Understanding the Legislative Process

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Introducing Legislation

Each legislative session is 2 years long

Committee Hearings

Your legislator is on at least one committee

Ways & Means Committee

Any bill that impacts state finance comes to the Ways & Means Committee

Floor Vote

A bill may be debated and amended before a vote

Conference Committee

A bill has been passed in both houses; need to agree on one version.

Governor’s Signature

The governor has 10 days to sign, veto or return it with changes

  • Introducing legislation

    • Each legislative session is 2 years long – January of an odd year to July of the following year (i.e. Jan 2019- July 2020)
    • A bill is filed (or refiled) in the House/Senate by a sponsor. Any additional supporters are co-sponsors. (+)
    • About 6,500 bills are filed each session

  • Committee hearings

    • Your legislator is on at least one committee
    • Each bill is assigned to a committee and by law each bill must have a public hearing
    • Committee hearings feature many bills; they can be several hours long
    • Legislators, advocates and other stakeholders provide written or oral testimony (+)
    • After the hearing, the committee votes on how to support the bill

  • Ways & Means Committee

    • Any bill that impacts state finance comes to the Ways & Means Committee
    • The committee may hold a second hearing, make amendments to the bill, combine it with other bills, or do nothing. (+)
    • The committee votes on how to support the bill and reports out

  • Floor Vote

    • A bill is sent to the floor; it may be debated and amended before a vote (+)
    • If the bill is approved, it moves on to the next branch to repeat the process

    Once a bill passes in one house, it goes through the same steps in the other chamber

  • Conference Committee

    • A bill has been passed in both houses
    • It is common for both the House and Senate to pass different versions of the same legislation. The Conference Committee is formed to agree on one version.
    • Three members from each branch are appointed by leadership to serve on the Conference Committee
    • When a final version is reached, it is returned to each branch to vote on without any changes.

  • Governor's Signature

    • The governor has 10 days to sign, veto or return it with changes
    • If a bill does not reach this stage it can be refiled in the next session

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