The 2001 legislative session is nearing completion and most of the substantive committees have been closed. The majority of the legislation still working its way through the process at this point is budget-related. The Ways and Means subcommittees, in particular, are working to allocate limited financial resources amongst the various state agencies and programs in need of funding.
Legislators are optimistic and feel that they are very close to reaching a budget agreement.
If agreement is reached on the remaining budget obstacles, this signals the end of the 2001 legislative session. Over the past six months, ONSA has been dealing with more than 160 pieces of legislation that could impact the operation and the profitability of neighborhood stores. Negative legislation has been modified and, in a few cases, ONSA has been able to make small accomplishments through amendments to existing proposals. The following summary updates the major pieces of legislation still moving through the process. For reference, the bills remaining in committee, which are not expected to receive any further consideration, are listed in a subsequent section.