Almanac: At the Capitol

Do you remember "Fast-Paced Paul," the quirky campaign ad for Paul Wellstone where he raced from place to place looking for the incumbent US Senator? That's how I'll be acting this week. So far, I have 18 bills scheduled for committee hearings this week. That's more bills than 33 of my colleagues have even introduced this year!

I'll be racing from committee to committee, presenting bills on an eclectic mix of topics: scrap metal theft prevention, childcare, safe patient handling in nursing homes, the Secretary of State's elections bill, the Governor's public safety bill, an excise tax on paint to pay for lead poisoning prevention. Others on the list are proposals in the public safety budget division, which I chair. They include a mentoring program for children whose parents are incarcerated, reentry proposals for offenders who need a strong restart when being released from prison, and grants for various youth-serving organizations.

The electronic waste recycling (e-waste) bill will get its second hearing, this time in the Judiciary committee, on Tuesday. Then it will be heard in State and Local Government Committee next Monday and Environment Budget Division next Thursday. I had assumed the Attorney General's predatory lending bill would be heard this week, but luckily for me, it has been pushed back.

If you hear something in the news this week that starts out, "Senator flips out at Capitol," look for my name somewhere in the story!