House passing duplicate budget bills
The House took up its first duplicate budget bill - one of those that the House Appropriations Committee introduced the same day that JFAC had introduced an identical bill. Minority Leader John Rusche, D-Lewiston, objected. "It is a concern that I have and several in my caucus have about the violation of a process that has served us well," Rusche said. "We would hope that our concerns are heard by the body, and that in our rush to adjourn today we don't lose the values that we had." The House then voted 49-16 in favor of the bill, HB 355, the budget bill for the Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired. The House then launched into the rest of the budget bills, with little or no debate preceding passage; all passed.