The House beat one bad bill today:

* HB 1380 would have made races for prosecuting attorney non-partisan. There was no good reason for this bill, except partisan Republican aims to increase electability of Republican candidates. To answer a reader, partisanship is not a factor in the conduct of this office. If there’s some colorable reason why it should be non-partisan, then ALL offices should be non-partisan — county judge, JP, even legislators (after all, they pass the laws the prosecutor enforces). The vote was 34-59.

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But I must have misheard John Williams’ phone report on another. Apparently the House overwhelmingly approved a REALLY bad bill, Rick Saunders’ HB 1421 to revive expand emoluments. The vote was 82-12. It will allow prison employees to get a range of freebies, including monthly free goods from the commissary, surplus farm products, surplus of anything purchased for the prison. Just a handful of no votes. Shame on you, John Edwards. Thanks, Kathy Webb. Thanks Mark Martin, Roy Ragland and Donna Hutchinson, Rs- Common Sense, among the  doughty dozen who deserve special credit when they do good. Where there are emoluments there will inevitably be corruption. Call it the Knox Nelson Memorial Act.

By way of a sop, only 9 legislators had the brass to vote for Saunders’ bad bill to allow legislators to buy goods, such as furniture, produced by prison labor. Jeez, John Edwards for petty graft again.

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