There's a new governor, calls for bipartisanship, a budget to get hammered out, that hot-button issue of casino gambling, plus a bevy of other issues facing the 2008 session of the general assembly. So when the legislature convenes on Jan. 8, a visitor to the Capitol would expect to see their elected officials tackling these matters from the get-go. Right?
While it may be expected, and many of the 138 elected to the House and Senate would say they do indeed have their sleeves rolled up and are hard at work, the reality of Kentucky's even-year 60-day sessions is that not much happens until after the Jan. 31 filing deadline to run for a public office.
"It really paralyzes people until that passes," Rep. Jim Wayne (D-Louisville) said during the 2007 special session. "A lot of people just will not take any risk, and what ends up happening is we use that time for prep work for bills we know we will start the first part of February.
The poorly kept secret around the halls of the Capitol every two years is the fact many legislators walk on eggshells and avoid votes during the 60-day sessions. They fear angering a fellow member of their party who might then challenge them in the primary