LOC News
Legislative Deadlines Are Approaching
During a normal session, the LOC’s lobby team would celebrate legislative deadlines with donuts in the morning and perhaps a beverage of choice at the end of the day. The celebration will be virtual this year, but probably with a much higher level of relief. Although there has been a flurry of bills scheduled for hearings and possible work sessions this week, we still have a moment to celebrate the deadline.
March 19 marks the last day for a bill to be scheduled for a work session, which effectively is the trigger point for moving bills out of committee and on to their next destination. If a bill does not have a work session scheduled, it is technically dead. There are any number of methods for advancing the policy in other forms, or finding a match to a “relating to” clause. Nonetheless, there are hundreds of proposed bills that will drop off the agenda tomorrow – Wahoo!!
April 13, which is just a few weeks away, is the last day for a bill to advance out of a policy committee. To advance, bills need a work session, which is why the March 19 and April 13 dates are important for anyone wanting to advance legislation. Once April 13 arrives, the focus will be getting bills out of the chamber of origin. These deadlines will repeat again in the second chamber: May 14 to schedule a work session; and May 28 to hold a work session.
Major legislative deadlines become a critical point for all lobbyists who will watch for “relating to” clauses in legislation that has already advanced, amendments, and of course, the scenario in which bills are moved into committee like Revenue, Rules, or Ways and Means. Bills in these committees will remain alive until session is over or until the committees shut down.
Contact: Jim McCauley, Legislative Director - jmccauley@orcities.org
Last Updated 3/19/21