Passover/Easter Break traditionally marks the midpoint of the long legislative session. It allows legislators to take a few full breaths of air before the final three committees reach their JF deadlines. The Judiciary Committee ends their stretch on April 13, the Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committee finishes on April 19, followed by the Appropriations Committee on April 20.

The Judiciary Committee will have their hands full in the coming week addressing the many controversial issues that filled their hectic public hearing schedule. The Republicans are small in number, but you can count on them having a game plan. The use of a good ol’ filibuster will be their go-to tactic for those issues they hope to redirect or kill.

The Appropriations and Finance Committees are already known around the building as “the killing fields” for their track records for receiving so many bills and approving so few. Any bill with a fiscal note expending state dollars needs two things: approval of the Appropriations Committee and funding in the two- year budget plan. Proposals that seek to add new or increased fines, cut taxes, increase taxes, or allocate state bond dollars also need two things: approval by the Finance Committee and a spot in the revenue estimates. There’s only so much money to go around and so many ways to pay for proposals, so the two committees have their work cut out for them. This is why everyone has an interest in the Appropriations and Finance Committees - everyone wants to see their bills in a spending or tax plan.

The Appropriations Committee has been meeting regularly with their sub-committees to prioritize aspects of funding. With only two weeks remaining before its JF deadline, time is of the essence and many sub-committees have not even formulated their recommendations yet. This leaves the Chairs with little time to scrape together a final budget in time for passage. We hear House and Senate leaders have asked for a Chair proposal by end of this week or early next week. This is a huge job given the state of some of the sub-committee reports. The day of reckoning is just around the corner.

The Finance Committee has been holding caucuses two to three times a week and is working feverishly to incorporate as many bills as possible into its designated “concept bills”. This gives legislators and lobbyists are in a hurry to advocate for their legislation. Bills are prioritized by the Committee Chairs and then placed into these concept bills for consideration. The more an issue is brought to the forefront, the better chance it has to be incorporated, so Finance members are sure to be inundated with requests from fellow legislators and lobbyists alike.

The holiday break has come at a perfect time. It allows legislators and staff time to regroup, assess, and prioritize what needs to be addressed in the upcoming weeks. Republicans are plotting for the next phase of legislative negotiating: when they have the votes, they vote, and when they don’t, they talk, talk, talk (filibuster!). Democrats will certainly continue their attacks on the Governor’s proposals. They’ll also be focusing on creative ways to use the supermajority to their advantage to work together to get final language ready for full debate on the House and Senate floors.

Kiss the five day work week goodbye as the countdown begins and everyone is racing to the finish line. Happy spring!

We have been fortunate over the years to be able to recruit terrific, bright college students to serve an internship with us during the legislative session. These individuals get a chance to see the inner workings of a lobbying firm, experience the real way laws are made, and provide valuable assistance to our bill tracking and public hearing process. Many of you have had the opportunity to meet the interns when visiting our office or being welcomed at the LOB for public hearings.

With a quiet and short week before the legislature takes off for an Easter break, we thought it might be fun to ask our interns to give you an insider’s view of what it's like during session.

Our 2007 interns, Yana Hancharonak from Central Connecticut State University, Patrick Kenny from Colby- Sawyer College, and Ashley Wheeler from the University of Connecticut, co-wrote the following article about their internship experience. Hope you enjoy!

Some people associate being an intern with mindless chores such as running errands, filing documents, or making multitudes of copies. While certain necessary tasks come with the territory, as an intern at Sullivan & LeShane, we also get to complete important and thought provoking tasks every day. On any given day, we might create legislative databases, research statutes, or cover a press conference. The really exciting days are when we wake up only a couple hours after we went to bed to make sure a client is first on the sign up list for a public hearing. In rain or snow, we’re on duty to sign up clients at 5 AM, which makes lobbyists from other firms turn green with envy as they show up tardy at 6 AM!

Interning at S&L is also exciting because we receive the news of the day as it happens. Numerous times this session, we have opened up the morning newspaper and read an article about a press conference or committee meeting we attended the previous day. We have been able to witness the fine art of legislators dodging questions and sticking to the topic at hand. We’ve discovered that using the phrase “cost efficient” is very popular when proposing a new bill. We get to feel like a small part of the process – observing the legislators and passing on key info for the lobbyists to act upon.

Overall, everyone at S&L and at the Capitol has been helpful. Although, we admit we have made a committee clerk or two shake their heads as we return like clockwork to collect testimony and substitute language. Of course, we’re happy to pester them a little to get our lobbyists and clients the info they need! Interns create the base of S&L’s pyramid. Anything we do can affect what the lobbyists are working on, so we do our best to lay out a foundation so things in the office can flow seamlessly.

Over the past few weeks, committees’ JF deadlines have been hitting. The LOB has looked like an ant hill with lobbyists running from meeting to meeting, flashing hand signals and revealing must-know pieces of info as they pass. Things happen so fast at the LOB and Sullivan & LeShane, it’s always important to be on our toes. It is also important for us to keep up with the fast pace of Capitol Avenue as we jaywalk back and forth to the LOB dozens of times daily to assist the lobbyists!

While we are still discovering what session days entail, we now feel fully comfortable at the LOB and at the office. We don’t get lost in the labyrinth of rooms at the LOB anymore and we have become a master of the intricacies of the office copy machine. While we have not yet reached the late nights of session, we’re ready to take on a new challenge. Until then, we will continue with the daytime grind at Sullivan & LeShane, always looking forward to what the new day will bring.