Paid Sick Days Bill Died
Yesterday at midnight marked the end of the 2008 General Assembly session (the “short session”) and one of the bills that passed the Senate but did not even have a chance in the House was the Paid Sick Days Bill. Christine Stuart reports at CT News Junkie:
A bill that would allow workers to accumulate one hour of paid sick time for every 40 hours worked died Wednesday night.
The Paid Sick Days bill passed the senate, but was stalled for the second year in a row on the House calendar. Sen. Edith Prague, D-Columbia, who championed the bill, said its defeat was making her sick.
“It’s dead,” she said as the clock approached midnight. “Next year.”
The fact that the General Assembly turns into a pumpkin at midnight, on a day known well in advance to all involved, every goddamn year is a problem. It’s a problem because good legislation like the Paid Sick Days bill gets left aside, as if waiting another year is just a minor inconvenience for people like Suely (in the above video). The Paid Sick Days bill was especially important at a time like this, because it’s already costly enough to live — high gas prices raising the price of a great many of life’s necessities, not to mention gas for commuting to work — without being able to afford to take one day off if you’re sick. Now more than ever, working sick is going to be a necessity because if you couldn’t afford to take a day off before, you sure as hell can’t now.
I know that this shit happens every year in Connecticut. But the fact that good bills being killed by the clock is an annual event doesn’t make it any less disappointing. I also know that the General Assembly is made up almost entirely of people who really care about Connecticut and the people of their district. So why are so many important bills left until the last minute?
Because it’s an effective way to kill bills like this without getting your hands dirty. Especially in an election year.