I’ve been hearing from a number of constituents who are calling for full legalization and taxation of marijuana. I think that it is much more useful to focus on reducing mandatory minimum sentences for the harder drugs and I’m hopeful that our financial crunch will create the conditions for responsible movement on sentencing policy.
Author Archives: Will Brownsberger
A Virtuous Cycle of Fear and Loathing
There is a lot more to reform, but by any fair reckoning, the last four months of legislative activity have been extraordinarily productive. It didn’t have to turn out that way.
Final Ethics Reform Bill Passed Unanimously
The House voted unanimously in support of far-reaching ethics reform today. The bill included not only core ethics reforms (enhanced penalties for all forms of inappropriate gifts and self-dealing), but also enhanced regulation of lobbying and campaign political finance.
Final Ethics Bill Released — Full Text Available.
House and Senate conferees released the text of the final ethics bill that they have agreed on. The initial read from informed observers is that it is a very strong bill that more or less takes the strongest ideas from the House bill, the Senate bill and the recommendations of the Governor’s task force.
Ethics Reform Discussions This Week
In Belmont Town Hall, on Wednesday night, June 24, from 7PM to 9PM, two speakers who have been centrally involved in crafting the ethics reform legislation will lead a public discussion about the reforms.
Voting for the FY2010 Budget
I voted this afternoon for the FY2010 budget which passed with 110 votes in the House and 31 in the Senate, in both branches more than the 2/3 needed to override a possible veto.