamber.
Once the budget's cleared, we'll enter the final, frantic weeks of session. The last day is May 13.
That caveat aside, here's what you can expect to see in the legislature this week, with schedules subject to change.
Monday
The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to take up , which is aimed at helping shore up the state's criminal justice competency system. The committee will also take up several bills related to easing the state's prison population, a key demand of lawmakers as Gov. Jared Polis looks to open new detention facilities.
The House's Finance Committee is scheduled to hear , which would further tighten how state and local authorities interact with federal immigration efforts.
Tuesday
The Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee will debate , which seeks to curb financial scams against older and vulnerable adults. That bill generated some controversy in the House because of the various forms of immunity it would grant to banks.
Potential floor debates
Other bills are due for discussion but lack certain timing. The House is scheduled this week to debate , which would regulate gun barrels. That bill's kicked around on the House's calendar for a few weeks now.
Fresh off of , the House is also scheduled to bring up this week. That bill would make it harder for some agricultural workers to qualify for overtime.
