Education Committee sets rules for testimony, schedules budget hearings to begin Feb. 19

The Education Committee opened its organizational meeting and set rules for committee business, including deadlines for placing bills on notice, limits for public testimony and a start date of Feb. 19 for departmental budget hearings.

Committee leaders announced internal officers and staff assignments. Senator Bill Powers was named first vice chair and Senator Ramesh Akbari was named second vice chair. The clerk called roll, and the chair reported nine members present.

The committee distributed a set of procedural rules for the year. Bills must be placed on notice by 3 p.m. on Wednesday to be scheduled for the following week. Requests to testify must be submitted by 2 p.m. the day before a scheduled meeting; testimony will be limited to three individuals per side, with each speaker allotted three minutes. The deadline for amendments is 2 p.m. the day before a scheduled meeting. The chair reserved the right to defer substantive amendments if they were not filed with ample notice.

Staff and support roles for the committee were announced: Jessica Bryant will serve as research analyst; Omar Watkins as intern; Casey Washburn as legal counsel; Hagen Mathis as budget analyst; Alex Klesnakoff as bill clerk; Remi Wooldy as computer clerk; Ralph Sewell as legislative recorder; Raymond Temple, Kurt Sumner, Scott Beale and Nelson McPeek as aviation specialists; and Bob Sewell as sergeant at arms. Senator Pote introduced guest Debbie Stevens, identified in the meeting as the owner of a restaurant in Watertown.

The committee said sponsors may request one roll call per session for their bill. If a sponsor does not appear when their legislation is on the calendar, that bill will be returned to the clerk’s desk. The chair also said the chair reserves the right to "row" any bill in the committee (a term used during the meeting that was not defined in the record).

A committee dinner was scheduled for March at Jeff Ruby’s; committee leaders said no official business would be conducted at the dinner. Budget hearings are scheduled to begin Feb. 19 and are expected to run through March; budget premeetings will be held on Wednesday mornings at 7 a.m. in the First Floor Clerk’s Conference Room. Those premeetings were described as open to the general public and not to include votes.

The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn and the committee adjourned.