It’s three weeks until the legislature’s “crossover date” — the May 1 deadline for bills from one chamber to be approved in time to be considered by the second without the need of a supermajority just to take it up.
As the House returns April 11 after a two-week furlough following passage of a $7.5 billion budget in late March, House members will take up legislation in committee that has been on hold because of the budget. On the floor, they’ll work on clearing the calendar, meaning they’ll move as much proposed legislation as they can stomach to the Senate.
The Senate, meanwhile, likely again will take up ethics reform, a sticky measure that’s been mired in conflict for the last four years, despite some very public corruption cases of lawmakers. Meanwhile, many eyes will focus on what’s going on in the Senate Finance Committee, which will take its first full-committee crack at the state budget, although it’s been working behind the scenes on the numbers for months.
To find the most recent list of coming meetings at the Statehouse in Columbia, please visit these pages:
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