Wednesday, February 23, 2022
As the Senate and House of Representatives finish reviewing and voting on bills, the General Assembly will soon begin the final phase of the legislative process. Bills passed from both chambers without amendments will go straight to the governor for final consideration. However, bills amended in the succeeding chamber will return to their chamber of origin for further review.
Once returned, bill authors can choose to approve the amended bill as is, which then moves to the governor's desk following an affirmative vote from the chamber of origin. Alternatively, the bill author can dissent on the amended bill and it will move to conference committee for deliberation.
In a conference committee, one member of each caucus—one Senate Republican, one Senate Democrat, one House Republican and one House Democrat—will settle final disputes and decide on the final version of the bill. From there, the revised bill will be sent back to each chamber for a final vote before being sent to the governor's desk for consideration.
Conference committee meetings will take place over the remainder of the legislative session, which is expected to conclude by March 14. The schedule can be viewed here.
Click here to follow bills being considered by the General Assembly this legislative session.
