Mr. Grant Goes (back) To (the state capital of) Washington

Our second WEA lobby day was Monday (for info about the first, see here), and it was another good time. I was able to meet with Don Barlow and Alex Wood, stopped by and chatted with the aides for Bob Morton, Bob Sump, and Joel Kretz, and had a very nice conversation with my friend in the Republican caucus.

Both of our class size bills died in their house of origin. HB2458 made it out of the Education Committee before failing to get a hearing in Appropriations; SB6376 suffered a similar fate in the Senate Ways and Means Committee. In the legislative conferences I had I tried to play up the construction angle (i.e., "Sure it's really expensive, but $200 million of that is infrastructure and jobs!"), but I pretty well knew that there was no chance a bill with a price tag like that was going to see the light of day.

People higher up the food chain than I think that we still have a shot at getting a COLA catch-up. I'm not entirely sure--if the revenue forecast due on Friday isn't good, then I think the odds are really slim--but there's always hope.

If you ever have a chance to do lobbying work, it's a kick in the pants. Seeing the process up close is educational, and it's invigorating to go and speak on behalf of a bill that you believe in. I look forward to doing more of it next year.