Legislature Kills School Admin Consolidation, Free Delivery, and Kids Texting-Driving Ban

A couple things you won't have to worry about state government doing:

• HB 1247: Pierre won't be consolidating school administrations. The House Education Committee cared enough to water the bill down with a couple amendments, but then gave up and deferred it to the 41st day. The only folks voting to keep this bill alive and reduce local control: three Republicans, Reps. Bolin, McLaughlin, and Sly. Darn: I was looking forward to Dr. Fahrenwald's promotion to Tri-County Superintendent.
  
• SB 193: Three Dems took the pro-life position of helping pay for healthy babies; four Republicans thought otherwise and killed the bill. Erika Powell will be relieved that we won't ruin personal responsibility with more government health care; now if we could just get Grandma and Grandpa off that soul-sapping federal money. Oh, wait, I hear Republicans are working on that....
• HB 1133: Your kids will still be able to call you from the road to tell you where they are. House Health and Human Services defeated this bill, which would have banned kids with learners permits from calling or texting while driving. But sit tight: the House is working on better legislation, HB 1178, that will apply said ban to every driver. Remember: talking on the cell phone quadruples your risk of having an accident. Texting sextuples that risk (for truckers, the risk 23-tuples). Behind the wheel, that Blackberry in your hand might as well be a bottle of beer.