LEGISLATIVE AXIOMS FOR THE POLITICAL BEGINNER :

1. Don't overkill
2. Sometimes half a loaf is all you can get
3. Keep a low profile
4. Some things are never dead
5. Never leave early
6. Don't tinker with another person's bill
7. It's easier to kill a bill than pass one
8. Play defense whenever possible
9. A conference committee is a whole new ball game
10. Read the conference committee reports
11. If you hear it, don't repeat it; if you see it, don't report it
12. The session is not over until sine die
13. Take nothing for granted
14. Nothing is totally true
15. When someone says, "Don't worry about it", worry a lot about it
16. Watch out for "simple amendments" to your bill
17. Watch out for the person who states, "I am not here to oppose this bill, but..."
18. When someone says, "the other house will clean this bill up," worry
19. Look out for the person representing himself
20. Look out for the person who states, "I wasn't planning on talking, but..."
21. Watch the House and Senate calendars
22. Always remember, every bill has to go to the Governor
23. A rule is a rule, until it's suspended
24. The winter sun is better in the House chambers
25. Stay out of Appropriations Committee and House Judiciary
26. Smile at the House Speaker and the Senate Majority Leader
27. Always have someone standing by with a motion to reconsider
28. It's not the quantity of sponsors, but the quality of sponsors
29. Before you leave the capitol building, make a final swing
30. Never say "never." Say "hardly ever..."
31. Just before they kill your bill, suggest a summer study
32. Just before they pass out a bill you want to kill suggest a summer study
33. If you want to get out of explaining your position, state "I am no lawyer and..."
34. There is always next year
35. When trying to get a vote reconsidered, don't count on your "ayes"
36. After you have been beaten into the ground, always state, "well, I can live with it"
37. Never get married to a bill
38. It's hard to compromise after they have killed your bill
39. When your bill is complicated, state, "Go ahead and pass it; we'll clean it up next year"
40. If your bill is an appropriations bill, a cut is not necessarily a reduction