House committee vote on furlough vote now postponed until Monday

UPDATE 11:0 AM

The special meeting today at noon to vote on the state employee furlough bill, SSB 6503, has been cancelled. SSB 6503 is now up for a vote of the House Ways and Means Commitee at 3:30 p.m., Monday, Feb. 1.

We don't know if the amended version is being re-tooled. The draft as it stands would make SSB 6503  WORSE, not slightly better than the Senate version.

The amended SSB 6503 going before the House Ways and Means Committee, unless it is changed, would mandate that agencies must include five mandatory furlough days for all employees. The Senate had said agencies could come up with plans to reduce compensation costs, with furlough days mandated only if they didn't have a plan by May 15. So this House version is much worse.

So, it’s still a bad bill.

Continue to call the Legislature’s Hotline Message Center at 1-800-562-6000 and urge your two House members to oppose SSB 6503, the state employee furlough bill. Its unintended consequences will cost more, not less. The hotline is open until 8 p.m. today and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and again from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday. So a lot of opportunity to get messages in to vote NO on SSB 6503.