Testifying against SB70
I had the opportunity this evening to briefly testify as a citizen at the House Business and Finance committee's meeting this afternoon against HB70. I had to bring my 11 year old with me to the meeting with a bribe for good behavior.
I'm not the world's best public speaker -- I get very nervous and tend to talk fast, so I'm not sure how well my point came across. I also had to leave quickly after speaking as I had a 6 pm deadline to pick up my toddler from day care and I finished my testimony at 5:45 (the committee meeting didn't start until 4:00 p.m. and SB70 was fourth on the agenda).
I didn't have the chance to stay and see how the committee voted or hear any additional testimony. I'm sure there will be news about it tomorrow, but I feel pretty sure that the committee will have voted it out with a favorable recommendation.
From some of the discussion from the committee, it seemed that they felt that this was an issue of balance of power, and that they could be trusted to do their homework and not vote in large enough numbers to over ride a gubantorial veto if there were truly any problems with various dumping issues that might come up.
I wish I could feel as confident about the legislature. As a citizen, I don't have access to the resources that radioactive waste dumping industries would have. They can afford to pay lobbyists to continually work on their behalf year round. I confess that I'm not so confident that Jane and Joe Citizen will have as much sway as their well-funded competition.
I'm not the world's best public speaker -- I get very nervous and tend to talk fast, so I'm not sure how well my point came across. I also had to leave quickly after speaking as I had a 6 pm deadline to pick up my toddler from day care and I finished my testimony at 5:45 (the committee meeting didn't start until 4:00 p.m. and SB70 was fourth on the agenda).
I didn't have the chance to stay and see how the committee voted or hear any additional testimony. I'm sure there will be news about it tomorrow, but I feel pretty sure that the committee will have voted it out with a favorable recommendation.
From some of the discussion from the committee, it seemed that they felt that this was an issue of balance of power, and that they could be trusted to do their homework and not vote in large enough numbers to over ride a gubantorial veto if there were truly any problems with various dumping issues that might come up.
I wish I could feel as confident about the legislature. As a citizen, I don't have access to the resources that radioactive waste dumping industries would have. They can afford to pay lobbyists to continually work on their behalf year round. I confess that I'm not so confident that Jane and Joe Citizen will have as much sway as their well-funded competition.