* Senate President Don Harmon’s speech at the end of session tonight…

Giving remarks at the end of session is a little bit like being the last speaker at a lobby day, when you know you’re the only impediment between the members and their drinks.

But I want to take just a moment. Every session I found has its own rhythm, and each budget is its own beast, and this one was a doozy. There is no doubt about that.

I do hope that we all enjoyed our day as a unicameral legislature. However this was an incredibly productive day, a long day, but solid work. I never once had to tell anyone we were waiting for something from the House, and that made it a much easier day for all of us.

I want to thank the members of the Senate Democratic Caucus. This was a rough road, but we pulled together and got our work done. I want to thank Leader Curran and the Senate Republicans. I really appreciate what you said on the floor earlier about a genuine commitment to bipartisanship and moving our state forward. That is a shared commitment. I want everyone to thank our entire staff, our budget and policy staff, our legal staff, our communications staff. But today I do want to highlight and thank our new Deputy Chief of Staff Mike Hoffman, and in particular, our new Chief of Staff, on her maiden voyage through a budget Ashley Jenkins-Jordan. […]

And so Mr. President, as we depart five days early, I wish the House the best of luck when they return on Tuesday to complete their business, and I hope that they’ll be done by Friday.

God speed, everyone. Have a great summer. Thank you for all the work and a very productive session.