Christine Palm

The most important bill we passed on Thursday was HB 5004, An Act Implementing Early Voting. You will recall that after years of trying, the Legislature was able to pass a resolution that put a referendum question on the ballot last November to allow us to change the State Constitution to allow early voting. I'm grateful to all the voting access advocates whose dogged determination really helped move the needle on this bill which includes, among other expansions, a 14-day period in which citizens could vote in general elections. 

We are now convening several times per week to vote on bills on the Floor of the House (and Senators are doing the same).

Thursday, the House was called into session, where we voted on a number of executive and judicial nominations and on a number of bills.

Rep. Palm, one of five honored nationally, received the award for her work to enact a mandate that the science of climate be part of every public school curriculum.

The Legislature is entering its final leg of the 2023 Session.  
 
I find it helpful to think of the legislative session as having three main phases. And as we have concluded the first two phases, we are just about two-thirds of the way to "Sine Die" (pronounced "sin-ay-dee-ay") which is Latin for "without day." This marks the legal moment the legislature must conclude its business for the year. Sine Die for 2023 is midnight on June 7.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and I want you to be aware of the resources available to you in our community. If you need help, you can call (888) 999-5545 anytime to speak with a certified sexual assault crisis counselor in English. Dial (888) 568-8332 to speak with an expert in Spanish.

As we get further into the 2023 legislative session, we are close to ending the process in which committees vote to send bills to the House and Senate floors. For my committees, Environment and Public Health, we have hit the deadline to report bills out of committee. The bills that we voted on here will go before the Speaker’s desk and potentially be placed on their respective chamber’s calendar before the full legislature will vote for any of these bills.

Over the next few months, I'll be sharing some of the more interesting examples of where your money goes. The programs and projects funded by taxes and fees may not always make headlines. They may not always be lifesaving. But they do make a difference in the quality of life here in our district and throughout the state.