Crisis? What crisis?

With virtually every minute of inaction on the budget crisis costing the state millions more, it’s always reassuring that exhausted assemblymembers can find a few minutes to horse around on the floor. Guy Houston’s heart-stopping Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 84 was one such example of precious floor session time being devoted to less-than-pressing bidness. The measure, which proclaims April 2003 as Mathematics Education Month, may not be critical to the functioning of state government, but it was one of the freshman Republican’s first bills on the floor, so colleagues indulged him accordingly with a little hazing. Speaking in support, Republican Greg Aghazarian couldn’t help but clarify that the date was already May 1. “April 2003 as Mathematics Education Month?” he asked incredulously. The measure passed 63-0 after three minutes of debate. Not bad for Houston, who noted that he didn’t get past algebra.