THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS

1

• CHAPTER 7
• THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS

2
Procedural Powers of the Presiding Officers

• Appoint most committee chairs
• Appoint committee chairs
• Assigns bills to committee
• Schedules legislation for floor action

• Recognize members on the floor for amendments and
  points of order
• Interpret the procedural rules when needed
• Appoint the chairs and members of the conference
  committees

3
Nonprocedural Powers of the Presiding Officers

• Appoint the members and serve as chair(lieutenant
  governor) and vice-chair(speaker) of the
• Legislative Budget Board, and the
• Legislative Council.
• Serve on and appoint the members of the
  Legislative Audit Committee.
• Serve on and appoint the members of the Sunset
  Advisory Commission.

4
Procedural Tools of Leadership

• Committee Membership
• The presiding officers exercise influence by
  appointing committee membership.
• Selection of Committee Chairs
• The presiding officers appoint the committee
  chairs.
• Committee Jurisdiction
• The presiding officers assign bills to committees.

5
Presiding Officers May Oppose A Bill

• A bill may be a threat to the officers backers
  and financial supporters.
• The backers of a bill may have been uncooperative
  thus the officers may punish them.
• The bills opponents may have more bargaining
  power.
• The bills backers may feel the passage of the
  bill might financially cripple a favorite program.

6
Committee Powers and Functions

• Committees are little legislatures.
• Committees are extensions of the presiding
  officers.
• In committee the bills may be
• rewritten
• pigeonholed
• edited
• Division of Labor
• Bills are marked up in each committee.
• Competency
• The seniority system allows the chairs to become
  experts in a subject if returned to the same
  committee year after year.

7
Committee Powers and Functions (cont.)

• Pigeonhole
• Committees may also chose not to consider a bill.
• Discharge petition
• Tagging
• Bureaucratic Oversight
• Committees may also hold hearing to see that
  bureaucrats are carrying out public policy.
• Several factors make bureaucratic oversight
  difficult
• short legislative session
• movement of members from one committee to another
• short term for legislators when compared to top
  administrators.

8
Committee Powers and Functions (cont.)

• The Calendar
• Scheduling a bill is crucial to passage and
  success.
• House Calendars
• The speaker of the house does not have direct
  control over the calendar, but does control
  committee membership.
• The Senate Calendar
• The senate calendar is used only in theory.
• Most bills are considered by a suspension of the
  rules.
• The lieutenant governor must recognize a senator
  to make this motion
• The presiding officer or eleven senators could
  prevent any bill from becoming law.

9
The Floor of the House

• As bills reach the House floor, a loudspeaker
  system allows votes for or against.
• Most legislators vote on who is supporting a bill
  and who is against it.
• Floor leaders representatives who are trying to
  get a bill passed.

10
The Floor of the Senate

• The senate floor is similar to the house with one
  exception, the filibuster.
• Senate rules allow a senator to speak unlimitedly
  to try to prevent a vote on a bill.
• The presiding officer controls those who speak.

11
The Conference Committee

• Conference committees are composed of five
  members of each house appointed by the respective
  presiding officers.
• Today, conference committees iron out differences
  between each of the bills.
• Conference committee reports

12
How a Bill Becomes Law

• Introduction to the Senate
• Assignment to committee
• Senate Committee Action
• Senate Calendar
• Senate Floor

• Introduction to the House
• Assignment to a committee
• House Committee action
• House calendars
• House floor

13
(No Transcript)
14
Institutional Leadership Tools

• The Legislative Budget Board Members and
  presiding officers influence the budgeting
  process.
• The Legislative Council The presiding officers
  appoint committee membership which oversees bill
  drafting and research.
• The Legislative Audit Committee The presiding
  officers, members of this committee, audit agency
  expenditures.
• The Sunset Advisory Commission This commission
  with the presiding officers as members reviews
  state agencies.

15
Restraints on the Powers of the Presiding Officers

• Personality
• leadership style
• The Team
• legislator coalitions
• The Lobby and Bureaucracy
• coalition of presiding officers, bureaucrats and
  lobby insures success

• The Governor
• the threat to veto and line-item veto give power
• The Political Climate
• scandal may limit the power of the presiding
  officers.
• Political or Economic Ambition
• political credits, interest group support, and
  presiding officers role may serve as a stepping
  stone to other offices.