Jones Street has the unsettling calm of the realization after a
just-fought battle that the victory was not worth the bloodshed,
and you can't remember why you're fighting.
The North Carolina General Assembly concluded its 2014 Short
Session on Saturday, August 2nd. Except that it didn't. This
year the House and Senate, both run by huge Republican majorities,
have been at war; they did not agree on when to adjourn, how to
adjourn, or what issues they can take up should they return to
wrap-up unfinished business.
Here's what guidance our Constitution gives us about the
Legislature in Article 2, Section 20. "Each house shall be
judge of the qualifications and elections of its own members, shall
sit upon its own adjournment from day to day, and shall prepare
bills to be enacted into laws. The two houses may jointly adjourn
to any future day or other place. Either house may, of its own
motion, adjourn for a period not in excess of three days."
This week the House will
