Voter Photo ID: It looks like were nearly out of the woods on this one. I spoke with the Government Administration and Elections co-chair Sen. Gayle Slossberg (D-Milford), who has studied the issue backwards and forwards and is ready to beat back any amendment that remotely suggests the use of Voter Photo ID. That might be an interesting debate. However, with the clock winding down, there might not be an election bill called that would allow the Voter Photo ID amendment to be called. 

Staff attorneys for ethics violations: Once this bill was exposed and slammed by the media, a lot of state representatives backed away from this bill as if it were radioactive. If the House does decide to call it, it will likely be thrown in with the stream of bills that flows in the last two hours of session under the delusion that no one will pick up on it. I say delusion because not only is Common Cause watching the bill but so is every member of the media. What a story it makes if it is passed. I can write the lede now: "The only ethics bill passed this session is one that allows state-paid attorneys to represent public officials accused of ethics violations." Needless-to-say, we have to keep a weather eye open on this one.

Reusing old lawn signs: When the State Elections Enforcement Commission heard that legislators wanted to draft language that would allow candidates participating in the Citizens' Election Program to reuse old lawn signs, the enforcement agency tried to draft something that would be amendable to legislators but not sidestep important reporting requirements. They proposed that candidates declare the cost of the old signs at 30 percent of their original price, thus allowing them to use the sign without gaining too much of an incumbent advantage. The reaction was not warm, and the debate was downright hostile. The legislation was PT'd (passed temporarily - as in "let's move on to something else") and the bill remains on the calendar. We have to make sure that no one gets the bright idea to call the bill and amend it to something that gives incumbent candidates in the public financing program an unfair advantage.