Today is the 40th day of the 2023 legislative session, and it represents the first in a series of milestones used to organize our legislative work. It’s what is commonly referred to as “the policy cutoff date.” In other words, in order for a bill to be considered eligible for further consideration, it has to be approved by its respective policy committee by the end of the day. Any bill that has not been approved by this deadline is considered “dead” for the year.
Why all the deadlines? Well, the state constitution gives us 105 days to meet in what’s called “regular session,” so these deadlines help organize our work, make the most of valuable session time and weed out those bills with either limited support or fatal flaws. It also clears the way for deeper discussion of bills that have broad support or are of vital importance.
I have introduced a number of bills this session that I believe will help the people of the Mighty Eighth district, or our state as a whole. Some of those bills will survive today’s deadline. Other proposals will require a little more time for me to educate and convince my colleagues about their merits.