Almost at First Crossover
The deadline for all House Bills to successfully pass through all of the committees that they were referred to and pass three readings on the House floor is Thursday, March 12th. It’s the same deadline for all Senate Bills to successfully pass through all of the committees they were referred to and pass three readings on the Senate floor.
What next? They crossover to the other chamber (House bills go to the Senate, Senate bills go to the House), where they’ll pass their first readings on the floor and wait to receive their committee referrals. That’s when advocates get in gear, asking the chair of the first committee for a hearing so the bill they favor can move forward and meet the quickly approaching deadlines.
The deadlines provide less time to get through the second chamber, so things move quickly. However, there are also far fewer bills for the committees to consider and the public to keep an eye on. It’s likely that by Thursday, the First Crossover Deadline, we’ll be down to only 25% of the bills introduced at the start of session. Interested in what’s survived?
- On the Legislature’s website, click on the “Reports and Lists” button at center screen.
- On the right side of the page, scroll down to the section headlined, “First Crossover.” You’ll be able to view an easy to scan report of all surviving House or Senate bills.