Most readers already know what I think of our lame duck Senate quietly rubber-stamping the RTK tax (HB 1002) and advancing it to the Corner Office without any in-chamber discussion or roll call, but I’m here to discuss more of the upper chamber’s subversive antics.
First, let’s look at today’s article on Ruth Ward by Ian Underwood. His digging has turned up last year’s SB 266 as the culprit in schools running afoul of the law, so I wanted to learn more about SB 266. It has one lone sponsor, Ruth Ward, the Education committee chair. In its docket, the committee hearing supposedly took place on 2/21/23 and got a unanimous OTP on 3/9/23. Read that again in case you weren’t paying attention. I’m guessing Ruth moved OTP because it’s her bill and she got the bipartisan “yes, ma’am.” That’s EXACTLY what happened with Queen Sharon, the Judiciary chair, and her sheeple on 4/18/24 with HB 1002.
Wanting to look at the video of the hearing, I went to the Senate You Tube account page where playlists are listed by committee and calendar year for the last 3 years. Most playlists have approximately 20 videos included, but NOT 2023 for Education. There are only 3 and none of them were for 2/21/23.
It appears that someone in the Senate and/or Senate staff does not want members of the public snooping though old Education videos from last year. Am I the only one who recognizes the distasteful similarity to Nashua City Hall? I ask if I am the ONLY ONE because I have not yet shared my observation with Laurie Ortolano.
I just sent the Senate clerk’s office a 91A request to view the Education Committee video for 2/21/23, and my hope is that ALL missing videos will be made available to the public. Now that our incoming Senate just voted to give the biggest ENEMY OF 91A, Queen Sharon, the gavel, it’s on all of us to see to it that videos don’t “just disappear” like the January 2022 House Election Law one with the late Mark Alliegro introducing his bill to abolish the voting machines.
[Update: Because I submitted this article on Sunday afternoon shortly after sending my 91A request email to the senate clerk’s office and it was later scheduled to publish at 10am today, readers should be advised that 13 more videos were quietly added to the 2023 Senate Education You Tube playlist. Ruth Ward introduced SB 266 at 1:10:30 into the 2/21/23 video and there hasn’t yet been any email from Attorney Lehmann, who usually replies to such 91A requests with a comment that he considers my request “fully responded to.” Perhaps he’s waiting for the administrator of the senate You Tube account to tell him that ALL the missing videos from ALL the playlists have been added.]
