It’s all about floor action now….. and budget negotiations! The cut-off for bills to be out of the opposite chambers’ fiscal committee was the 4th and both the House and Senate were on the floor the morning of the 5th. They have a lot of bills to consider before the next to last cut-off on April 12th at 5:00. And what’s the last cut-off?? Sine die!
But before we talk about the next 6 days, it is important to acknowledge that while the fiscal committees passed a lot of bills from the opposite house, many did not pass. It can be very disappointing to legislators, advocates and others involved when a bill makes it so far and then dies in the fiscal committee. Some may find a path to stay in the mix, while others don’t. This isn’t always the end though because bills introduced in the odd/long session are alive for 2 years so often do come back the following year.
Now, what about the next 6 days? The majority of legislators will be spending the bulk of their time at their desks on the House or Senate floor, or in caucus talking about bills that will be coming up for consideration. Bills can be amended on the floor so this is also a time when members work to address outstanding issues with bills. These discussions can also take place during conference committees on bills, which occur when there are differences between the bill as it passed the original house and the way it passed out of the opposite house. Don’t forget, in order to come up for a vote on the floor, a bill has to get out of Rules and one never knows when and how often those committees will meet!
Simultaneously, budget negotiators (which include operating, capital and transportation) will be working to resolve the differences between their versions of the various budgets. Their goal is to have a budgets agreed upon in time to actually be able to adjourn on the 23rd. Budget writers can sometimes be seen going back and forth between the House and Senate chambers, with onlookers trying, frequently unsuccessfully, to get a sense of how things are proceeding! Feel free to send positive thoughts for smooth negotiations, and for an on-time end of the 2023 session!
Thanks for another week of your time and involvement in the legislative process!
Here is the bill tracker for week 13: P4C week 13 bill tracker 2023.
