Session begins Monday

It's been a madhouse around here today and this week, preparing to be out of the office for the upcoming inaugural fiscal legislative session on Monday. Here's Monday's Under the Dome lineup:

6:15 a.m.: I'll appear on KATV's Daybreak with Jessica Dean to talk about the session and technology;

11:00 a.m.: House leadership meets

12:00 p.m.: Legislature convenes

12:30 p.m.: Governor's address

Upon Adjournment: House Rules Committee meets to interpret Rule 106 (House members accepting campaign contributions during the session)

2:30 p.m.: Joint Budget Committee

As to the House Rules vote: I'll vote, as I think others will as well, that Rule 106 prohibits members from accepting campaign contributions during a session of the General Assembly. I've already told supporters in a recent letter that I will not have fundraisers or accept donations during this period. I don't think we can interfere with federal races, which are governed by the Federal Election Commission. I don't know how that will play out.

Over 270 bills have been filed to date. The deadline for filing concurrent resolutions on non-appropriation bills is Monday. The only item I anticipate to be filed ahead of that deadline is the legislation fixing the scholarship amounts, which will likely be the only non-fiscal legislation debated during this session. It should be a quick session, and I anticipate that we'll be home by the first week of March. Here's the governor's weekly radio address on the fiscal session: