July 30, 5:30 p.m.

It appears that Senate Republican President Bob Burns is once again struggling to find enough Republican Senators to pass a budget that includes massive cuts to public education and other vital services. So, once again he is attempting to manipulate the legislative process to get what he wants.

After adjourning yesterday and regrouping this morning with the Governor and House Speaker Kirk Adams, Burns scheduled the Senate Appropriations Committee to meet at 3:30 p.m. to get the budget passed and sent to the floor of the Senate. But when two Republican Senators who oppose the budget failed to show up today, there were not enough present to make a quorum for the committee.

To solve this problem, Senator Burns called the whole Senate back to the floor to appoint an additional member to the Appropriations Committee so there would be a quorum and the budget could be moved. But, there were only 15 Senators who attended the floor session, falling one short of a quorum for the Senate. Senate President Burns declared a quorum anyway and appointed John Huppenthal as an additional member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

So, now the Appropriations Committee is meeting with Senator Huppenthal as a new member.

The question remains, do they have the 16 votes needed to pass this budget once it gets to the floor?

Take Action:
Call your legislators and the governor
Email your legislators and the governor
Join other March4Schools activists at the capitol www.march4schools.com
Watch the deliberations on your computer