The time between cut-off dates has gotten shorter and shorter! It seems like we were just writing about the fiscal committee cut-off and now here we are, 2 days past the cut-off for bills (with the exception of bills necessary to implement the budget) to be out of the opposite chamber!
April 12th, 5:00 was the official cut-off for opposite house bills. If a bill had not come up for a vote by then it would be dead. Both the House and Senate passed a lot of bills this week but it is also the case that a number did not make it out of Rules or off the 2nd reading calendar.
The focus now shifts to the concurrence/dispute calendar. This is the time bills that were amended by the opposite house have to go back to the original house for either concurrence or not. If there isn’t concurrence, the house of origin will ask the opposite house to recede from their amendment (i.e., agree to take the bill back to the version in which it left the original house) but if they don’t, a conference committee will be appointed to try to resolve the differences. Bills all have to be voted on again if they have been amended by the opposite house. And if there is a dispute, followed by a resolution, both chambers have to vote on it again. The process can go pretty quickly, especially if the original house concurs with the changes made to the bill in the opposite house, but it is also a time where agreement can’t be reached and bills can die. There really isn’t a cut-off date for the concurrence process…. But session ends on the 23rd so definitely by then!!
While most legislators are focusing on ensuring their bills continue to move forward, the budget negotiators are deep in discussions to try to come up with an agreed upon budget by the end of session, recognizing the budget actually has to be done before the 23rd in order to be printed, reviewed, and voted on. And although there are areas of agreement between the House and Senate budgets, there are also differences and these need to be resolved. Not to mention that the Governor needs to agree as well!! That goes for the capital, operating and transportation budgets! Here’s hoping it can all be done on time!!
And finally, if a bill is delivered to the Governor no later than April 17th, it is considered a 5 day bill…. Meaning it has to be signed (or vetoed) within 5 days. If it is delivered to the Governor after the 17th it is a 20 day bill. The last day for bills to be acted upon by the Governor is May 16th.
Next Friday, April 21st, will be the last tracker of the 2023 legislative session! On one hand, Jan. 9th seems like a really long time ago but on the other hand, the past few months have flown by! Thanks for hanging in there with us!! Have a good week!
Here is the bill tracker for week 14: P4C week 14 bill tracker 2023.
