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The Committee Process
Article By: by
Texas State Rep. Larry Phillips
Posted: 2/22/2013 Views: 711 Impressions: 6763
Categories: Government: State, Politics
Posted: 2/22/2013 Views: 711 Impressions: 6763
Categories: Government: State, Politics
The legislative process is now fully underway: bills are being heard in committee, and next month bills will begin to be debated by the full House. As of this writing, approximately 2500 bills have been filed by both the House and Senate. This week, I will talk about the House committee process through which each bill must pass before it can be debated by the full House.
Beginning on the first Monday after the general election in November and through the 60th day of each legislative session, bills can be filed with chief clerk of the House of Representatives. Each bill is given a bill number and is then referred to the committee which has jurisdiction over the bill's subject matter. The referral of the bill to committee is also known as the first reading of the bill. Once in committee, the author of the bill sends a request for a hearing to the chair of the committee, along with a list of anticipated witnesses, and a brief summary of the bill. This summary becomes part of the Bill Analysis (B.A.), which contains at least four sections: the Background & Purpose; Rule-Making Authority; Analysis; and Effective Date. The Background & Purpose section of the bill allows the author of the bill to explain the reason why the bill is necessary. The Rule-Making section simply states whether or not the bill grants the authority to any state entity to make rules regarding the implementation of the bill. The Analysis gives a detailed summary of the bill, but must be factually accurate. Any discrepancy between the Analysis and the actual bill language is against the rules of the House and can cause a bill to be subjected to a procedural error, thus halting its progress until the error is fixed. Lastly, the Effective Date states when the bill will take effect if passed. The Bill Analysis is especially useful when the bill is amending a portion of current law by explaining how the bill would change or effect current law. Each bill must have a Bill Analysis before it is granted a hearing by the committee.
Another document each bill must have before it is heard in committee is the Fiscal Note. Fiscal Notes are prepared by an independent state agency, the Legislative Budget Board, or LBB. The LBB reviews each bill and then issues a Fiscal Note to the committee, which details whether or not the bill will cost the state money or resources, such as employees, to implement. Fiscal notes are also required on bills that have statewide fiscal impact on units of local government. Fiscal notes are an important part of the legislative process, and can affect whether or not a bill passes.
Once a bill is heard in committee, it is usually voted on in a subsequent committee hearing. Frequently, if a bill does not have enough votes to be passed by the committee, it is left pending. If the bill is passed by a majority of the membership of the committee, the bill is then sent to the House Committee on Calendars, which is charged with setting the schedule, or calendar, for bills to be debated by the full House.
For more information on the legislative process, or to review legislation that has been filed, please visit the website www.capitol.state.tx.us. You can contact my office by writing to P.O. Box 2910, Austin, TX 78768-2910 or by emailing me at larry.phillips@house.state.tx.us. My district office phone number is (903) 891-7297.
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