Kiehl-Newsletter

I spent nine days off the grid since the last newsletter. It was great.

With elections in every organized city in our district, this was a big week for local government. I want to thank the many people who threw their hats in the ring to serve us on assemblies, councils, and school boards.

It’s been a minute! I hope you enjoyed our unusually sunny summer. I haven’t sent an e-newsletter in a bit, so to help catch up I’ll include some summer updates along with the new news in each of the next few editions.

The session has hit triple digits now—Friday was day 102 of 121. With Finance meeting twice per day, other committees still hearing bills, and some of my own legislation up for hearings in the House, there are several times this coming week I need to be in three places at once.

I’ve been squinting when I go outside these days. Luckily we’re in the Capitol longer and longer hours this time of session, so there’s no need to spring for sunglasses.

Today was the 88th day of session. With just under five weeks left, some stress cracks are starting to show. But we won’t let those get in the way of the work we’re doing!

It’s a holiday-heavy weekend! Passover, Easter, and Ramadan all coincide. That’s happened fewer than four dozen times since the most recent of the three holidays came into existence.

The legislative process is not known for great speed. It’s designed for thorough review and deliberation. But sometimes there’s such clear, critical need we can speed bills through.

Happy Saint Paddy’s Day, folks! There was a lot of green in the Capitol today. There were also bagpipers. So today I learned the pipes aren’t just Scottish instruments (We also did serious work. I promise.)

We got unanimity in the Legislature! It’s a red letter week. OK, we only passed two bills, but still…