Monday March 31, 2008
Today, shortly after the annual Legislative Guides were finally delivered to the Capitol in time for the last five weeks of the session (Sorry new Sen. Rob Russo, R-Bridgeport, you didn’t make it) the General Assembly again proved the earth is flat.
The Judiciary Committee a few minutes ago adjourned their meeting without even discussing two small, if interesting consumer bills, which are now sailing west toward India.
One would have overturned local restrictions against clotheslines. Yes, at a time when the newspaper classifieds are full of foreclosure notices and the nation is teetering on recession, there are still hoity-toity community associations that ban clotheslines.
The legislative summary is pretty amusing: “The bill generally prohibits municipalities and various other entities from imposing ordinances, regulations, or other restrictions prohibiting the drying of clothes using direct solar energy through the use of clotheslines, drying racks, or other apparatus in any residential setting.”
Another sensible bill, though too far ahead of its time, would have banned plastic bags from retail outlets. It would have established fines of up to $200 for a first offense and $1,000 for subsequent offenses.