The General Assembly session begins at noon on Wednesday, January 14, and spans 90 days, concluding at midnight on Monday, April 13. Here’s a look at some key milestone dates to watch for.
The full calendar is available online here.
Major dates of interest:
January 23 (10th Day) — SENATE AND HOUSE BILL REQUEST GUARANTEE DATE
Legislators seeking to introduce bills are asked to place requests with bill drafters by this time to guarantee delivery in time for the chambers’ introduction deadlines. Stakeholders seeking to work with supportive legislators are aware of this date as an informal “cutoff” for new ideas for the current session.
February 9 (27th Day) — SENATE BILL INTRODUCTION DATE
February 13 (31st Day) — HOUSE BILL INTRODUCTION DATE
Bills introduced after this date are referred to the Rules Committee of the appropriate chamber, requiring an additional hearing and process before being released to the appropriate policy committee. This is an obstacle, though in recent years, a generally surmountable one.
In February, with all bills introduced and assigned to policy committees, the General Assembly’s most intensive work will take place in committees. Committees conduct public hearings to gain stakeholder input and resolve refinements to legislation where warranted.
March 17 (63rd Day) — COMMITTEE REPORTING COURTESY DATE
March 23 (69th Day) — OPPOSITE CHAMBER CROSSOVER DATE
By these dates, where there is sentiment to pass a bill, it should be “moving” — out of its original committee by March 21, and out of its chamber of origin by the following week. Again, not hard-and-firm deadlines, but in general this is a busy stage of the session with both chambers working long hours in committee and on their respective floors to complete work on bills they seek to pass.
The days leading up to “crossover” are reliably among the busiest and most stressful of each session.
April 13 (90th Day) — ADJOURNMENT “SINE DIE” (Monday)
The session ends at midnight on Monday, and any legislation that has not gone through the entire approval process by that time is defeated. The Governor then has a period of time to consider signing/vetoing legislation, and proposals that do not become law may be re-introduced at the next General Assembly session to begin the full introduction/hearing process again.
